Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Travel to Metrodome for Dairy Queen Classic
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 4, 2010
Tournament Central site (Live stats and video)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Fresh off a pair of wins at last weekend's Big Ten/Big East Challenge, the Northwestern baseball team returns to action in Minneapolis as it participates in the Dairy Queen Classic at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
The Wildcats open play at 12:15 p.m. Friday as it squares off against Oklahoma State. Action continues at noon Saturday when NU takes on Loyola Marymount. Northwestern concludes Classic play at 3 p.m. Sunday when it squares off against conference foe and host Minnesota.
After a rough opening weekend of the season, the Wildcats (2-5) bounced back during its trip to St. Petersburg/Clearwater. NU posted a 6-5 10-inning victory over Connecticut and followed it up with a 7-5 win over Rutgers. Despite dropping a 3-0 loss to Seton Hall in its Challenge finale, Northwestern had plenty of reasons to come away satisfied from its second weekend of the 2010 season.
Sophomore Zach Morton got the job done at both the plate and on the mound. In Friday's extra-inning win over Connecticut, it was Morton's two-out single that plated Paul Snieder from second for the walk-off win. Morton then got the start on the mound in Sunday's contest against Seton Hall and didn't allow an earned run over six innings of work. For his efforts, Morton was named to the Big Ten/Big East Challenge All-Tournament First Team.
Sophomore left-fielder Quentin Williams earned honorable mention All-Challenge honors after pacing NU with a .556 batting average. He hit safely in all three contests, including collecting a career-high three hits with a two-run home in the victory over Rutgers.
Another sophomore, right-hander Francis Brooke, was stellar in the victory over the Scarlet Knights. He hurled eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run. Senior southpaw Joe Muraski was also solid in the opener against UConn as the NU pitching staff bounced back from a bumpy start the previous weekend.
Senior catcher Chad Noble leads the Wildcats at the plate early on this season, batting .345 with a pair of home runs.
Oklahoma State is off to a 2-1 start to its season, splitting two games in Los Angeles last weekend before downing Oklahoma Christian 10-2 in its home opener Tuesday. The Cowboys return five position starters from last year's squad which went 34-24 and lost to Clemson in an NCAA Regional championship game.
Loyola Marymount has only one win through its first eight games of the season, defeating UC Riverside 10-2 Feb. 28. Sophomore catcher Matt Koch leads the Lions with a .419 batting average, seven doubles and seven RBI. LMU posted a 30-29 record during the 2009 season.
Northwestern faces a familiar foe in Big Ten rival Minnesota when the teams square off in a nonconference contest Sunday. The Golden Gophers are 2-5 so far in 2010, most recently falling 13-6 to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday. Minnesota finished second in the Big Ten a year ago and competed in an NCAA Regional. AJ Petterson lead the Gophers with a .333 average.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday - LHP Joe Muraski (NU) vs. LHP Tyler Lyons (OSU)
Saturday - RHP Francis Brooke (NU) vs. RHP Ramiro Carreon (LMU)
Sunday - RHP Zach Morton (NU) vs. RHP TJ Oakes (MINN)
