March 17, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - By the time the Northwestern baseball team steps out between the chalk lines again, 12 full days will have passed. The first week of those 12 days is what NU calls reading week. Reading week is a five-day period in which the University gives students a chance to study for finals. The second week is testing week. So after 10 days of exhausting studying and brain-racking finals, the Wildcat baseball team will finally get to set its sights on St. Francis College (N.Y.), its first opponent in Florida.
NU is traveling to Bradenton, Fla., for the second time this season, this time for a span of eight days. In those eight days, the Wildcats will play six games against four different opponents.
The Wildcats went 2-1 on their first trip to the Sunshine State back on Feb. 26-28. NU defeated Mount St. Mary's (Md.) 30-2 and Northeastern 7-1, before falling to Seton Hall 6-1.
Currently Northwestern is 4-6 on the season and was last in action back on March 4-6 in a three-game series at Cal State Northridge. The Matadors won two of the three games, holding the Wildcat offense in check. NU hit just .239 in the three-game set, but did hit four home runs, giving them five in 10 games.
Catcher Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) leads the Wildcats with two home runs and is fifth in the Big Ten with a .444 batting average. In eight starts, McMahon is 12-for-27 with 10 runs scored and eight walks. Outfielder Stanley Finch (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) isn't far behind, ranking seventh in the conference with a .423 average. Finch is 11-for-26 with eight runs scored and five RBI. Their batting averages rank first and second for the Wildcats. Junior first baseman Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South) leads the team with eight RBI.
On the mound for NU, sophomore George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) continues to impress coaches with his ability to get outs. Kontos is eighth in the Big Ten with a 1.74 ERA in three starts. He is third in the league with 20.2 innings pitched and has given up only 11 hits in that span. He earned NU's lone victory at Cal State Northridge, holding the Matadors to two runs on four hits in six innings of work. He is 2-1 so far this season.
Scouting the Opponents:
St. Francis College (N.Y.)--The Terriers of St. Francis College opened their season going 0-3 against Kansas State University, a team NU is very familiar with. The Wildcats of Kansas State outscored the Terriers 61-6, winning 30-4, 14-1 and 17-1. St. Francis has not played since its opening three-game series vs. KSU.
Cornell--The Big Red have a 2-1 record, taking two of three games from West Virginia on March 12 & 13. Third baseman Jim Hyland got off to a good start, hitting safely in four of his first eight at-bats, while driving in four. Two of his four hits were doubles. On the mound, Dan Gala got his 2005 season off on the right foot, pitching six complete innings in his season debut. He gave up just one run on three hits, striking out four. Offensively, Cornell is hitting .221 as a team, while the pitching staff holds a 4.01 ERA. Cornell and Northwestern are scheduled to play twice while in Bradenton.
Kent State--The Golden Flashes are the only team NU will face this week that has played more games in 2005. KSU is 6-5 this season, which includes an 11-10 victory over then-No. 21 Winthrop. The Golden Flashes are coming off a three-game sweep of James Madison, averaging nine runs per game against the Bulldogs. Leading the way at the plate is junior Drew Saylor. Saylor is hitting .431, starting all 11 games. Catcher Kurt Eichorn already has 21 RBI, including three homers, and is hitting .386 at the plate. On the mound, right-hander Chad Wagler is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched. As a team, KSU is hitting .281, while the pitching staff has an ERA of 6.28.
Dartmouth--Dartmouth is already in Bradenton and they are scheduled to play seven games in seven days before facing Northwestern. The Big Green have yet to compete this season. Their first game is scheduled for March 17 against Massachusetts. After winning the Red Rolfe Division (Ivy League) a season ago, Dartmouth has been projected by Baseball America to win both the Rolfe Division and Ivy League titles and advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2005. NU and Dartmouth will play two games while in Bradenton.
Northwestern will play five of its six games at IMG Academy Park on fields Nos. 1 & 2. Cornell and NU will play their March 20 contest at Manatee Community College (MCC), which is also located in Bradenton.