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DeKALB - NIU baseball (9-21, 5-4 MAC) won its second Mid-American Conference series of the season Saturday evening, winning it in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs versus Central Michigan (7-26, 2-4 MAC), 3-2. The Huskies lost the opening game of the doubleheader, 7-6.

Reliever Joe Hawks (Johnston, Iowa/Iowa Central College) picked up the first win of his NIU career as he worked out of a jam in the top of the 10th while Donovin Sims (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah Community) tossed 9.1 innings. Tommy Hook (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) went 5-for-7 at the plate in the doubleheader with his final hit accounting for the winning run as pinch runner Alex Smith (Mahomet, Ill./Parkland College) scored the winning run replacing Hook.

“That was a great series win. It was a hard fought battle all weekend. We had a disappointing loss in game one but this team is resilient and we found a way to bounce back and get the walk-off win in game two,” said Head Coach Mike Kunigonis. “(Donovin) Simsy had another great outing and we pitched very well in both games. We’re starting to hit our stride as a team. I’m excited for this group and the way we always battle and never give up.”

The Huskies will return to action on Tuesday night when it takes on UIC in downtown Chicago April 12. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., on ESPN3.

GAME ONE
Ryan Olson (Sterling, Ill./Newman Central Catholic) was solid as the Huskies starter, tossing 7.1 innings while allowing four unearned runs. NIU accounted for three errors in the ballgame that allowed CMU to score its last five runs.

The Chippewas scored two in the opening frame, the first time all season it had scored in the first, as Daniel Jipping hit a two run home run. Northern Illinois responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame as Hook and Justin Fletcher (Pekin, Ill./Illinois Central College) scored on a Brandon Mallder (Bridgeview, Ill./St. Laurence) double.

After CMU countered with two more runs in the third, the Huskies tacked on four more runs in the bottom half of the inning as NIU took advantage of a pair of errors at third base and two hits to take a 6-4 lead.

Central Michigan scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 7-6 lead in the game. NIU nearly forced extras in the bottom of the ninth as Brian Sisler (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb), who went 2-for-5 in the game, curled the first pitch of his at-bat just West of the left-field foul pole. The Huskie singled and advanced to on a throwing error later in the at-bat, however, he would end the game at second as CMU won, 7-6.

Designated hitter Austin Stout (Yorktown, Ind./Olney Central College) went 3-for-3 in the game with two RBI and a walk to reach base in every plate appearance.

GAME TWO
Sims became the second Huskie this season to throw 9-or-more innings and earn a no decision in 2016. The hurler was efficient, throwing 118 pitches with 84 strikes in the contest (71.2 percent strike efficiency).

With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the 10th and runners on the corners and one out, Sims stepped off the rubber, giving way for Hawks in relief.

Central Michigan attempted a suicide squeeze with Alex Borglin at the plate, but Hawks’ curveball broke away from Borglin’s bat, catching the runner on third in a 2-5-3 run down on the play. Heads up base running by the Chippewas pushed the runner on first all the way to third with two outs. Borglin would fly out to give NIU the last chance.

Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence) grounded out to lead the inning, Hook singled through the right side to put the winning run aboard. Smith stepped on as a pinch runner for Hook and quickly went to second as Fletcher singled past the third baseman.

After a long and hard line out by Sisler for the second out, Mallder drew a walk on four-straight pitches to load the bases and bring Stephen Letz (Dyer, Ind./South Suburban College) to the plate.

CMU reliever Colton Bradley spiked the first pitch in the dirt, ricocheting the ball off catcher Robert Greenman’s right shoulder pad and into foul territory towards the NIU dugout, allowing Smith to break for home where he slid head first into the plate before the throw reached home to give NIU the 3-2 walk-off win for the series.

Hook and Fletcher combined for the Huskies five hits in the game as Hook led with three. Fletcher recorded NIU’s only extra-base hit of the game as he doubled in the third.