April 11, 2010

Final Stats

Final Box

OXFORD, Ohio - The final contest of a three-game Mid-American Conference series against Miami (Ohio) looked a lot like the first two games, but ended with a positive result this time, as the Northern Illinois baseball team rallied late to earn a 5-4 decision over the RedHawks (14-16, 3-6 MAC) Sunday.

"This was a big victory for us because if you can't win the series, you cannot get swept," said NIU head baseball coach Ed Mathey. "We need to take this approach into next week's games. We battled well today. It was a positive effort."

On a warm, partly cloudy afternoon in McKie Field at Hayden Park, the Huskies (11-19, 4-5 MAC), like Game One, gave up one run in the first inning and three in the second for a 4-0 early deficit. But, again, the Huskie starter, this time Tom Barry, settled down to give the offense a chance to rally. And they did.

The comeback started in the fifth. In his first start in the batting order since 2008, Brian Smith drew a one-out walk and Alex Beckmann backed it up with a single off the pitcher's glove. A balk then put runners in scoring position for Brett Frantini, who grounded out to third to score Smith.

In their next at-bat, the Huskies scratched another run with a two-out rally. Jordin Hood blasted a double to right field that one-hopped off the wall. On the next play, Joe Etcheverry hooked a single down the right field line to score Hood.

Both teams then failed to score any runs in the seventh, despite each having runners in scoring position with less than two outs.

NIU posted its first multi-run inning of the series in the eighth to tie it, 4-4. Hood started it again by roping a single up the middle. Following walks by Etcheverry and Troy White, the bases were loaded for Smith, who scored Hood on a sacrifice fly to left. After Beckmann moved the runners on a grounder to second, in which a diving play was made, Frantini stepped to the plate. With Tom Kotis on third as a pinch-runner for Etcheverry, he drew a pick-off attempt from the catcher. The throw was low and hit Kotis on the right foot, bouncing away toward shallow left and allowing the Huskies to tie it, as the Miami short stop couldn't get to the ball in time and Kotis scampered home.

"It was pretty fortunate for us that their catcher decided to make that throw," said Mathey. "The ball just caught enough of his foot and he jumped back up and ran to the plate. I don't know why he threw the ball, but I'm glad he did."

The Huskies then turned to Andy Deain, who threw a perfect eighth, allowing the offense to continue its momentum in the ninth. Krupp began the frame with a walk, but was forced out at second on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Alex Jones, which was popped up and dropped to the left of the mound, forcing Krupp to freeze at first. Dave Reynolds followed with a double down the right field line, causing Hood to be intentionally walked because first base was open. Pinch-hitter Joe Buonavolanto then delivered the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Jones.

"That was a good inning for us," said Mathey. "We had the spot that was vacated after running for Etcheverry. Kotis was a good matchup, being a lefty with a righty on the mound, but we wanted a veteran hitter in Joe in that situation. Joe had a great approach and did a good job driving an outside pitch to right for the RBI."

In the bottom of the ninth, Deain allowed a one-out hit, but that was all Miami could get, as the Huskies salvaged the series finale on a fly to right that died in Jake Hermsen's glove.

Less than 24 hours after a tough outing, Deain showed the trademark of a veteran by bouncing back strong, as the senior earned the win (2-1) in his two-inning appearance by surrendering just one hit and recording three strikeouts.

"That was a veteran guy out there who understood that he needed to be ready to get back out there," Mathey said. "He was looking forward to a chance to redeem himself. He made some clutch pitches when he needed to and threw the ball well. It was good to get that last out."

After a solid two wins in four midweek starts this season, Barry earned his first weekend start in a Huskie uniform, settling in after an eventful first two frames to hold the RedHawks scoreless over his last three. The lefty pitched around a two-out walk in the third, with a strikeout. He worked a perfect fourth, and with two on and two out after a single and a walk in the fifth, he froze the pinch-hitter with an inside fastball to end his day. In his five frames, he gave up four runs on seven hits and five walks with four strikeouts for the no-decision.

"Tom threw a lot of pitches today," Mathey said. "He was ahead in the count a lot but there were a few balls that he left over the plate. He threw the ball well today, though. He battled and kept it close and gave us a chance. We are really happy with that type of effort."

Tom Zelasko and Kyle Glancy also threw effectively to help the pitching staff hold Miami scoreless over the last seven. Zelasko posted 1.1 innings of work, giving up just two hits and getting out of a sixth-inning jam. Glancy tallied 0.2 innings, allowing a hit and walk with one strikeout and escaped the seventh-inning threat.

"It was good to see them put up zeroes for us because when you are chasing up hill, the last thing you want to do is create a bigger hill," Mathey said. "They made some big pitches when they had to."

After getting the win yesterday, NIU handed Jordan Jankowski a loss (2-2) after he allowed one run on one hit and two walks with one strikeout in two innings.

Hood led the attack with a 3-for-4 performance, scoring two runs and a walk. In addition to Reynolds and Etcheverry, Beckmann and Frantini added one hit apiece, as well.

"When we hit to the opposite field, we can be a decent team," Mathey said. "We finally got it going a little bit on offense. The only lead we had was in the last inning of the last game in the series. Our kids battled out there at the end and it was good to see a positive result because of it."

Next up for NIU is a five-game home stand, beginning with the first of three 2010 professional stadium games, as the Huskies will host Northwestern Wednesday, April 14th. The contest will be played at the Rockford RiverHawks' Road Ranger Stadium in Loves Park, Ill. with a first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT.