May 8, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern baseball team hit three home runs, including Ken Padgett's (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the 10th to defeat Western Michigan, 10-9. Catching a complete game for the first time in more than a year, Padgett went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. It was his second home run of the season and the first game-winner of his collegiate career.
Designated hitter Brandon Ackley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) hit a two-run shot over the centerfield fence for his first roundtripper of the season. First baseman Matt Thompson (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) continued to swing a hot bat, hitting a line-drive home run over the leftfield foul pole for his second four-bagger of the year. In Thompson's last three games, he has seven RBI going 3-for-6 at the plate.
Not to be outdone, second baseman Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) went 3-for-4 to up his average to .300. Roeder leads the team in hits (62), RBI (38), runs scored (32) and at-bats (207). Centerfielder Steve Haake (Belleville, Ill./ Gibault) was 2-for-4 with a run driven in, while shortstop Josh Lieberman (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) also went 2-for-4. The freshman outfield duo of rightfielder Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./ Barrington) and leftfielder David Gresky (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) each had a hit in the game.
The `Cats used a bevy of pitchers, starting with freshman Dan Konecny (Ripon, Wis./Ripon). In his third start of the season, Konecny went three innings and gave up three runs on six hits while striking out three. Sophomore Christopher Spiering (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant) was next, throwing the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Spiering gave up one run on four hits before giving way to junior Andy Adams (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect). Adams threw just one inning, surrendering three runs on four hits. Freshman Cody Conway (Maysville, Ky./St. Patrick) came in to throw a perfect eighth and struck out one. Normally a starting pitcher, junior Gabe Ribas (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) came out of the pen and gave up two runs in the top of the ninth to force extra innings. In the 10th frame, Ribas got WMU's clean-up hitter Tom Fabrizio to ground into the 4-6-3 double play, setting up Padgett's heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
The win improved the Wildcats to 24-28 overall as they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on the Gophers in a crucial Big Ten weekend. The Wildcats are currently in fifth place and need two wins to ensure a spot in the six-team postseason field. The top six teams advance to postseason play, with the regular season champion hosting the 2001 Big Ten Baseball Championship.