April 15, 2006
Final Stats
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Catching is arguably the most physically demanding position on the baseball field. Northwestern's catcher Geoff Dietz was working his 19th inning behind the plate when he hit an RBI-double in the top of the 12th inning of Saturday's second game. Dietz's hit was NU's 17th-hit of the game and it gave the Wildcats a 7-6 win and a sweep of Saturday's doubleheader at Illinois Field in Champaign.
When you hit first in the batting order, coaches expect you to get on base and make things happen. Well, for Northwestern that person is Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine). And in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, Newman did just that in the first inning.
Newman went to second when his fly ball to the warning track was dropped. He crossed the plate when an errant pitch dribbled away from the Illini catcher. Newman slid in head first for NU's first run of the game.
People say defense wins championships. In the bottom of the second inning, left fielder Anthony Wycklendt (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) turned in the defensive play of the year. Running full speed for a foul ball toward the fence down the left-field line, Wycklendt sacrificed his body, sliding into the fence and making the catch.
Unfortunately for NU, the runner of first tagged up and went to second. The next player lined a single to center, which scored Illinois' first run and tied the game 1-1.
Illinois took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when they scored two runs on an error, a trio of walks and two hit by pitches by Wildcat starter George Kontos (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) aided the Illini. Kontos pitched five and two-third innings, gave up four runs (all unearned) on only three hits.
The score after three complete innings was 3-1 Illinois.
First baseman Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) was back at in game three of the series. The junior one-hopped the left-field wall to score Geoff Dietz (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) from second and make the score 3-2 in favor of the Illini. It was his second hit of the game and his eighth RBI of the series.
The Wildcats recaptured the lead in the top of the sixth inning, scoring two runs on three hits. Designated hitter Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) led off with a double down the right field line and went to second on Caleb Fields' (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) bunt single. Mule crossed the plate when pinch-hitter Dan Brauer (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) lined a single to right field. Fields moved to third on Brauer's RBI-single and scored when pinch-hitter Tony Vercelli (Wilmington, Ill./Wilmington) lofted a sacrifice fly to deep right centerfield.
Illinois tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a passed ball. A leadoff walk stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before crossing the plate.
In the top of the seventh inning, Fields and defensive replacement Stanley Finch (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) each hit RBI singles to left field. McMahon and Owens scored for NU. McMahon singled to reach base and Owens reached first by fielder's choice.
Needing three outs to win, a pair of leadoff walks by reliever Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional) scored and sent the game to extra-innings. A sacrifice fly scored the first run and a groundball single to left field scored the other.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, a leadoff single went to second on a sacrifice bunt. The very next hitter lined a single down the left field line. In what looked like the game-winning hit, wasn't meant to be. Fields, who was moved to left field when Brauer pinch-hit for Wycklendt in the sixth inning, fielded the ball on the run and fired an absolute bullet to Dietz waiting at home plate. The throw beat the runner by five feet and Dietz tagged him out for the second out of the inning. A pop out ended the inning.
It was Illinois' turn to throw out a runner at the plate in top of the 11th inning. Newman reached on his third infield hit of the game and went to second on a single by Owens. Newman pulled up lame after rounding second and head coach Paul Stevens called on Brandt Neibuhr (Decatur, Ill./Warrensburg-Latham) to pinch-run. Mule then singled to center and Neibuhr was cut down on a close play at the plate.
Northwestern finally broke the 6-6 tie in the top of the 12th inning when Dietz hit a towering two-out RBI double that fell just inside the left-field line. Fields led off the inning with his fourth single of the game moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Finch.
Schwartz pitched a career high six and one-third innings, gave up two runs on six hits to earn his third win of the season.
The win gave the Wildcats (12-18, 9-2) a two-game lead over Michigan (19-12, 7-4) in the Big Ten standings.
Northwestern's 9-2 league record is the best in head coach Paul Stevens' 19-year career.