At times, Northwestern produced top-notch pitching and timely hitting.
In other situations, the Wildcats failed to earn key outs and come up with big hits in the clutch.
Battling rain that canceled Friday and Saturday's contests, the Wildcats overcame their uneven play to earn a series split with Minnesota.
NU (10-16, 5-7 Big Ten) trailed 4-3 in top of the eighth in Sunday's opener. Starter Bo Schultz was pitching well but had already thrown 106 pitches.
With the heart of the order up, the Gophers broke the game open. Third baseman Nate Hanson led off with a double into the right field gap before scoring on a single from catcher Jeff DeSmidt.
Right fielder Mike Kvasnicka put away the Cats with a towering home run to left field to give Minnesota a 7-3 lead it would never relinquish, winning 7-4.
Stevens stood by his decision to keep Schultz in the game.
"I thought Bo had been pitching pretty doggone good all day," he said. "It was only 10 feet from being a fly ball, in which case we would not be having this debate…you can second-guess the decision all day, but given the choice, I would do it again."
While the opener was plagued by missed opportunities, NU came alive in the nightcap, dominating Minnesota 10-0.
Following his worst outing of season last weekend against Michigan State, sophomore Joe Muraski was in control all day. He scattered two hits over his seven-inning complete game shutout, tying a career high with six strikeouts.
"I hit my spots today," Muraski said. " I threw strikes, which I had not been doing before, and it worked out."
Muraski was also helped by some timely NU hitting. After stranding nine batters in the opener, the Cats took advantage of their chances the second time around.
With the bases loaded and one out, third baseman Chris Lashmet smashed a monster grand slam to right field, giving Muraski all the breathing room he needed.
"We made better contact the second game," Lashmet said. "We stayed on top of the pitcher's stuff and when we got pitches to hit we hit them."
2008 Woodie Awards
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Aaron
posted 4/15/08 @ 1:07 PM CST
This article neglects to mention the interesting decision Stevens made in Game Two of the Monday Double Header. Havey had come in out of the pen again, and was pitching well. (Continued…)
Gail Schultz
posted 4/15/08 @ 2:02 PM CST
Thank you to the Daily sports writers for braving the cold weather to cover our games. You do a great job supporting the team with a positive, and accurate accounting and spin when the alternative could also be possible. (Continued…)
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