By Jake Simpson The Daily Northwestern
Two familiar figures propelled Northwestern to Wednesday's 13-7 win over Illinois Institute of Technology. Juniors Jake Owens and Antonio Mulé each went 3 for 6, with Mulé blasting two home runs for a team-best eight on the season.
Performances like these come a dime a dozen for Owens and Mulé, the slugging tandem that coach Paul Stevens called "our 1-2 punch."
Over the last three seasons, the duo, the Wildcats' version of the Bash Brothers, has emerged as the team's offensive sparkplug, making their mark on opposing pitchers and the NU record books alike.
"They really complement each other well," Stevens said.
This year, the duo has been the catalyst on offense for NU (11-30, 3-17 Big Ten). Owens and Mulé are first and second in nearly every major offensive category for the Cats, including batting average, hits, runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.
Opposing pitchers must deal with facing the two stars back to back, as Stevens has batted Mulé directly behind Owens in every Big Ten game this season.
The result has been a career year for Owens, who has raised his average 50 points from last season. The junior third baseman attributed some of his success to his teammate, aptly nicknamed "Mule."
"(Mulé) is great protection," Owens said. "You can't put people on base in front of him."
The bond between Owens and Mulé began in the fall of 2004, when Owens arrived on NU's campus as a freshman. At that point, Mulé was rehabbing from a season-ending leg injury suffered just five outs into the 2004 season.
Allowed to redshirt his freshman year because of the injury, Mulé quickly bonded with the incoming freshman. Owens said his friendship with Mulé has become stronger since then.
"We talk about hitting together, we talk about baseball together," Owens said. "He's really become family."
In 2006, the tandem gained permanent spots in NU's starting lineup and helped elevate the team to an unexpected second-place finish in the Big Ten. Mulé, named the Cats' Most Valuable Player, led the team with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .357 batting average. Many times, Mulé's blasts plated Owens, whose 48 runs and 76 hits led NU.
Mulé said he and Owens have motivated each other to improve.
"It makes you want to stay on top of your game more and keep plugging away," Mulé said.
While the pair's stats are certainly impressive, Stevens said their off-the-field qualities - a study in contrasts - have been just as important to the team.
"Antonio's definitely more of a silent leader," he said. "Jake is always pranking or trying to punk somebody."
The Cats will need production from both of their hitting stars this weekend, when they travel to Minneapolis to face the red-hot Golden Gophers (31-8, 12-3 Big Ten). Stevens said the Cats would show Minnesota "something new."
"We're not going to leave any stone unturned," he said. "We're going to pull out all the stops to try and do some damage."
For NU to qualify for the conference tournament, it has to make up a six-game deficit in its final 12 Big Ten contests. The Cats' players, however, are not ready to give up their postseason aspirations just yet, with Mulé calling his team "a sleeper."
Owens was even more direct.
"We're still mathematically in the hunt," he said. "We want to make some noise."
Reach Jake Simpson at james-simpson@northwestern.edu
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