Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Stetson
Hatters Hold Off Wildcats, 5-4
3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2010
DELAND, Fla. - Arby Fields collected three hits, but Northwestern came up just short in the opening game of its four-game series at Stetson Thursday night, falling by a score of 5-4.
Stetson (10-13) took the lead in the bottom of the first as Kurt Schluter doubled home a pair of runs of Joe Muraski. NU (5-15) answered right back in the ensuing half-inning as Colby Everett and Geoff Rowan each notched RBI singles.
Muraski settled in after the tough start and shut down the Hatters over the next four innings.
The game remained knotted at 2-2 until the bottom of the sixth. Michael Jahns replaced Muraski on the mound, but Stetson was able to tally three times with two outs, including Jeff Simpson's two-run triple.
The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit in the top of the seventh as Chris Lashmet came through with a two-run double. However, he was stranded at third base, leaving Northwestern down a run.
After going down in order in the eighth, NU collected two hits in the ninth but was unable to push across the tying run.
Muraski settled for a no-decision, allowing just two runs over five strong innings of work while striking out seven. The Wildcats collected 11 hits against Stetson starter Lindsey Caughel over his 6 1/3 innings of work, but were only able to manage the four runs.
Fields had two doubles among his three hits. Alex Seyferth and Trevor Stevens added two hits apiece.
The two teams resume their series at 5:30 p.m. Central time Friday.
