May 13, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern closes out its 2009 season as it hosts Michigan in a three-game series at Rocky Miller Park beginning Thursday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Friday's contest also gets underway at 3 p.m., while Saturday's finale gets started at 1 p.m. Live streaming video of the first two games of the series will be available at NUsports.com.
The Wildcats have been eliminated from contention for a Big Ten tournament bid (top six teams in the regular season standings qualify), but can spoil Michigan's shot at making the field. The Wolverines enter the series in seventh place, a game and a half behind sixth-place Purdue.
Northwestern will honor its seven seniors who are playing in their final game in a Wildcat uniform following Saturday's contest. Tommy Finn has been an institution at shortstop the past four years and enters the weekend with 207 career games played. He'll move into a tie for fourth place in NU history in the category should he appear in all three games this weekend. Tony Vercelli has blossomed in his final campaign, leading the team with 10 home runs and 37 RBI while ranking second with 11 doubles. Right-hander Matt Havey has made 15 appearances on the mound in 2009 and 58 in his career. A year ago, he led the Wildcats with six saves. Outfielder Jim Grieco has appeared in 26 games this season, making nine starts. In his three years in a Northwestern uniform, he has played in 79 games. Brian Morgan ranks second on the team with 16 appearances as a righty out of the bullpen this year. He has seen action in 44 career contests. Jake Wilson has been one of the team top options off the bench this season, leading the squad with 13 pinch-hit at-bats. He has played in 68 career games, including making 23 starts. Southpaw Mike Folan has missed this season due to injury but has appeared in 20 games in his two seasons when healthy.
Northwestern dropped all three games of its series at Indiana last weekend. The Wildcats saw the Hoosiers score three times in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader 3-2. Indiana then posted another three-run eighth in the nightcap to win 5-2 prior to taking Sunday's finale 11-2.
Freshman second baseman Trevor Stevens paced NU at the plate, recording three multi-hit games and posting seven hits in 12 at-bats (.583) against the Hoosiers. He joins fellow middle infielder Tommy Finn as the lone two Wildcats to start every game this season. Stevens paces NU with 16 multi-hit games in 2009.
Scouting Michigan
The Wolverines (29-23, 8-13 Big Ten) are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Ball State on Tuesday, winning 8-5 and 5-2. Jake McLouth went 3-for-7 with four RBI in the two contests. Ryan LaMarre leads the Wolverines with a .343 batting average and 57 RBI. Mike Dufek is hitting .304 with team bests of 19 doubles and 14 homers in addition to 54 driven in. Chris Fetter paces the pitching staff with a 6-3 record and a 2.89 ERA, while Eric Katzman is 7-4 with a 3.20 ERA. Rich Maloney is in his seventh season as the head coach at Michigan.
Series History: Michigan leads, 105-25.
Last Season: The Wolverines won three of four games to close out the regular season May 15-17, 2008 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan took Friday's opener 9-4 before winning the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 7-1. NU took the nightcap 2-0 before the hosts won Sunday's finale 11-2.