Northwestern
Milwaukee
Northwestern Clipped by Milwaukee at Miller Park, 6-4
5/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 9, 2012
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
Site: Milwaukee, Wis. (Miller Park)
Score: Milwaukee 6, Northwestern 4
Records: NU (16-31), Milwaukee (20-24)
Next NU Event: Friday, May 11 - vs. Indiana (Rocky Miller Park), 3 p.m.
MILWAUKEE -- Zach Morton had three hits and Jack Havey drove in three runs, but Northwestern was edged by Milwaukee 6-4 at Miller Park Wednesday afternoon.
The elements helped the Panthers get on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. With one down, Paul Hoenecke hit a routine flyball to left, but the ball was lost in the sun, resulting in a double. Phil Striggow followed with an RBI single to center to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
Northwestern surged in front in the top of the third against reliever Alex Erdman. Walker Moses started the inning by drawing a walk before Morton singled, giving NU two on with one out. A forceout at second and a passed ball gave the Wildcats two in scoring position for Havey who delivered a two-run single to right to put Northwestern in front 2-1.
The Panthers got an unearned run back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game. Luke Meeteer doubled with one down and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a passed ball. UWM then took a 4-2 lead in the fifth as Hoenecke hit a two-run home run to right.
The scoring spree continued in the top of the fifth as Northwestern got a run back and nearly tied the game. A one-out single by Morton made him 3-for-3 on the day before Paul Snieder doubled to the gap in right-center, putting two in scoring position. Havey brought home Morton with a grounder to second to make it 4-3. Kyle Ruchim nearly tied the game, but shortstop Tell Taylor robbed him of a hit with a nice defensive play to end the inning.
Dan Tyson worked into the sixth inning, but exited after allowing a single and a double to start the frame. Michael Jahns came on in relief and limited the damage to one run on a sacrifice fly by Hoenecke to extend the Panthers' lead to two.
Milwaukee threatened in the seventh, getting runners to second and third with one out, but a failed squeeze bunt and a strikeout by Jahns kept the deficit at two.
A leadoff error by the Panthers in the top of the eighth helped NU close to within a run. Havey was at second with two down when pinch hitter Patrick Miller delivered an RBI single to right as the Wildcats closed to within 5-4. However, representing the tying run, Miller was left stranded at second.
Jahns retired the first two batters in the bottom of eighth, but a two-out rally netted Milwaukee an insurance run. A walk and a hit batter preceded a run-scoring single by Jonathan Capasso that made it 6-4.
Jordan Guth, UWM's eighth pitcher of the day, worked around a one-out single by Hamilton Wise in the top of the ninth to earn the save.
Tyson (3-3) took the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) in five-plus innings of work. He allowed eight hits and struck out four.
Northwestern returns to action at 3 p.m. Friday as it opens up a three-game Big Ten series with Indiana at Rocky Miller Park.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
