Northwestern University Athletics
NU Opens Big Ten Tournament Play Wednesday Against Indiana
5/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 25, 2010
2010 Big Ten Baseball Tournament
#3 Northwestern (24-30) vs. #6 Indiana (27-25)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010; 2:35 p.m. CT
Play continues through Sunday, May 30
Bill Davis Stadium (4,450)
Columbus, Ohio.
TV: Big Ten Network
Audio: 89.3 FM WNUR and sports.wnur.org
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)
2010 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Bracket (PDF)
Probable Pitching Matchups
Wednesday -
LHP Eric Jokisch (5-6, 4.27 ERA) vs. LHP Drew Leininger (8-3, 4.45 ERA)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern makes its eighth all-time Big Ten tournament appearance and its first in four years when action gets underway Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The third-seeded Wildcats open tournament play at 2:35 p.m. Central time against sixth-seeded Indiana.
Big Ten Network is providing live television coverage of every game of the tournament.
The Wildcats took two of three games from Michigan State last weekend to earn a spot in the tournament field. The teams traded 2-1 victories, with Northwestern taking Thursday's opener before the Spartans rallied late to win Friday's contest. NU trailed 6-3 entering its final two at-bats in Saturday's finale, but got two runs in the eighth before Paul Snieder hit a three-run walk-off homer in the ninth to give the 'Cats the dramatic win.
NU had won four consecutive Big Ten series when Indiana took two of three games from the Wildcats in Evanston May 7-9. The Hoosiers jumped out to an early 9-0 lead in Friday's series opener before holding on for an 11-9 win. Northwestern bounced back to take Saturday's game 11-4 behind a complete game by pitcher Eric Jokisch. IU got the series win with a 1-0 victory in a pitcher's duel between Matt Carr and Francis Brooke in Sunday's finale.
Scouting Indiana
The Hoosiers (27-25, 12-12 Big Ten) are last season's Big Ten tournament champions and enter this year's tourney with the conference's top offense. Indiana hits .327 as a team with a whopping 83 home runs. Sophomore Alex Dickerson leads the way, batting .415 with 23 homers and 73 RBI. He ranks first in all three Triple Crown categories in the Big Ten in all games played. Junior Jerrud Sabourin ranks right behind Dickerson with a .410 average. Sophomore left-hander Drew Leininger leads all Indiana starting pitchers with an 8-3 record and a 4.45 ERA. Senior righty Chris Squires is one of top arms out of the bullpen in the conference, sporting a 5-3 record, 3.96 ERA and 9 saves. Tracy Smith is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Hoosiers. He was previously the head coach at Miami (Ohio).
Big Ten Tournament History
Northwestern is making its eighth all-time appearance in the Big Ten tournament and its first since the 2004 season. The Wildcats have a 7-14 record in tournament play. The team's best finish came in 1984 when it placed second.
Turning it Around
A rough start to the preconference portion of the season likely didn't leave many people believing that the Northwestern baseball team would eventually finish in third place in the Big Ten standings by the season's end. Following a loss to Ohio State in the conference opener, the Wildcats' record sat at 6-19. A large reason for the turnaround has been the development of the pitching staff. After posting a team ERA of 6.34 last season, Northwestern has lowered that mark nearly a full point to 5.39 in 2010. Take out a disasterous opening weekend of the season and that mark drops further to 4.89. In Big Ten play, the Wildcat hurlers ranked second to only Minnesota with a 4.66 ERA and a .282 opponents batting average.
Drama King
Northwestern is well known for producting a number of actors, but perhaps the individual with the best flair for the dramatic on campus is sophomore Paul Snieder. His three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against Michigan State last Saturday gave the Wildcats a walk-off 8-6 win and clinched the team's berth in the Big Ten tournament. Northwestern had been 0-25 prior to the game when trailing entering the ninth inning. It is the second straight year that Snieder has ended NU's regular season with a walk-off homer. A year ago as a freshman, his solo shot gave the 'Cats a 6-5 victory over Michigan.
Close Calls
Northwestern's 13-11 Big Ten record was good enough for a third-place finish. However, the Wildcats weren't very far away from having a much more impressive mark. Of the team's 11 losses, eight of them came by just one run.
Morton Claims Big Ten Batting Crown
For the second time since the 1977 campaign, a Northwestern Wildcat claimed the Big Ten batting title this season. Sophomore Zach Morton (.4271), an Evanston native, narrowly edged out Indiana's Tyler Rogers (.4268) for the crown. Mark Ori (2004) was the most recent NU player to pace the Big Ten in batting average in conference play. Morton's accomplishment is particularly remarkable considering the fact that he had only 22 overall at-bats as a freshman while spending the majority of his playing time on the mound.
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 went 4-2 with a 3.25 ERA in his eight Big Ten starts. Jokisch was named the Big Ten co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday for his efforts against Michigan State last Friday. He went 8 2/3 innings in the contest, allowing only one run to Michigan State's high-powered offense while getting the Spartans to hit into five double plays. Jokisch limited Ohio State to two runs over eight innings of work in a win over the Buckeyes April 3. He recorded a season-high eight strikeouts in the team's win at Penn State April 10. Jokisch also hurled a complete game with seven strikeouts in an 11-4 win over Indiana May 8 and also went the distance April 24 at Purdue. In conference play, he ranked first with 63.2 innings pitched and fourth in ERA and strikeouts (40). Jokisch was an all-star in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League last summer while playing for the Harwich Mariners.
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 48 batters while walking only seven in 87.1 innings of work. His average of 0.74 walks per 9 innings leads the nation. 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 is tied for the team lead 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 tied for the league lead in hits (42), ranked fifth in slugging percentage (.686) and home runs (5), sixth in batting average (.412) and eighth in on-base percentage (.455). He hit three home runs in the Wildcats' series at Michigan April 30-May 2 and scored eight runs. Lashmet paces the Wildcats in all games with 8 homers, 43 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 40 points to .304 this year. Northwestern has notched at least 10 hits in a game 31 times this season after doing so 19 times throughout the entire 2009 campaign. The team's season high for hits in a game is 19 (at Penn State, April 9; vs. Minnesota, April 18).
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 486 starts by position players so far in 2010, 374 (77 percent) have been made by either freshmen or sophomores. Senior catcher Chad Noble and junior third baseman Chris Lashmet are the team's lone regular position starters who are upperclassmen.
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 53 of the team's 54 games in center field and sports a .290 batting average with 15 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 1.79 ERA and 12 saves with 35 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings pitched while limiting opposing batters to a .177 average. The 12 saves have matched the school single-season record established by Chris Nichting in 1986. In 25 appearances this season, he has been scored upon just four times. Snieder has been equally impressive at the plate this season. He ranks ninth in the Big Ten with a team-leading 75 hits.
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 leads the team with a .378 average and has had hitting streaks of 12, 11 and 10 games to his credit this season. He is second on the team with 30 walks and his corresponding .468 on-base percentage leads the Big Ten. In league play, his .427 batting average won him the Big Ten batting title and his .491 on-base percentage was third. 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 was named to the 2010 Johnny Bench Award Watch List as a result. The Rockwall, Texas, native is third on the team with a .356 batting average and first with four triples and 42 runs scored. Behind the plate, he has helped mentor a young pitching staff and has thrown out 45 percent of baserunners attempting to steal (19 of 42). Noble has appeared in 47 games, starting 46. He missed seven games earlier this season due to a dislocated finger.
Oh Brother
This year's Northwestern roster features three individuals whose brothers previously played baseball for the Wildcats. Sophomore Chris Kontos' brother, George, was a pitcher at NU from 2004-06 and was eventually a fifth-round draft pick of the New York Yankees. George is still a member of the Yankees organization. Freshman Jack Havey's brother, Matt, was a pitcher at NU from 2006-09. Junior Charlie Finch (injured this season) is the brother of Stanley Finch who was a pitcher and outfielder at Northwestern from 2002-06. The list will grow next year when Cody Stevens (brother of Trevor and son of Paul) joins the NU program as a freshman. Other Big Ten baseball family ties belong to junior Brant Cavagnaro whose brother, Matt, played infield at Penn State from 2004-07.
Just Win Baby
After dropping two of three games to Ohio State in its Big Ten-opening series, Northwestern rattled off four consecutive series victories. NU took two games apiece from Penn State, Minnesota, Purdue and Illinois. It is believed to be the first time in school history that the Wildcats have won four consecutive Big Ten series.
Take Your Base
Northwestern's 20-6 victory at UNLV March 12 was a walk in the park...literally. The Wildcats drew an incredible 17 walks in the contest and also stole eight bases. Both totals are season highs for a Big Ten team.
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