March 12, 2011
Box Score
Site: St. Louis, Mo. (Billiken Sports Center)
Score: Northwestern 15, Saint Louis 9
Records: NU (4-7), Saint Louis (10-4)
Next NU Event: March -- vs./at Opponent (site), Time
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Northwestern acheived season highs for hits and runs scored as it earned a split of its four-game series with Saint Louis in a 15-9 win at Billiken Sports Center Saturday afternoon.
Geoff Rowan collected a career-best four of the Wildcats' 17 hits in the contest, while Colby Everett and Chris Lashmet contributed three apiece.
Starting pitchers Jack Havey of Northwestern and Jerry Mancuso of Saint Louis both shut down the opposition through the first four frames before the Wildcats broke through for three runs in the top of the fifth.
Trevor Stevens brought home the first run with a double that extended his season-opening hitting streak to 11 games. Kyle Ruchim brought home another run with a squeeze bunt before Paul Snieder drove in the third on a groundout.
NU broke the game open by pushing across four runs in the sixth to make it 7-0. Patrick Miller singled home Havey before Snieder drove in a pair with a two-out, two-run double and Lashmet followed with a run-scoring hit of his own.
However, the Billikens got right back in the game in the bottom half of the inning as Zach Miller hit a three-run homer to get the hosts within 7-3.
The Wildcats got one run back in the top of the seventh on Stevens' sac fly before Saint Louis inched closer. Nick Becker had a two-run triple before scoring himself on a wild pitch to make it 8-6.
But Northwestern continued the scoring spree in its half of the eighth, mounting the decisive rally. A walk to Snieder and a double by Lashmet put two in scoring position for Chris Kontos who doubled them both home to stretch NU's lead to four. The Wildcats would eventually load the bases for Rowan who plated a pair with a single to center to make it a six-run game.
SLU refused to go quietly, though, as a two-run double by Jon Myers and a run-scoring single by Connor Gandossy make it a three-run game once again. The Billikens brought the go-ahead run to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out, but Jack Quigley got C.J. Rose to hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.
The Wildcats tacked on three final insurance runs in the ninth as Everett hit a sacrifice fly and Jack Livingston doubled home two more runs to account for the final margin.
Havey earned the victory on the mound, working the first six innings. He surrendered six hits, three runs and a walk while striking out five.
Northwestern returns to action March 18-20 as it participates in the RussMatt Central Florida Invite in Winter Haven, Fla.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!