TOLEDO, Ohio, - The NIU baseball team (6-16, 2-0 MAC) won the second game of their three-game MAC series at Toledo in 11 innings. The Huskies got down 4-0 in the first inning then scored one in the sixth, three in the eighth to tie before getting three in the 11
th to take the lead.
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"This was a great, grind it out win for us today," Head Coach
Mike Kunigonis. "We did a good job battling all game to stay in it."
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Freshman pitcher
Nathan Thomas pitched seven shutout innings in relief of
William Anderson, coming in for the second inning through the eighth. Toledo loaded the bases in the ninth with one out as
Ryne Blanton entered the game and got a ground ball that
Samuel Vega turned into a double play with a nice backhand scoop and cross body throw to first.
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"Nate came in and kept us in the game from the moment he came out of the pen," Kunigonis said. "He did a great job of settling down their offense after the first inning they had."
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The game was tied heading into the ninth after the Huskies three-run eighth with doubles form
Tommy Szczasny and
Joe Jumonville then a two-out RBI single by
Mike Roberson to tie it up at 4-4.
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In the 11
th NIU took the lead on a chopper to third by Vega that scored
Brad Wood from third.
Roderick Bynum later scored the sixth NIU run on a wild pitch then Vega scored on a single by Carl Russel to push the lead to 7-4.
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NIU's leading hitter was freshman
Jacob Dunham from the designated hitter spot, going three for four with a walk and an RBI. Szczasny, Jumonville, Roberson and Wood all added two hits of their own.
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Blanton finished the game throwing two and two thirds innings in the ninth and extras to earn his first win of the season. Thomas struck out five and gave up only three hits in his seven innings of relief to keep NIU in the game.
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"This is a good team win and a good character building win for this team," Kunigonis said. "We will be back at it tomorrow and be ready to go."
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NIU clinches the series win and move to 2-0 in Mid-American Conference play with a chance for the sweep on Sunday with a change in game time to 10:00 a.m. Eastern 9:00 a.m. Central. HuskieBall fans can follow the team on Instagram @niu_baseball and on Twitter @NIU_Baseball.
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