April 19, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Penn State Box Score in PDF Format
Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the third inning, propelling Northwestern to a 2-1 win over Penn State in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Beaver Field in University Park, Pa. The win improved the Wildcats to 14-13 overall, 6-6 in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead when right-fielder Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South) scored on an errant throw to third base by the Penn State first baseman. Ori reached on a double to left-centerfield and moved to third on a groundout and crossed the plate on the off-target throw.
In the third, Roeder faced nine pitches before hitting a high and tight fastball over the left-field fence for his third home run of the season.
The 'Cats wasted a golden opportunity in the fourth inning, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) reached on an error and David Gresky (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) hit his eight double of the season down the right-field line, advancing Mikrut to third. But PSU pitcher, Josh Palm, struck out the next two Wildcat hitters and induced a fly ball to end the threat.
After a Penn State leadoff single to center in the bottom of the fourth, a triple to the right-field corner allowed the runner on first to come all the way around to score. The lone Lion run made the score 2-1 Northwestern after four complete innings.
Wildcat starter J.A. Happ (Peru, Ill./St. Bede Academy) took over from there. The sophomore left-hander faced the minimum number of hitters (nine) the final three innings, improving his record to 5-3 on the year. Happ struck out five and walked none, lowering his ERA to 2.85 on the year. Happ was in control from start to finish, throwing just 81 pitches, 63 for strikes. As a matter of fact, 25 of Happ's first 27 pitches went for strikes.
One of the Big Ten's leading base-stealers, Nittany Lion Zack Smithlin, led off the bottom of the sixth with a single down the right-field line. Already 15-for-15 on the season in stolen bases, Smithlin attempted to swipe second, but was cut-down by Wildcat catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe). It was Padgett's 14th runner Padgett has thrown out stealing this season.