April 9, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - People talk about seeing good baseball games all the time. Well Penn State and Northwestern treated fans at Rocky Miller Park to a 14-inning marathon in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. The Nittany Lions scored one run in the top of the 14th inning, winning 2-1.
In a classic pitcher's duel, Wildcat starter George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) pitched a career high 10 innings of one run baseball. Oddly enough, it was the first hitter Kontos faced that scored. He struck out five and at one point retired 13 Lion hitters in a row. Kontos did not factor in the decision.
Penn State hurlers matched Kontos' effort, giving up a single run in the fourth inning. In all, Lion pitchers struck out 10 Wildcats and allowed nine hits.
Catcher Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) drove in NU's lone run, scoring shortstop Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) from second. Mikrut reached base on an error and moved to second when Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South) was walked.
Reliever Chris Hayes (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) continued to dominate out of the bullpen. After Kontos gave up back-to-back singles to start the 11th-inning, Hayes promptly got a line drive to Mikrut at shortstop who stepped on second for a double play. Hayes struck out the final out of the inning, ending the Nittany Lion threat. Hayes pitched three innings of two-hit relied, before giving way to Bobby Ferla (Waldwick, N.J./St. Joseph Regional).
Ferla gave up a leadoff double in the 14th-inning, followed by two walks. After a Ferla strikeout, a diving Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) caught a shallow fly ball to centerfield, allowing the runner from third to tag up and score. Ferla is 1-1 on the season.
Both teams put runners on base in the extra innings, and both teams' pitchers responded. Key strikeouts, line-drive double plays, popped up double-play bunts, this game had it all.
In the end, Penn State swept the Saturday doubleheader, winning game one 4-2.
NU is 1-2 in the four-game series. The two teams will meet again, tomorrow, at 1 p.m. in a single nine-inning game.