Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Open 2011 Home Season Wednesday vs. Crusaders
3/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2011
Northwestern (7-13) vs. Valparaiso (3-19)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Rocky Miller Park (1,000)
Evanston, Ill. • 3 p.m.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Twenty games into its season, the Northwestern baseball team competes on its home field for the first time in 2011 on Wednesday as the Wildcats host Valparaiso at Rocky Miller Park. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
NU is fresh off its spring break trip to Florida and North Carolina which culminated in the the Wildcats taking two of three games at Campbell. Freshman left-hander Dan Tyson went 8 1/3 innings in Sunday's series finale to help give Northwestern a 3-2 victory.
The Wildcats hold a 23-8 series edge over the Crusaders. A year ago, NU used the strength of an eight-run sixth inning to rally from a 7-2 deficit and defeat Valparaiso 10-8 on May 4 at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind.
Senior third baseman Chris Lashmet paces the Northwestern offense with a .380 batting average which ranks seventh in the Big Ten. He is tied with teammate Chris Kontos for fourth in the conference with eight doubles. Kontos paces the squad with 14 runs batted in.
Valpo dropped two of three games at Butler last weekend to open Horizon League play. Kyle Gaedele ranks first on the team with a .301 batting average, six doubles, 13 RBI and 11 stolen bases. The Crusaders have struggled at the dish so far this season as the team has a cumulative .223 batting average.
Probable Pitching Matchup
LHP Jack Havey (1-2, 7.15 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Gulbransen (1-4, 6.42 ERA)
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