IOWA CITY, Iowa – The NIU baseball team (2-10) dropped their fifth straight game on Tuesday to Iowa 12-8. The Huskies scored a season-high eight runs in defeat as they gave up three or more runs in three different innings.
"We saw some very good things today out of our younger guys," Head Coach
Mike Kunigonis said. "We had a lead and had several more opportunities to win the game."
The "younger guys" were three freshmen who shine today for NIU in pitcher
Blake Walker, catcher
Jacob Dunham and infielder
Tommy Szczasny. Walker pitched in relief, throwing three and two thirds innings of shutout ball, striking out five. Dunham and Szczasny started the game and each got two hits with Dunham driving in two runners and Szczasny driving in three.
"Walker settled us down and gave us a chance to get back in the game with his 3.2 scoreless innings," Kunigonis said. "It was a great day for Dunham and Szczasny offensively coming up with some big hits."
Szczasny delivered a big shot for the Huskies with a two-run home run in the eighth inning to bring the score within two runs. Dunham led off the NIU scoring, ripping a two-RBI single into center field with the bases loaded and two outs.
Though he didn't have his best day at the plate,
Brad Wood flashed the leather in his first career start at shortstop. He made two diving plays up the middle, one in the first inning catching a line drive then in the sixth stopping a ground ball and flipping it to Szczasny at second base for the final out of the inning.
Iowa had three big innings in the game, scoring five in the first inning off of NIU starter
Aaron Rumfield, then getting three in the sixth against
George Faue and three more in the seventh off of
Ryne Blanton.
"It's disappointing that we couldn't find a way to get a W," Kunigonis said. "We need a good day of practice tomorrow before we head down to face off against a very good SLU team."
The Huskies will head south this weekend take on Saint Louis University in a three-game series. Originally scheduled to play one game each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the schedule has been adjusted to include a double header on Friday and one game on Sunday due to expected bad weather on Saturday.
