Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Spartans to Close Out the Regular Season
5/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2010
Northwestern (22-29, 11-10 Big Ten) vs. Michigan State (33-17, 10-11 Big Ten)
Thursday, May 20, 2010; 3 p.m.
Friday, May 21, 2010; 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 22, 2010; 1 p.m.
Rocky Miller Park (1,000)
Evanston, Ill.
Streaming Video: Wildcats All Access (Thursday and Friday)
Audio: 89.3 FM WNUR (Thursday and Friday) and sports.wnur.org (all 3 games)
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
Probable Pitching Matchups
Thursday -
LHP Eric Jokisch (4-6, 4.64 ERA) vs. RHP AJ Achter (4-3, 4.37 ERA)
Friday -
RHP Francis Brooke (5-4, 4.28 ERA) vs. RHP Kurt Wunderlich (7-3, 4.59 ERA)
Saturday -
TBD vs. RHP Tony Bucciferro (7-5, 5.18 ERA)
EVANSTON, Ill. - With the field for next week's Big Ten tournament still up in the air, Northwestern closes out its conference season at home against Michigan State. NU comes into the final three games of the regular season in fourth place in the league standings, with the top six teams qualifying the Big Ten tourney. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday with Saturday's finale scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats enter their series with the Spartans with an 11-10 Big Ten record. That mark is not far away from being much better as seven of the team's 10 conference defeats are by just one run.
NU will honor its five seniors -- David Jensen, Joe Muraski, Chad Noble, Steve Sanders and Alex Seyferth -- in ceremonies following Saturday's regular-season finale.
Northwestern dropped a pair of one-run games in a tightly contested series at Michigan last weekend. The 'Cats dropped Friday's opener by a 4-3 score despite a pair of home runs by Chris Lashmet. NU bounced back to score three runs with two outs in the top of the eighth inning to win Saturday's contest, 10-8. Freshman Jack Havey was one of four Wildcats with three hits in the contest, including hitting his first collegiate home run and driving in a career-high five runs. In Sunday's finale, Northwestern scored eight runs in the second inning--including a grand slam by Lashmet--and sixth in the third to jump out to a 14-run lead. However, Michigan came back to stun the 'Cats 15-14 in 10 innings. Zach Morton had four hits in the defeat.
Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans (33-17, 10-11 Big Ten) are coming off a 16-9 win at Central Michigan Tuesday night. Michigan State took two of three games from Indiana in East Lansing last weekend and are currently tied for fifth place in the Big Ten standings. Eli Boike sports a .375 batting average and 47 RBI to go along with a team-best 8 home runs. Jeff Holm is batting .371 and leads the Spartans with 21 doubles, 23 stolen bases and 49 RBI. Kurt Wunderlich and Tony Bucciferro pace MSU with 7 wins apiece, while AJ Achter leads all starters with a 4.37 ERA. Jake Boss Jr. is in his second year as the head coach at Michigan State.
Jokisch Returns to Form
After battling a back injury early in the season, junior left-hander Eric Jokisch has returned to the form that helped him be named the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA in his first seven Big Ten starts, including limiting Ohio State to two runs over eight innings of work in a win over the Buckeyes April 3. Jokisch recorded a season-high eight strikeouts in the team's win at Penn State April 10. He also hurled a complete game with seven strikeouts in an 11-4 win over Indiana May 8. In conference play, he ranks first with 55 innings pitched and third with 37 strikeouts.
On Target
Sophomore right-hander Francis Brooke has been pounding the strike zone this season. His command has been outstanding as he has struck out 47 batters while walking only seven in 80 innings of work. His average of 0.79 walks per 9 innings pitched ranks third nationally. He narrrowly behind Dylan Floro of Cal State Fullerton and Seth Rosin of Minnesota who lead the nation at 0.78. Brooke was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week March 8 after he shut down Loyola Marymount on three hits while striking out six in an eight-inning appearance. He also went all nine innings, allowing one earned run, in an 11-4 victory at Illinois April 30 and leads all NU pitchers with five wins. Freshman southpaw Jack Havey also has an outstanding strikeout-to-walk ratio, fanning 26 batters while walking only six in 19.1 innings pitched. Havey was stellar in a six-inning relief appearance against Milwaukee at Miller Park April 28, retiring all 18 batters he faced.
Lash and Bash
Third baseman Chris Lashmet is winding down his junior campaign on a high note. In Big Ten play, Lashmet ranks second in the league in hits (37), fifth in slugging percentage (.681) and home runs (5), seventh in batting average (.407) and 10th in RBI (21). He hit three home runs in the Wildcats' series at Michigan last weekend and scored eight runs. Lashmet paces the Wildcats in all games with 7 homers, 41 RBI and 12 multi-RBI games.
Boosting the Bats
The Wildcats posted a team batting average of just .264 last season, but NU has boosted that mark 43 points to .307 this year. NU has notched at least 10 hits in a game 30 times this season after doing so 19 times throughout the entire 2009 campaign.
Power Surge
NU couldn't have been considered a power-hitting team through the majority of this season as the Wildcats hit only 15 home runs in their first 40 games. However, Northwestern has shown the ability to leave the yard lately. After managing just three homers in their first 12 Big Ten games, the Wildcats hit eight in their three-game series at Illinois April 30-May 2. The 'Cats went deep in a season-high seven straight games from April 30-May 8, hitting 13 homers over that span.
Youth is Being Served
Northwestern is putting one of the youngest lineups in the Big Ten on the field this season. Out of a possible 459 starts by position players so far in 2010, 354 (77.1 percent) have been made by either freshmen or sophomores.
Double Duty
Northwestern's roster features two individuals who are also key members of the Wildcats' football team which went 8-5 and participated in the Outback Bowl this past season. Sophomore outfielder Quentin Williams appeared in all 13 games on the gridiron this past fall as a defensive end, posting 14 tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery. True freshman outfielder Arby Fields also appeared in every game as a running back and led the team with 302 rushing yards to go along with five touchdowns. Fields has started 50 of the team's 51 games in center field and sports a .288 batting average with 13 doubles and five home runs. He hit three home runs in a series against Illinois April 30-May 2, including socking a grand slam and a three-run homer in an 11-4 win April 30. His seven RBI in the contest are the most by a Northwestern player in a game since David Gresky had 10 against Chicago State April 15, 2003.
Useful Utility, Part 1
Sophomore Paul Snieder was primarily used as a position player a year ago, but has taken on an added work load this season. After pitching just 6 1/3 innings as a freshman, Snieder has shined on the mound in 2010. He has posted a 1.73 ERA and 11 saves with 34 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched while limiting opposing batters to a .173 average. The 11 saves are one shy of the school single-season record of 12 established by Chris Nichting in 1986. In 22 appearances this season, he has been scored upon just three times. Snieder has been equally impressive at the plate this season. He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in hits (74), is sixth in on-base percentage (.455), seventh in batting average (.374) and ninth in doubles (15).
Useful Utility, Part 2
Zach Morton performed in the opposite role of Snieder during his freshman season in 2009. He was used primarily as a pitcher a year ago, but has started 48 games this season, mainly at second base. Morton has had success with the bat as he is second on the team with a .374 average and has two 11-game hitting streaks (one current) and another of 10 games to his credit this season. He is second on the team lead with 30 walks and his corresponding .469 on-base percentage leads the Big Ten. In league play, his .424 batting average ranks third and his .495 on-base percentage is second. He has continued to be used regularly on the mound as he's fourth on the team with five starts and fifth with 43 innings pitched, while striking out 43 batters.
Noble Named to Bench Award Watch List
Northwestern catcher Chad Noble is enjoying an outstanding senior season and has been named to the 2010 Johnny Bench Award Watch List as a result. The Rockwall, Texas, native is third on the team with a .359 batting average and first with four triples and 39 runs scored. Behind the plate, he has helped mentor a young pitching staff and has thrown out 45 percent of baserunners attempting to steal (17 of 38).
Up Next...
Play at the 2010 Big Ten Baseball Tournament gets underway Wednesday, May 26 at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
