Final Stats

IOWA CITY - In its first extra innings game of the season, the NIU baseball team (15-25) pushed No. 17 Iowa (27-11) to its threshold as Andrew Frankenreider (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) carved his way through 2.2 innings of work, striking out five. His lone walk of the day with the bases loaded on a full count and two men down resulted in the winning run however as the Hawkeyes defeated the Huskies, 4-3.

In the top of the 10th, the Huskies nearly took the 4-3 lead with a runner on third and two outs as Malique Ziegler (Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines East) sped down the base path after chopping a ball to third base. Ziegler lost the footrace to first by a step to usher in the bottom of the 10th.

Carl Russell (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake North) led the Huskies with three hits, going 3-for-4 while Johnny Zubek (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) went 2-for-3 with two runs. Frankenreider fanned five in the game to tie his career-high in strike outs, catching two batters looking, as he hurled a a career-high 70 pitches (.600 strike/ball ratio).

"We had a great opportunity tonight to beat a regional rival. Unfortunately we let it slip away. We are still working on consistency and finding ways to win. Our pitching staff did a great job tonight and kept us tight all night. I feel for those guys because we couldn't find a way to win for them," said Head Coach Mike Kunigonis.

"The margin for error at the highest level is so small. It's one inning, one at bat and one pitch that decides if you win or lose. As a team we are still learning to play every inning, every at-bat and every pitch. We will bounce back and be ready to go on Friday against Eastern Michigan," Kunigonis added.

The Huskies got to Hawkeye pitcher Nick Gallagher early, forcing Iowa to make a move to the bullpen after 2.1 innings. In that time, NIU put two runners in scoring position and made it three on the first pitch by reliever Connor Grant as Johnny Zubek (Oak forest, Ill./Oak Forest) and Tony Brandner (Richfield, Wis./Winthrop) sat at third and second, respectively.

After Brian Sisler (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) drew a walk to load the bases with one out, Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence) hit a fielder's choice RBI to score Zubek and put NIU on the board first.

Iowa tied it up on a 1-6-3 groundout double play with a runner on third in the bottom of the fourth and took its first lead on a home run by Eric Schenk-Joblinske, 2-1.

In the next half inning, NIU responded as Justin Fletcher (Pekin, Ill./Illinois Central College) reached base via error to lead the inning and went to third on a single by Zubek. Brandner would knot it up on a sacrifice line drive to right field, 2-2. Sisler put NIU back in the lead with a standup double down the left field line, his 12th of the year, to score Zubek, 3-2.

Momentum stayed with NIU as reliever Donovin Sims (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) retired Iowa in order in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to keep the Huskies in prime position for victory. Sims only allowed two hits with four strikeouts and no walks as NIU turned three double plays behind him.

Frankenreider stepped onto the bump for NIU in the bottom of the ninth, looking for his seventh save of the season. After giving up a leadoff double, the sophomore bounced back recording a called strike three and forcing another groundout to get two outs. A single through the left side would tie the game, 3-3, and force extra innings.

NIU came out determined in the top of the 10th as Fletcher drew a leadoff walk and quickly advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jason Gasser (Dyer, Ind./Mt. Carmel). He advanced to third on a groundout by Zubek, setting up Ziegler's footrace to first base.

Frakenreider recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the 10th, striking out the last two batters in the inning to usher in the 11th.

The Huskies will return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend, hosting Eastern Michigan at Ralph McKinzie field. The series will begin Friday, April 24 at 3:05 p.m.