THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | SPORTS 11
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013
Baseball
NU faces in-state foe with postseason berth at risk Northwestern vs. Illinois
By ALEX PUTTERMAN
the daily northwestern @AlexPutt02
Champaign Friday-Sunday
In late February, two games into Northwestern’s 2013 campaign, outfielder Walker Moses outlined the team’s goal for the season. “It’s definitely to get in the top six and make it into the (Big Ten) playoffs,” the sophomore said at the time. Now, two months later, the Wildcats (17-15, 6-9 Big Ten) need to close their season strong to accomplish that objective. The battle for the final few spots in the Big Ten Tournament begins this weekend with a three-game series against Illinois (24-12, 6-6 Big Ten) in Champaign. The matchup will be a clash of opposing strengths: NU prides itself on pitching, while Illinois wins with its bats. The Fighting Illini are averaging 6.7 runs per game and second in the Big Ten in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, walks, doubles, home runs, total bases and runs scored, trailing only Indiana in each category. “We’re excited to go play at U of I,” redshirt senior shortstop Trevor Stevens said. “It’s a great hitters
ballpark, and we know our pitchers are going to shut them down, like they have been all year.” The Cats, fourth in the conference in ERA and fifth in batting average against, will return to their usual starting rotation after the weather and subsequent game at Wrigley Field threw the staff out of sync last weekend. Redshirt senior Zach Morton will start Friday, followed by senior Luke Farrell on Saturday and sophomore Brandon Magallones on Sunday. Illinois’ offense is powered by senior outfielder Justin Parr, who leads the Big Ten with a .435 batting average and 98 total bases. He is second in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and RBI. Justin’s twin brother, Jordan, a redshirt junior, is hitting .310 with 34 runs scored, tied for third in the Big Ten in that category, and 17 stolen bases, tied for second. In the aftermath of a 5-0 loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday, coach Paul Stevens said he was glad his team’s struggles came outside of Big Ten play,
calling the coming weekend series “extremely important.” Given the conference standings, that could be an understatement. At 6-9 in Big Ten play, NU stands eighth in the conference with nine Big Ten games remaining. Michigan State holds sixth place with a 5-4 record, and Illinois is seventh at 6-6. A failure to at least take two out of three from the Fighting Illini could end the Cats’ postseason hopes. “I’m sure it’s in guys’ minds,” Stevens said. “But we’re more focused about the next game, more so than the weekend. We just got to prepare for Friday, and then however that plays out, then we’ll move on to Saturday.” If NU does handle Illinois, it will have another shot to gain ground from a borderline playoff team next weekend, when it hosts fifth-place Ohio State, currently 9-6 in conference. The Cats’ last Big Ten series of the season will pit them against Indiana (31-8, 8-4 Big Ten) from May 10 to 12. What happens if the Cats do qualify for the tournament? “If we get into the playoffs,” Moses continued, back in February. “We’ll make a run for it.” alexputterman2016@u.northwestern.edu
Daily file photo by Meghan White
IN A HOLE NU needs to finish in the top-6 to make the Big Ten Tournament, but it is currently in eighth place in the conference.
Women’s Tennis
Cats prepare for battle to regain B1G tournament title By MIKE MARUT
the daily northwestern
With the Big Ten Tournament beginning Thursday, the conference seeded Northwestern at No. 3 after finishing the regular season at 9-2 in conference play. The Wildcats’ only losses in conference play came to the top two seeds, Michigan and Nebraska. The top four seeds in the tournament have been granted a bye for the first round. NU will face No. 6 Indiana on Friday in the quarterfinals after the Hoosiers took out No. 11 Wisconsin 4-0. “I think the key to advancing is not overlooking
Indiana,” coach Claire Pollard said. “The doubles points are important. We’ve got to turn around a couple of matches that we lost in the regular season.” Last time the Cats took on the Hoosiers, Indiana was without Carolyn Chupa due to a concussion. NU took Indiana by storm, though, and won 6-1, the only Indiana victory coming from Leslie Hureau in the No. 1 singles match. Chupa is expected to play in the tournament. “In the tournament, any team can show up,” senior Kate Turvy said. “A lot of teams have a ton of energy since it’s just one tournament. We’re just excited to get out there no matter which team we play.” Both Turvy and Pollard said the team has missed some opportunities this season, and NU must
No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 3 Northwestern Bloomington, Ind. 2 p.m. Friday
capitalize on those chances this weekend. “We’re going to have to go out and fight,” Turvy said. “We’ll need to execute better. We’ve had opportunities all season, and now’s the time to execute.” Senior Linda Abu Mushrefova believes she will have to play her top game to help the Cats reclaim the tournament title. Tennis is not an individual sport, though, and each player must rely on the team to advance further.
“If we’re to win this tournament, then everyone’s got to (contribute),” Pollard said. “It can’t just be a couple of spots. Every day a different team (of doubles) or a different player is going to have to step up and help us win something that we were not able to do during the regular season.” Pollard dismissed the idea of losing focus with a first-round bye. The team has not played on the first day of the tournament under Pollard’s leadership, and NU has won 13 of the last 14 Big Ten tournament titles. Tournament play began Thursday with seeds No. 5-12 playing in the first round. mike82293@gmail.com
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