April 25, 2003

Box Score

Illinois Box Score in PDF Format

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern needed extra innings to pull it off, but an error and a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Wildcats the run they needed to beat Illinois 6-5 Friday afternoon. Senior Eric Roeder (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) scored the winning run as NU improves to 15-16 overall, 7-8 in the Big Ten.

The game was going all Illinois' way in the first seven and one-half innings, as the Illini held a 5-1 lead. With things looking like Illinois would walk away with the easy win, junior Dan Pohlman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) hit a one-out double to deep left-centerfield to start a rally. Pinch-hitter Dan Brauer (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) singled to right and Roeder doubled to center. Pohlman came around to score and after an Illini pitching change, Brauer crossed the plate on Illinois' first wild pitch. With the score 5-3 and runners on first and third, the U-of-I pitcher uncorked his second wild pitch, allowing Roeder to cross the plate.

With freshman Mark Ori (Niles, Ill./Maine South) on second and only one out, sophomore Jon Mikrut (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel) grounded out to the pitcher, moving Ori to third. Junior David Gresky (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Ignatius) stroked his third hit of the game, bringing in Ori and tying the score at 5-5. Gresky finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Both teams had their chances in the ninth as an Illini baserunner was stranded on third by Wildcat relievers Chris Hayes (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Mikrut. Hayes relieved Stanley Finch (Lubbock, Texas/Cooper) with two out in the Illini eighth, and pitched two outs before giving way to the shortstop Mikrut. The two right-handers switched positions when Mikrut took the mound. Mikrut proceeded to strike out the first hitter he faced and induced a fly ball to end the threat.

Believe it or not, Hayes and Mikrut switched positions again, putting Hayes back on the mound for the 10th inning. He did give up two hits in the final inning, but left the runners stranded on a key strikeout and a fly ball.

In the Wildcat 10th, Roeder, the first batter of the inning, was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a botched double-play attempt. The following hitter, Ori, attempted to sacrifice bunt, but the Illini pitcher snagged the bunted ball in the air and threw it past the first-baseman into right field. The errant throw allowed Roeder to advance two bases. Two pitches later, the Illini pitcher uncorked his third wild pitch of the game, allowing Roeder to score the winning run.

In other news: catcher Ken Padgett (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) was hit by a pitch for the seventh time this season, tying him with Neil Piacenti for the top spot on Northwestern's hit-by-pitch list with 31.

The Wildcats and Illini are back in action tomorrow, as the two teams square off in a noon doubleheader.

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