Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Indiana Outlasts Wildcats 14-12 in 10-Inning Thriller
5/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern forced extra innings by scoring three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Indiana tallied three times in the top of the 10th as the Hoosiers won a wild 14-12 affair Sunday afternoon at Rocky Miller Park.
The victory for Indiana (23-28, 11-17) helped it earn a series split with the Wildcats (20-25, 13-15). Despite the loss, NU remains in sixth place in the Big Ten standings, percentage points ahead of Michigan State. The top six teams in the regular season standings qualify for the Big Ten tournament.
Trailing 11-8 and down to their final out in the ninth, Northwestern refused to go away. With Mike Kalina on second, Max Mann collected his fourth hit of the day in as many at bats, doubling off the fence in left field to get the Wildcats within two. Tony Vercelli then blasted his fourth home run of the season over the fence in left-center to tie the game.
However, Indiana got a sacrifice fly from Josh Phegley and RBI singles from Tyler Rogers and pinch hitter Evan Crawford to reclaim a three-run lead in the top of the 10th.
NU attempted to rally again in the bottom half of the 10th. Aaron Newman led off with a double and later scored on a two-out single by Chris Lashmet. Nate Roberts represented the tying run at the plate and hit a sharp ground to the right side. First baseman Jerrud Sabourin made a diving attempt at the ball and deflected it right to Rogers at second who threw on to pitcher Matt Carr covering first to record the final out of the game.
Indiana finished with an 18-16 advantage in the hit column, paced by four hits by Rogers. Each team stranded nine baserunners.
The start of the contest was delay two hours due to heavy rains throughout the morning. However, the Hoosiers came ready to hit once the game got underway.
One run in the first, three in the second and two apiece in the fourth and fifth helped the visitors jump out to an 8-3 advantage. However, the Wildcats began to chip away.
Lashmet contributed a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth before IU got the run right back in its half of the sixth. Jake Owens inched closer to Tom Hildebrand's career hits record in the bottom of the sixth as he hit a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, to get Northwestern to within 9-6. The hit was No. 252 of Owens' career, moving him within eight of Hildebrand's record.
A homer by Kipp Schutz and a run-scoring double by Andrew Means helped the Hoosiers raise their lead back to five in the top of the seventh. But again the Wildcats kept chipping away as Roberts and Mann each drove in runs in the bottom half to get NU back within three.
Remarkably, the pitching staffs held the opposition scoreless over each of the next three half innings before Northwestern put together its game-tying rally in the bottom of the ninth.
Mann finished his final collegiate home game with a single, two doubles and a home run while driving in three. Newman chipped in with three hits in his last game at Rocky Miller Park. Both seniors scored three runs apiece.
Northwestern opens its final series of the regular season Thursday when it travels to Michigan. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Central time with the game being televised live by Big Ten Network.
