March 3, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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Making their fourth road trip in as many weeks, the Northwestern baseball team travels to Northridge, Calif., this weekend and is scheduled to play a three-game series against the Cal State Northridge Matadors. CSUN has played eight games this season and hold a 3-4-1 record. One game ended in a tie due to darkness.
NU has not played Cal State Northridge since 1998, which also happens to be the last time the Wildcats competed in the state of California. The Matadors won that game, 13-5, and hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series.
Like the Wildcats, Northridge has had to deal with weather issues this season. The Matadors have not played a game since Feb. 20, beating UC Riverside 7-4. Since then, they have had three games against Nevada canceled and one game vs. San Diego State postponed. NU, meanwhile, has had three games in Phoenix and one in Bradenton, Fla., canceled because of inclement weather.
Northwestern enters the weekend winning two of its last three games. In those games, the Wildcat pitching staff has allowed nine runs, only five of which were earned. So far this season, NU has an ERA of 3.10 in 61.0 innings pitched.
A big reason for NU's pitching success, is the emergence of sophomores George Kontos and Ryan Myers. The two right-handers started the Wildcats' first two games last weekend and combined to throw 14.0 innings (seven each), striking out 19. Myers struck out 11 against Mount St. Mary's and Kontos eight vs. Northeastern, both career highs.
Senior Mike Phelps and junior Mark Ori each had excellent weekends at the plate, combining for 13 hits in 26 at-bats. Phelps led the way with a .545 average, going 6-for-11 with two doubles. Ori was 7-for-15, driving in seven runs. Ori leads the team with eight RBI.
Overall this season, Phelps and catcher Pat McMahon lead the team with .429 averages. McMahon has an on-base percentage of .636, being the recipient of a team-leading seven walks already this season. He also leads the team with seven runs scored.
Scouting the Matadors:
Cal State Northridge is 3-4-1 this season with two extra-inning games, one win and one loss. As a team, the Matadors are hitting .257 with an on-base percentage of .344. The offense is led by Erik Hagstrom who boasts a .333 batting average. Three different Matadors lead the team with six RBI. The team has scored 38 runs in eight games.
On the mound, CSUN has a 5.17 ERA in 76.2 innings pitched. Right-hander Craig Baker--who is throwing game one on Friday--leads the team with three starts and a 2.84 ERA in 19.0 innings pitched. Baker has struck out 13 and is holding opponents to a .225 batting average. Left-hander Jimmy Brettl--game two starter--has two starts and a 3.29 ERA. The Matadors have used 13 different pitchers this season.