April 19, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - Freshman right-handed pitcher Zach Schara (Madison, Wis./Madison West) earned Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors with his seven-inning, five-strikeout no-hitter against Penn State Sunday. Schara's masterpiece was the first no-hitter by a Northwestern pitcher since May 19, 1994, when Brad Niedermaier won an 8-0 gem against Chicago State.
Schara also became the second NU pitcher in two weeks to be named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week. Last week sophomore right-hander J.J. Standring (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) won the award for his shutout against Illinois April 10. For the season Schara is 3-3 with an 8.29 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. He is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in Big Ten games.
Northwestern took three out of four from Penn State last weekend to move into a tie for third in the Big Ten. Northwestern has won nine of its last 12 games and six of its last eight in the Big Ten. Northwestern plays at Chicago State Tuesday at 3 p.m. before hosting Valparaiso Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Wildcats continue Big Ten play with four games at Purdue this weekend.