March 18, 2006
Box Score
RENO, NV - Northern Illinois fell 17-10 Saturday at Nevada in a score more fitting for football as the Huskies and Wolfpack combined for 27 runs on 27 hits with home runs in the contest. NIU moves to 5-11 on the season while Nevada ups its mark to 9-12. The two teams meet Sunday to cap a five-game series that has been filled with offense.
The Huskies pounced on Nevada in their first at-bat as Pat Minogue blasted his first career home run over the left field fence on the game's second pitch. From there, NIU added five more runs on a Jesse Seykora sacrifice fly, a Jeff Thomas RBI single, and a two-run triple by Brian Smith, who later scored on a wild pitch.
Seykora singled home Scott Simon in the second inning and Minogue singled home Smith in the third as NIU raced to an 8-0 lead.
Nevada answered by tallying seven runs in the third inning, keyed by a three-run home run by Matt Bowman. Drew Johnson hit a two-run shot in the fourth to give the Wolfpack a 9-8 lead.
The Huskies drew even at nine in the top of the fifth on a Minogue RBI groundout that plated Bobby Stevens, who led off the frame with a triple. Shawn Scobee and Jordan Opdyke homered in consecutive innings as Nevada scored three in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 14-9 advantage.
Justin Behm scored the Huskies final run when he crossed the plate in the seventh inning on a bases-loaded Brian Toner walk. Nevada added three insurance runs in their half of the inning on three doubles.
Mingoue paced the NIU offense by going three-for-six with three runs and three RBI. Smith added three hits, two runs and two RBI on the afternoon.
"Nevada is swinging the bat very well, but we gave them too many free passes," said head coach Ed Mathey. "Pat Minogue set the tone early for us by leading off the game with a home run and had a real nice approach today. Brian Smith also had a good game at the plate for us."
Matt Jernstad started the game before giving way to Mark Badgley (1-1), who took the loss in relief. Steven Masten (1-1) picked up the win for Nevada.
The Huskies and Wolfpack conclude their series Sunday afternoon with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. local/3 p.m. central time. Brandon Hodge is scheduled to start on the hill, making his season debut, as NIU concludes its spring break trip. Coverage will be available on Gametracker, accessible through the baseball schedule page of www.niuhuskies.com.
NOTABLE HUSKIE TRACKS ...
-Pat Minogue set a career-high with three RBI.
-Brian Smith had a season-best three RBI, two runs scored and equaled his season-high with two RBI.
-Marc Besteman has seven hits in his last two games.
-Nevada's 17 runs were the most scored against the Huskies this season.
