May 13, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern catcher Ken Padgett hit the first pitch he saw from Michigan reliever Jim Brauer over the left center field wall to give NU a 5-4, 12-inning victory. It was Padgett's fifth round-tripper of the season, improving NU to 12-13 in the Big Ten and 21-25 overall.
Padgett's shot came after both teams were shut down by each other's bullpen. Freshman James Happ (Peru, Ill./St. Gibault) threw the final five innings for the 'Cats, picking up his second collegiate win. He struck out five, giving up two hits and lowering his ERA to 1.63 in 19 appearances.
Down 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, NU scored three runs on three hits. Second baseman Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) got things started with a single to right, followed by Steve Haake's (Belleville, Ill./Gibault) shot to the right side, putting runners on first and second with no outs. With one out, both runners crossed the plate when Brandon Ackley hit the first of two doubles down the left field line, making the score 4-3 Michigan. With Ackley on second, first baseman Travis Tharp (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) grounded out to first, advancing Ackley to third with two outs. Michigan changed pitchers, relieving starter Jeff Trzos with Matt Collins. With pinch-hitter Todd Morgan (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) up to bat, Collins threw the first of three wild pitches, allowing Ackley to score and tying the score at 4-4.
Following the wild pitch, Collins settled down, allowing only four hits in four and two-third innings of relief, before giving way to Brauer.
NU threatened in the bottom of the 11th as designated hitter Josh Lieberman (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) hit what looked like a bases-loaded game-winning single up the middle. But a diving second baseman tagged the bag and threw to first for the double play, ending the inning and the NU threat.
In the 12th, Happ gave up a leadoff single that was quickly erased when Ackley fired a bullet to Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) at shortstop, throwing out the lead runner who had rounded second base to far on another Michigan single. Happ got the next hitter to hit into a double play, setting up Padgett's walk-off home run.
The Monday doubleheader sweep moves NU into fifth place in the 2002 Big Ten standings. The top six teams advance to the 2002 Big Ten Tournament that is hosted by the regular season champion.
For updated Big Ten standings, log on to www.bigten.org.