The cloudy skies and chilly wind did not deter a small sprinkling of fans who turned out Tuesday afternoon to see the Wildcat baseball team (9-21) take on the Valparaiso Crusaders (11-19) at Rocky Miller Park. Parents, girlfriends, and classmates of the players devotedly sat through all nine innings of the 10-1 loss.
McCormick junior Kristin Vicari said she went to high school with some of the Northwestern players.
“I just come to enjoy the game and sit outside,” Vicari said. “I like the smaller games because you can just walk right in and sit down and you can hear what [the players] are saying to each other.”
Valparaiso quickly scored a run in the first inning, and the Wildcats immediately responded with hits from Jake Owens and Antonio Mule to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. But a groundball forced out the runner at home, and the next batter hit into a double play to end the inning. The Wildcats did not score until the ninth.
“That one dinger really killed them,” Evanston resident Guy Brown said, reflecting on the game. He pulled his hood up snugly and watched as another Valpo player found a hole in the Northwestern defense.
Six different Northwestern pitchers attempted to contain the Crusaders and failed, giving up thirteen hits. In the fifth inning, pitcher Jonathan Purcell allowed runners to reach second and third, then laid a high fastball in front of Valpo senior Ryan Manthei who hit a three-run homer that brought the Crusaders to a 5-0 lead, swinging the momentum firmly in their direction.
“They’re not getting it done,” Brown said. “If you’ve got a fresh pitcher, you’ve got to throw them in. If they’ve got his ticket, and they’re just hitting him like crazy like this one, well, you’ve got to yank him.”
None of the first four pitchers could find the strike zone consistently, giving up almost as many walks as hits. Pitcher David Jensen loaded the bases in the seventh inning and then walked in a run, taking the Crusaders to 7-0. His replacement also threw a poor inning, giving Valparaiso a 10-0 lead entering the ninth.
“Maybe they’re really good but they’re just in a really a hard league,” Vicari said. “Or maybe they’re not so good.”
The Wildcats finally got a break from the Valpo bullpen, and senior Mike Kalina was walked. He tapped the dirt off his cleats and took a generous leadoff from first. Catcher Tony Vercelli stepped up to the plate and smashed the ball deep between left and center field, scoring Kalina.
Still, Brown said he is optimistic about the remainder of the season, despite the the team’s struggles to click in certain situations.
“They’re playing well,” Brown said. “They have the potential. They’ve got the hitters. They’ve got a strong team. They just got to kick it up a notch.”
The Wildcat baseball team next plays at home Tuesday, April 24 against UW-Milwaukee.