April 14, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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Following a five-game homestand in which Northwestern went 2-3, it's back to the road. This time NU travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue University in a four-game conference series at Lambert Field. The Wildcats are 8-12 against Purdue since 2000 and have not played in West Lafayette since the 2003 season. NU is 4-4 in its last two trips to Purdue.
Northwestern enters the weekend after a quality midweek win over Missouri Valley Conference member, Bradley. The Wildcats scored three runs in the final four innings, defeating the Braves 8-6. Senior Chris Hayes (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) earned his Big Ten leading fourth save of the season and Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) hit his team-leading fifth home run.
Purdue is coming off a 7-6 loss to Illinois State. Playing in Normal, Ill., the Redbirds scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win. The loss drops Purdue to 9-19 on the season. The Boilermakers went 1-3 at Ohio State last weekend, falling to 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Offensively, Purdue is led by Mitch Hilligoss. Hilligoss is hitting .371 in 105 at-bats with 12 stolen bases. He has been caught only once on the base paths. Neal Gorka is the Boilers top RBI man, driving in 16, to go along with a .333 batting average. Gorka also has a team-leading four home runs.
As a team, Purdue is hitting .267 with eight home runs and 103 RBI in 28 games. They have stolen 37 bases and been thrown out 12 times. They have committed 38 errors and have laid down 20 sacrifice hits.
On the mound, Chris Toneguzzi leads Purdue with a 2.29 ERA in a Big Ten best 15 appearances. He is 0-2 with one save in 19.2 innings pitched. He has struck out 17 and walked six. Scott Byrnes and Mitch Pruemer have each started a team high seven games. Byrnes is 2-3 with a 3.66 ERA, while Pruemer is 3-4 with a 5.86 ERA. They have combined to thrown 82.1 innings, striking out 49 and walking 15.
As a pitching staff, Purdue has a 5.44 ERA and opponents are hitting .317. They have struck out 145 hitters in 221.2 innings pitched. Catcher Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) continues his hot hitting, leading the WIldcats with a .400 batting average. McMahon extended his career-high, 11-game hitting streak, going 2-for-4 Wednesday against Bradley. He has hit safely in 21 of the 24 games he has played this season. Right fielder Stanley Finch (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) is second on the team with a .329 average. Wycklendt leads the team with 22 RBI and has a slugging percentage of .542.
On the mound, Hayes is the man out of the bullpen. The senior has four saves and a team-low 1.12 ERA. He has appeared in 11 games. Sophomores George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) and Ryan Myers (Lake VIlla, Ill./Carmel) each have a team-high three wins and have combined to strikeout 76 hitters. Myers is second in the Big Ten with 46 punchouts in 35.1 innings pitched.