April 26, 2005

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern scored 17 times after the fourth inning to break open a 1-1 game and defeat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team, 18-6, in a non-league contest Tuesday afternoon in Evanston, Ill. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 17-19 on the season, while the Wildcats improve to 18-17 in 2005.

With the game tied at 1-1, NU struck for three runs in the fifth inning, courtesy of an RBI double and three-straight singles. Northwestern then built its lead to 11-1 with four more runs in the sixth and three in the seventh.

After a single run by the home team in the third, Milwaukee had tied the game off the bat of sophomore Ross McCoy in the fifth inning. McCoy connected on his second home run of the season to left center field with one out in the frame.

The Panthers tacked on three more runs in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 11-4. Senior Brooks Graff led off with a single and, two batters later, junior Joe Nowicki walked. Sophomore Rob Brockel, who entered in left field the inning prior, hit a three-run home run to left field. It was his second home run of the season, and in his last seven at-bats.

Sophomore starter Robert Michalkiewicz (2-4) absorbed the loss, allowing 12 hits and eight runs in 5.2 innings. The southpaw also walked four and struck out two on the day. Sophomore Mike Rauwerdink and junior Jed Dolske combined to finish the game for UWM, allowing 12 hits and 10 runs, with just two being earned.

Two errors in the eighth inning opened the door for Northwestern to score seven runs in the ninth inning, with just one being earned. NU finished the day with 24 hits, as Jon Mikrut and Pat McMahon finished with five hits apiece and Aaron Newman collected four.

In the ninth inning, UWM pushed across two more runs after a bases loaded single by Brockel and a Northwestern balk. Brockel led the Panther offense with hits in both his at bats and four RBIs. Freshman Grant Berkovitz also had two hits, while seven more players had one.

UWM returns to Chicago on Friday (April 29) for another non-league contest, this time with Chicago State. The Panthers and Cougars are set to start at 3 p.m.