Final Stats

AKRON - The NIU baseball team (13-20, 4-7 MAC) dropped its doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Lee R. Jackson Field as Akron (15-16, 7-4 MAC) clinched the series with a 4-1 victory in game one and a 6-2 win in game two.

Pitcher Ben Neumann (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) hurled his first career complete game, striking out six batters in the effort. Tony Brandner (Richfield, Wis./Winthrop) recorded one hit in each game. Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence) and Johnny Zubek (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) each recorded an RBI on the day.

"Our character is being tested as ball players right now. We need to continue to prepare and work everyday to get better. I have said it over and over again, this team has the ability to compete for a MAC title. We just need to keep working, keep grinding and keep believing," said Head Coach Mike Kunigonis.

"We had multiple opportunities to put more runs on the board and couldn't capitalize. Akron has a good pitching staff and really did a good job keeping us off balance. We will be prepared to bounce back tomorrow and get back in the win column.

The Huskies and Zips will close the series tomorrow at noon Central.

GAME ONE
In a battle of lefties, Neumann and Akron's John Valek engaged in three hitless innings to start the game, with only Brandner reaching base via walk in the second inning.

The Huskies broke the hitless duct as Wood singled down the left field line in the fourth inning, scoring Sisler from second, who drew a two out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, to put the Huskies on top, 1-0. Akron equalized in the bottom half of the inning on a single and took the lead on a bases loaded walk, 2-1. The Zips plated two more runs in the frame to go ahead, 4-1.

Akron hurler Valek minimized the Huskie offense throughout the rest of the game as he only allowed two hits in the fourth and no more through the rest of the game. Wood collected a hit in the top of the ninth after Sisler reached base via error to put two runners on against reliever Matt LaRocca but the Huskies couldn't scratch the runners across to end the game, 4-1.

Neumann is the first NIU pitcher since Eli Anderson on March 22, 2014 versus Buffalo to fall in a complete game performance. In his 8.0 innings of work, Neumann gave up five hits, struck out six, one looking, and walked five. He tossed 113 pitches, 65 for strike (.575).

The game, 2:10, was NIU's fastest of the Mid-American Conference season.

GAME TWO
Akron jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning, capped by a two-run fifth inning, accounting for seven of its 10 hits in the game to that point.

NIU responded in the top of the sixth inning, starting with a leadoff bunt single by Malique Ziegler (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines East). After moving to second on a wild pitch and then to third on an error by the pitcher, Ziegler scored on a groundout by Zubek to bring the Huskies within three, 4-1.

The Huskies would then scratch across one more run in the seventh as Wood was hit by a 1-0 pitch to lead the frame and advanced to third on two wild pitches. Second baseman Justin Fletcher (Pekin, Ill./Illinois Central College) would score Wood on an error by the first baseman, cutting the deficit in half, 4-2.

After Kevin Jones (Chesterton, Ind./Portage) held the Zips scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, the Zips would score two runs in the eighth inning to increase its lead, 6-2. Fletcher would single in the ninth but the Huskies couldn't string anymore hits together to complete the comeback.