 Media Credit: Matt Watras/The Daily Northwestern Junior outfielder Antonio Mulé was 3 for 14 from the plate over the weekend, as NU dropped four games to reigning conference champion Michigan. Mulé was one of many Cats hitters to struggle against the Wolverines' pitching during the four-game set.
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By Jake SimpsonThe Daily Northwestern
After a two-hour rain delay Sunday, freshman pitcher Joe Muraski took the hill for Northwestern against Michigan, trying to protect a 1-0 lead.
One pitch later, the lead was gone.
Muraski surrendered a first-pitch longball to Michigan's Doug Pickens, and the Wolverines tacked on four more runs in the inning on their way to a 14-7 victory.
Muraski's meltdown was a microcosm of the Wildcats' weekend. NU led in three of its four contests against the defending Big Ten champions but eventually fell in each.
Despite the 0-4 weekend, NU coach Paul Stevens said he was heartened by the team's early-inning success.
"Losing all four games is a disappointment," Stevens said, "but I saw some very good things from some players, especially our starting pitchers."
Before the steady drizzle stopped Sunday's game in the fourth inning, the Cats held a 1-0 lead behind Muraski's strong pitching. The freshman hurler held the Wolverines scoreless and allowed only one hit.
"I just sit there and want to give (Muraski) all the kudos I can," Stevens said. "He did a great job for us."
NU (6-15, 0-4 Big Ten) took the lead in the second on second baseman Tommy Finn's RBI groundout.
The Cats appeared to be headed for their first win of the series after dropping the first three games by a combined score of 25-8.
On Friday, Michigan ace Zach Putnam, Baseball America's projected Big Ten player of the year, cooled NU's torrid bats. Overpowered by Putnam's dominating fastball, the Cats scored fewer than two runs for the first time all season, managing only a Jake Owens home run in a 7-1 loss.
Owens, who finished 1 for 4 with an RBI, attributed the Cats' anemic bats to the Michigan ace.
"(Putnam) is a good pitcher," Owens said. "He's not going to shut us down every day, but today you've got to give him a lot of credit."
2008 Woodie Awards
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