Feb. 20, 2010

Game One Final Stats

Game Two Final Stats

Game One Box

Game Two Box

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Northern Illinois baseball team came up short on both ends of a doubleheader with Collegiate Baseball No. 5 Arizona State Saturday at Packard Stadium, where the Sun Devils (3-0) took Game One, 10-5, from the Huskies (0-3) and won Game Two, 26-1, in a shortened seven innings of play.

The ASU bats started the day hot with 10 runs on 10 hits in the first game and finished even hotter with 26 runs on 25 hits in the night cap. Combined, Arizona State tallied 19 extra base hits on the day.

The Sun Devils began Game One with a two-run first inning after an RBI triple from first baseman Zack MacPhee and an RBI double by designated hitter Zach Wilson. The teams then exchanged a run apiece before ASU opened up its lead with a six-run fourth with help from six walks by NIU sophomore starter Jake Hermsen (New London, Wis./New London). The frame was highlighted by a two-run double from Wilson.

The Huskies battled back with three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. Senior left fielder Dave Reynolds (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single to start the scoring in the fifth. Two plays later, senior right fielder Jordin Hood (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) scored on a balk by ASU starter Merrill Kelly. Sophomore third baseman Troy White (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) then had an RBI groundout to round out the frame. Hood reached base again in the sixth with a single to narrow the deficit to 10-5, but the Huskies could not muster enough to complete the comeback in the final three innings.

"Obviously, the results aren't what we were looking for tonight," said NIU head coach Ed Mathey. "Competitively, we did a better job in Game One than we did yesterday. We battled back from the six-run fourth inning. Jake threw fairly effectively in the first few innings, but fell behind in the count to hitters and started walking people, and it caught up to him. We can't do that against a team like this. Down 9-1, the kids came out in the fifth to put us back in the game, and all of a sudden it was a 9-5 game after the sixth. I was happy with the way we swung the bats and battled back. We saw some good things."

Kelly (1-0) earned the win after giving up three earned runs on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts in five innings, while Brady Rodgers received the save (1) after throwing the final four innings, giving up one earned run on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Hermsen (0-1) took the loss after surrendering nine earned runs on eight hits and seven walks with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

Wilson led the ASU offensive attack with three hits, two doubles, in five at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two. Hood led the Huskies by going 2-for-3 with a run, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and an RBI, while sophomore shortstop Alex Jones (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) added two hits in five at-bats.

Game Two started just like Game One, as ASU pushed two runs across the plate in the first. But then the Sun Devil bats exploded for back-to-back nine-run frames in the second and third innings to take an insurmountable 20-0 lead over the Huskies.

The Sun Devils also added five runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, while NIU's lone run came in the third after an RBI fielder's choice by sophomore left fielder Alex Beckmann (Batavia, Ill./Batavia).

"Game Two was a different story," Mathey said. "Arizona State was very impressive with the bats. It was a sloppy game with some of the rain that came through, but it didn't slow them down like we thought it might. They kept their offensive assault on all game, and I tip my hat to them."

ASU starter Jake Borup (1-0) received the win after throwing five innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts. In his first mound appearance since 2006, Huskie senior starter Brian Smith (Chicago Ridge, Ill./Richards) took the loss (0-1) after giving up 11 earned runs on nine hits and three walks in 1.2 innings.

"It was Brian's first outing in three years," Mathey said. "He was probably a little nervous, but he's got something to go out and work on now."

MacPhee led the Arizona State offense with a 4-for-4 game that included two triples and a home run, four runs and five RBI.

Three Huskies notched their first hits in an NIU uniform, as freshman pitcher Ben Etcheverry (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region), junior transfer left fielder Tom Kotis (Rockford, Ill./Madison Area Tech) and sophomore transfer catcher Brian Riegler (Downers Grove, Ill./Kishwaukee C.C.) each had a single.

The teams will finish the four-game series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. CDT contest.

"Hopefully, we can go out, get on track tomorrow and head home on a really positive note with a win," said Mathey.