Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan
Wildcats Drop Game One 7-4 to Michigan
3/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. - Michigan followed another strong pitching performance in Game One of Saturday's doubleheader to defeat Northwestern 7-4 at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston. The Wildcats mounted a comeback in the seventh, but in the end it wasn't enough. The loss dropped NU to 6-13 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Michigan scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of a passed ball and a wild pitch. A one-out walk went to second on a groundball out and advanced to third on NU's third passed ball of the season. An errant pitch allowed the runner to score.
Northwestern tied the game 1-1 in the bottom half of the first inning. Third baseman Jake Owens (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) hit a one-out single off the Michigan third baseman's glove. After an infield pop out, Owens stole second and first baseman Jake Goebbert (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) lined an RBI single down the right field line. Owens scored on the play.
Wildcat starter Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional) ran into trouble in the top of the third inning. Three straight one-out hits, including an RBI double, scored a pair of Wolverine runs to give them a 3-1 lead.
Schwartz ran into more trouble in the top of the fourth inning. A trio of walks and a pair of singles allowed two more Michigan runs to cross the plate. The Wolverines led 5-1 after three and one-half innings.
After Schwartz topped the 100-pitch mark in the fourth inning, head coach Paul Stevens called on freshman Jonathan Purcell (Oceanside, Calif./Vista) to pitch. Purcell pitched the final three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and struck out one.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wildcats made things interesting when they scored three runs on three hits. Catcher Geoff Dietz (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) and pinch-hitter Jim Grieco (Glenview, Ill./Loyola) each tallied RBI singles. Leadoff hitter Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score NU's third run of the inning. A fly out to deep centerfield ended the Wildcat threat and the game.
