Final Stats

Toledo 9, NIU 8 

DeKALB - A two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth by Brian Sisler (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) lifted NIU (19-26, 12-7 MAC) within one run of Toledo (11-34-1, 6-10 MAC), but the Huskies could not complete the comeback as they fell to the Rockets, 9-8.

Sisler finished 2-for-5 with a triple, a home run, two RBI and two runs while Jason Gasser (Dyer, Ind./Mt. Carmel) went 2-for-4 at the plate with a solo home run and two runs. Stephen Letz (Dyer, Ind./South Suburban College) also collected two hits and two RBI.

“It was a tough day. Anytime you make four errors in a game, you’re going to be behind the eight ball. We battled back in the ninth again but came up short,” said Head Coach Mike Kunigonis. “We need to bounce back and get back in the series tomorrow.”

Toledo jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the top of the second, capped by a two-run homer by Matt Hansen to push the Rockets forward.

The Huskies rallied in the bottom of the inning, rattling off four hits in the frame. Three-straight singles by Carl Russell (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake North), Johnny Zubek (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) and Gasser cut the NIU deficit in half, 4-2, setting up a groundout RBI by Tommy Hook (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) and a RBI single by Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence) to tie the game, 4-4.

With one out in the fourth, Gasser put NIU back on top with a solo home run to left field, 5-4. The Huskies increased their lead, 6-4, in the fifth as Sisler tripled with one out and scored on the next at-bat as Letz singled to left field.

Toledo responded with five unanswered runs, scratching two in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

The Huskies brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth but were unable to capitalize on the momentum in the frame. With time running out in the ninth, Wood was hit by an 0-2 pitch with two outs as he forced Josh Cales onto the mound in relief of Alex Wagner.

On Cales third pitch, Sisler left little doubt on his first swing as he smashed a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence and one-hopped the baseball off of Huskie Stadium to lift NIU within one run, 9-8. Letz ended the game as he fouled out to the catcher.

The series will resume tomorrow afternoon as first pitch is set for 1 p.m. Central. Please visit NIUHuskies.com for schedule updates with inclement weather in the forecast.