Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Northern Illinois
Huskies Down Wildcats 5-4 Tuesday Afternoon in Evanston
5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2007
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - One tough pitch here, another bad break there, every time Northwestern's baseball team seems to be turning things around, something else happens. Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Northern Illinois at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston was no different. After getting down 4-1 on one bad pitch that happened in the first inning, NU came storming back to tie the game 4-4, only to lose on a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning.
That first inning pitch turned out to be a three-run home run off Wildcat starter David Jensen (Whittier, Calif./Mater Dei). Jensen pitched four complete innings, giving up four runs.
The Wildcats started their comeback with one run in the bottom of the second inning, taking advantage of a Geoff Dietz (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) stolen base. Dietz reached on a two-out error and went to second on a Tommy Finn (Valparaiso, Ind./Andrean) single. After Dietz stole third, Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) beat out an infield single to score NU's first run of the game.
NIU added one run to their total in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead. A leadoff double was sacrificed to second and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Senior Andrew Smith (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood) started the fifth on the mound for Northwestern. He pitched four-plus innings, giving up what turned out to be the winning run in the top of the sixth inning.
Northwestern tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth with the help of a Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) two-run home run. After Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) was hit by a pitch, Fields launched his first home run of the season down the left field line. A two-out walk to pinch-hitter Jim Grieco (Glenview, Ill./Loyola) came around to score NU's third run of the inning when Finn grounded a single through the left side of the infield.
The Huskies recaptured the lead 5-4 with a two-out single in the top of the sixth inning. A leadoff hit-by-pitch moved to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a groundout before a single scored the eventual winning run.
Down 5-4, Northwestern loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, but a bases-loaded two-out fly ball to center off Huskies closer Matt German ended the inning to end the Wildcat threat.
In the top of the ninth, Smith hit the first batter he faced which prompted head coach Paul Stevens to make a change. Junior right-hander Bo Schultz (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) came in and after a sacrifice bunt moved the NIU runner to second, two fly balls ended the inning.
Northwestern is back in action tomorrow when they hose the Illinois Institute of Technology at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.
