March 19, 2003

EVANSTON, Ill. -

Spring Break Notes in PDF Format
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Games 12-18

Events: Florida Baseball Academy Invitational
Site: Bradenton, Florida
Fields: Manatee CC/Academy Park I & II
Series: vs. Northeastern-NU leads 1-0
vs. Army-first meeting
vs. Ohio State-OSU leads 68-37
Radio/TV: none
Internet: none

Spring Break
Northwestern takes to the road for the fifth time this season in what will be its longest trip of the season. The team will spend 10 days in the Sunshine State, in the city of Bradenton, Florida. While in the southland, the 'Cats will be playing in the Florida Baseball Academy Invitational. NU has seven games scheduled, including a four-game series vs. 2002 Big Ten Tournament champion, Ohio State. The four-game set marks the beginning of the Big Ten conference season for both teams. The Wildcats start the week with three nonconference games against Northeastern and Army. NU is slated to play Northeastern on March 21 and 23, sandwiching those games around its meeting with Army on the 22. All three games are single nine-inning contests.

Last Time Out
The Wildcats posted an 0-3 record at the DKD Electric Shootout in Albuquerque, New Mexico, dropping its overall record to 6-5. NU opened play Friday with a 6-5 loss to host New Mexico. The Lobos' Sean Murray singled down the leftfield line to score the winning run off Wildcat reliever Chris Hayes in the 13th inning. On Saturday, NU jumped out to a 6-1 lead after five plate appearances before New Mexico State crawled its way back to take the 8-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth. On Sunday, Texas Arlington scored early and often as the game was never in doubt with the Mavericks winning 14-7.

So Far, So Good
Freshman Dan Brauer doesn't seem to be intimidated by college hitters. The Illinois native has thrown 10.2 innings of scoreless relief in four appearances. The left-hander has a record of 1-0 and is 2-for-2 in save opportunities.

Bean Ball
Senior catcher Ken Padgett has been hit three times so far this season. Those three plunks bring his career total up to 27, good for second on the all-time hit-by-pitch record chart. Neil Piacenti (1993-96) leads the way with 31.

Returning Honorees
Northwestern returns two all-conference honorees and one nationally recognized student-athlete. Senior Travis Tharp and sophomore J.A. Happ were both recognized by the conference office as All-Big Ten players a year ago. Happ received first-team distinction as a reliever, and Tharp garnered third-team honors as a first baseman. Happ was also recognized as a second-team Mideast Region and a freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball. Happ is the first NU freshman All-America to be recognized since Ryan Bos in 1999.

Roeder/Konecny Sweep Big Ten Weekly Awards
Senior second baseman Eric Roeder and junior right-handed pitcher Dan Konecny were named Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Week by the conference for the week of Feb. 18.

Roeder recorded a batting average of .600 to lead the Wildcats to their first 2-0 start since 1986, when the team produced a 39-14 record. The senior was 3-for-5 on the weekend with a walk and was also hit by a pitch for an on-base percentage of .714. He produced two RBI, including the game-winner in Northwestern's 1-0 shutout of Brigham Young. Roeder becomes the first Wildcats player in the last two years to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors, as no NU players were selected in 2001 or 2002. Konecny went seven strong innings in his first start of 2003, shutting out BYU on the way to a 1-0 victory. The junior right-hander scattered four hits and notched three strikeouts while facing only 27 batters. Konecny was making his first start since April 20, 2002, as he missed the second half of the last season with mononucleosis. He started six games in 2002, pitching one complete game and striking out 26 batters on his way to a 1-4 record.

Two Weeks in a Row
Senior catcher Ken Padgett was named Big Ten Player of the Week by the conference office for the week of Feb. 25.

Padgett batted .727 (8-for-11) at the South Alabama Coca-Cola Classic last weekend, as NU went 2-1 in the tournament and improved to 4-1 on the season. The senior recorded six runs, five runs batted in, three doubles and a home run to post an imposing slugging percentage of 1.273. Padgett turned in his most impressive performance against St. John's, going 3-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and four RBI to spark NU to the 18-12 victory.

Mr. Consistent
Since earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors, junior right-hander Dan Konecny has been an example of consistency. So far this season, Konecny has logged 30.1 innings, giving up seven runs on 25 hits for a 2.08 ERA. Opponents are hitting a measly .227 as he has gone more than seven innings in all four outings this season.

From Deep In the Hole
Sophomore Jon Mikrut has started every game at shortstop this season and leads the everyday starters in batting average (17-for-42, .405), slugging percentage (.619), on-base percentage (.432), total bases (26), hits (17), RBI (11) and triples (2).

Streaking
Not only is Jon Mikrut leading the team in most offensive categories, the Illinois native is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, dating back to Feb. 22 at South Alabama. On the season, Mikrut has hit safely in nine of NU's 11 games.

I Got Five On It
Senior first-baseman Travis Tharp had five RBI in one game earlier this season. Against St. John's-a game NU won 18-12-Tharp went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBI. Tharp singled twice, hit a home run and was hit by a pitch in the game.

Finding a Fourth
So far this season, every weekend has been a three-game series. But now that the conference season is closing in, head coach Paul Stevens and pitching coach Tim Stoddard need to find a fourth starter for the rotation. Viable options out of the bullpen are: Mark Ori, who is 1-0 and has five appearances with 10.1 innings under his belt; Dan Brauer, also 1-0, has tallied two saves and has yet to give up a run in 10.2 innings of work; Stanley Finch, started two games last season and pitched 19.1 innings.

Run Support
Through 11 games a year ago NU had a 4-7 record and had scored 49 runs. Through 11 games this season, NU is 6-5 and have plated 66 runs.

Battling the Buckeyes
For the second-straight season, NU opens the conference schedule against the Ohio State Buckeyes. A year ago in Columbus, the Wildcats lost three of a four-game series. The two teams also met in the annual Big Ten Tournament with OSU coming out on top 5-2. Since 1998, NU is 4-13 against the Buckeyes, including a 1-4 record at neutral sites.

Stevens vs. Todd
Both Wildcat coach Paul Stevens and Buckeye skipper Bob Todd are the winningest coaches at their respective schools. Stevens, a 15-year veteran at NU, has compiled a 403-436-4 record while Todd, who is also part of the 2002-03 NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, is 614-301-2 in 16 years at OSU. Todd is 738-383-2 in 20 years as a Division I head coach.

Multiplicity
Shortstop Jon Mikrut has a career-high eight-game hitting streak. For the season, Mikrut has six games in which he has recorded two or more hits. Second baseman Eric Roeder and catcher Ken Padgett each have four.

Shutouts
A year ago, NU played in seven shutout games. In those games, the Wildcats went 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. So far in 2003, NU is 2-0 with wins over Brigham Young (1-0) and Temple (3-0).

In the State of Florida
Since 1998 NU has made an annual trip to Florida except in 1999 when they went to Hawaii. The 'Cats have compiled a 16-11 record in four years. Their best trip to the Sunshine State came in 2000 when they went 8-1 with their only loss to Miami, which had won the national championship the year before.

The Sunshine State
NU Freshman Julio Siberio is a Florida native, coming from the city of Davie, which is north of Miami and southeast of Fort Lauderdale. Siberio went to St. Thomas Aquinas high school and has one appearance this season. He pitched one inning at South Alabama.