April 25, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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Northwestern: 14-16 Overall, 6-8 Big Ten
Illinois: 20-15 Overall, 8-8 Big Ten
Site: Evanston, Ill.
Field: Rocky Miller Park (1,000)
Radio: none
Internet: NUsports.com (Gametracker)
WNUR (sports.wnur.org) Friday and Sunday only
Events: A Dollar Dog Doubleheader (Saturday)
11-Game Homestand
Northwestern began an 11-game homestand Wednesday afternoon with a 5-3 loss to Valparaiso. NU continues its quest for a postseason berth with a four-game conference series against Illinois, beginning at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. A Saturday twinbill promoted as 'A Dollar Dog Doubleheader' is scheduled for noon, and the Wildcats and Illini finish up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All games will be played at Rocky Miller Park in Evanston. NU has played 30 games so far this season and only five of them have been at home. The 'Cats have a 2-3 home record this season and a home 244-159-2 ledger since 1984. NU's best season at 'The Rock' was in 1985 when they went 22-5.
A Year Ago
The last time Northwestern and Illinois met was last year at Illinois Field in Champaign. NU won 2-of-3 from the Illini in what turned out to be the difference in NU's postseason berth. At the end of the regular season, both teams finished with identical 14-15 Big Ten marks. NU's two wins put the Wildcats ahead of Illinois based on the Big Ten tiebreaker, and even though U-of-I had a better overall record, NU's 2-to-1 head-to-head advantage promoted the 'Cats to the sixth seed and a berth in the 2002 Big Ten Tournament.
Chart Topping
Northwestern's pitching staff has an overall ERA of 3.90 (3.65 in Big Ten games); both of those numbers are conference bests. The pitching consistency has been quite a surprise, considering the team lost three senior starters who logged more than 74 innings apiece last year. Two of those three seniors own numerous school pitching records and the third was an All-Big Ten honoree last season. Two now throw in the Major League Baseball minor league system. The Illini are not far behind, boasting a fourth-place 4.17 overall ERA and third-place 4.38 in the conference. NU has struck out 192 hitters in 246.2 innings pitched, while Illinois has set down 182 in 283.0 innings pitched.
Three Is Not A Crowd
As of April 25, three of the top seven lowest ERA's in the Big Ten belong to Northwestern pitchers. Junior Dan Konecny trails Ohio State's Scott Lewis (1.39, 58.1) for the conference's top spot with a 2.45 ERA in 62.1 innings pitched. Sophomore J.A. Happ is not far behind, placing fourth with a 2.85 ERA and a 5-3 record. Freshman Mark Ori, who is also hitting .293 as a hitter, is seventh with a 3.34 earned-run average. Happ, who has thrown 53.2 innings, is third in the league with 54 strikeouts.
Gresky and Wycklendt
There are games people remember, and there are games you will never forget. For David Gresky and Anthony Wycklendt, April 15 at Chicago State will be a contest they will never forget. The two combined for 13 hits, 13 runs and 19 RBI. Each player set a career-high in all three categories as Gresky went 6-for-7 with 10 RBI and Wycklendt was 7-for-8 with nine RBI.
Cycling
Anthony Wycklendt's record-setting performance against Chicago State turned into a bit of a history lesson. While no verification can be made on the exact game, according to head coach Paul Stevens, Wycklendt's hitting for the cycle has not happened since San Diego Padres shortstop Mark Loretta played at Northwestern in the early 1990's.
The Rest of The Lineup
Besides David Gresky and Anthony Wycklendt's 13 hits, the rest of the team added another 18. Of the 31 Northwestern hits against Chicago State, 14 went for extra bases, including two triples and four home runs. With their best offensive showing of the year (31-for-62 as a team), the 'Cats raised their overall batting average nearly 20 points, from .255 to .273. They were also 5-for-5 in the stolen base department.
Streak Snapped
Shortstop Jon Mikrut had a career-long 10-game hitting streak snapped when he went 0-for-5 against Valparaiso on Wednesday afternoon.
MidWeek Success
So far in 2003, NU is 1-1 in midweek games. Since 1998, the Wildcats have posted a 25-16 midweek record, never falling below .500 in any year. The 'Cats posted a 6-3 mark in 1998 and followed with a 1999 mark of 7-2.
'Bles'ing in Disguise
Sophomore right-hander Evan Blesoff started his first game of his collegiate career Wednesday afternoon against Valparaiso. The Illinois native threw 95 pitches in seven complete innings, striking out four. NU lost 5-3, as four of the five Crusader runs were unearned, thus dropping Blesoff's ERA to 5.59. The start was Blesoff's seventh appearance on the mound this season and 21st overall.
Going Down
Since giving up three runs on three hits in one inning in his collegiate debut at South Alabama on Feb. 22, freshman Julio Siberio has lowered his ERA more than 20 points from 27.00 to 6.75. Since that outing, Siberio has giving up three hits and one run in four appearances, totaling 5.1 innings pitched this season. Those numbers include his latest outing against Valparaiso where he went two complete innings, giving up only one hit.
Run Support
NU's 36 runs against Chicago State on April 15 is 23 more than the team has scored in its five games since. In those same five games, the pitching staff has an ERA of 2.88.
Stevens vs. 'Itch' Jones
Wildcat skipper Paul Stevens is in his 16th season at the Northwestern helm. Illini head coach Richard 'Itch' Jones is in his 13th year in Champaign. Illinois holds a 139-71-1 overall record and a 30-17 mark since 1991, when the two coaches began competing against one another.
Mr. Consistent
Since earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 17, junior right-hander Dan Konecny has been an example of consistency. So far this season, Konecny has logged a 62.1 innings, giving up 22 runs, 17 earned, on 56 hits for a 2.45 ERA. Opponents are hitting a measly .247.
Four-Man Rotation
So far this season, Northwestern's four-man rotation of Dan Konecny, J.A. Happ, Mark Ori and Dan Brauer have pitched 176.2 of NU's 246.2 innings. The four starters have an ERA of 2.86, giving up 56 earned runs. They have struck out 146 hitters and walked 75. Opposing batters are hitting a meager .247 in 655 at-bats, while the four hurlers have a combined record of 13-9.
Mistaken Identity
As of April 24, NU was third in the Big Ten in fewest errors committed with 37. Illinois is tied for fifth with 47 errors on the season.
Extra Extra, Read All About It
As a team, Northwestern has 261 hits this season. Of those 261 hits, 79 of them have been for extra bases (30.3 percent). Junior center-fielder David Gresky leads the way with eight doubles and six home runs while sophomore shortstop Jon Mikrut leads the team with two triples.
Not So 'Fresh'men
Freshmen Dan Brauer and Mark Ori don't seem to be fazed by the transition from high school to college. While both will admit the talent level is very different, both are thriving at the opportunity to compete. Ori has an ERA of 3.34 in 32.1 innings pitched, while Brauer has a 3.18 ERA and two saves. Brauer, a left-hander has thrown 28.1 innings, striking out 31, while Ori has sent down 21. Believe it or not, these two are not just pitchers. Both hail from Illinois and terrorized high school pitching a year ago. This season, Ori has had a few more opportunities, starting 29 games as the designated hitter or as the pitcher, sometimes both. He is third on the team with a .293 average in 99 at-bats. He has eight RBI and 12 runs scored. Brauer has had just nine plate appearances with one hit, an RBI and a run scored.
Bean Ball
Senior catcher Ken Padgett has been hit six times so far this season. Those six plunks bring his career total up to 30, good for second on the all-time hit-by-pitch chart at NU. Neil Piacenti (1993-96) leads the way with 31. Freshman Mark Ori and junior Dan Pohlman each have been hit five times this season.
Puttin On The Hitz
As a team, Northwestern has had a total of 37 players hit by a pitch this season. Each everyday starter has been hit at least once, with six of them taking three or more so far this season. On the flip side, the NU pitching staff has hit just 15 opposing batters.
Lay It Down Lieberman
As a team, Northwestern is averaging 0.8 sacrifice hit/fly per game. NU has 24 sacrifice hits or flies this season, while opponents have totaled 28. Leading the way for the 'Cats is junior third-baseman Josh Lieberman, who has five sacrifice bunts and two sacrifice flies in 25 games this season. His five sac bunts is second in the Big Ten lead.
Run Comparison
Through 30 games a year ago NU had a 12-18 record and scored 155 runs. Through 30 games this season, NU is 14-16 and has plated 161 runs.
From Deep In the Hole
Sophomore Jon Mikrut has started every game at shortstop this season and leads the everyday starters in batting average (42-for-109, .385), slugging percentage (.569), on-base percentage (.417), hits (42) and triples (2).
I Got Five On It
Senior first-baseman Travis Tharp had five RBI against St. John's, a game NU won 18-12. Tharp went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBI. Tharp singled twice, hit a home run and was hit by a pitch in the game. The last Wildcat to have five RBI in a single game was Jason Krynski, who belted two home runs in an April 19, 2002 game against Penn State.
Streaking
Not only is Jon Mikrut leading the team in most offensive categories, the Illinois native has already enjoyed hitting streaks of six, eight and 10 games. The Illinois native has hit safely in 25 of NU's 30 games and has had more than one hit in 14 of the 25 games he has reached base safely.
Finding a Fourth
Freshman left-hander Dan Brauer pitched the fourth game against Ohio State, Purdue and Penn State, winning 2-of-3 contests. Until the start of conference play, NU had not needed a fourth starter as all pre-conference series were only three games. The four spot, which was originally slated for Dan Pohlman, was turned over to Brauer on this condition 'you'll pitch the fourth game if we don't use you in relief in any of the first three games'; NU has not used Brauer in relief an any series, and the Illinois native has a record of 3-1 and an ERA of 3.18.
Shutouts
A year ago, NU played in seven shutout games. In those games, the Wildcats went 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. So far in 2003, NU is 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten. The four wins are over Brigham Young (1-0), Temple (3-0), Army (3-0) and Michigan State (2-0). The losses were against Ohio State (1-0) and Purdue (6-0).
Roeder/Konecny Sweep Weekly Awards
Senior second baseman Eric Roeder and junior right-handed pitcher Dan Konecny were named Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Week by the conference for the week of Feb. 18.
Roeder recorded a batting average of .600 to lead the Wildcats to their first 2-0 start since 1986, when the team produced a 39-14 record. The senior was 3-for-5 on the weekend with a walk and was also hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .714. He produced two RBI, including the game-winner in Northwestern's 1-0 shutout of Brigham Young. Roeder becomes the first Wildcats player in the last two years to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors, as no NU players were selected in 2001 or 2002.
Konecny went seven strong innings in his first start of 2003, shutting out BYU on the way to a 1-0 victory. The junior right-hander scattered four hits and notched three strikeouts while facing only 27 batters. Konecny was making his first start since April 20, 2002, as he missed the second half of the last season with mononucleosis. He started six games in 2002, pitching one complete game and striking out 26 batters on his way to a 1-4 record.
POW Double Time
Senior catcher Ken Padgett was named Big Ten Player of the Week by the conference office for the week of Feb. 25.
Padgett batted .727 (8-for-11) at the South Alabama Coca-Cola Classic last weekend, as NU went 2-1 in the tournament and improved to 4-1 on the season. The senior recorded six runs, five runs batted in, three doubles and a home run to post an imposing slugging percentage of 1.273. Padgett turned in his most impressive performance against St. John's, going 3-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and four RBI to spark NU to the 18-12 victory.
Returning Honorees
Northwestern returns two all-conference honorees and one nationally recognized student-athlete. Senior Travis Tharp and sophomore J.A. Happ were both recognized by the conference office as All-Big Ten players a year ago; Happ received first-team distinction as a reliever, and Tharp garnered third-team honors as a first baseman. Happ was also recognized as a second-team Mideast Region and a freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball. Happ is NU's first freshman All-America since Ryan Bos in 1999.