OXFORD, Ohio – The NIU baseball team (15-36, 9-13 MAC) dropped their series opener 9-5 to Miami (Ohio) (22-32, 8-14 MAC) Thursday afternoon in Oxford. The game had five different lead changes and was tied at four different times throughout the game.
 
"We need to play better defense and control the things we can control," Head Coach Mike Kunigonis said. "We did not do a good job of that today, we were sloppy in many areas but kept fighting."
 
The Huskies made two errors in the game, both on bunt plays, which cost them four unearned runs in the third and sixth innings. The Redhawks had four-straight batters bunt in the second inning to help them score three runs as the first two bunts reached base and the next two came as sacrifices.
 
NIU got good offensive performances from freshman catcher Jacob Dunham and senior first baseman Tommy Hook. Dunham went 3-4 with a solo home run in the second inning and two runs scored while Hook went 1-1 with an RBI double, a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly for a two RBI game.
 
The Huskies got to Miami starter Grant Hartwig as he was taken out after three innings of work but reliever Nick Ernst finished strong for the Redhawks. Ernst went six innings, only giving up two runs on four hits earning the win for Miami in relief.
 
"We will be fine and battle back tomorrow to get back in this series," Kunigonis said.
 
Game two of the series will start at the same time tomorrow with a 3:00 p.m. CT scheduled first pitch as right-hander Joe Hawks will get the start for NIU. The Huskies are still in need of a win to clinch a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament with two games to play. For updates on scores and potential game-time changes, keep an eye on niuhuskies.com or on Twitter @NIU_Baseball.