AVON, Ohio – After having to wait out an over-six hour first game of the day Friday between Miami and Ohio, the Northern Illinois University baseball team used a five-run seventh inning to defeat the Ohio Bobcats 6-3 at Sprenger Stadium in an elimination game of the 2019 Mid-American Conference Baseball Championship.
 
"Ohio had just played 17 innings the game before ours, and to play 26 total, we just grinded through," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "It was a nailbiter all the way through. There's a lot of fight in those guys and we did a good job of continuing to stick with it."
 
This is the third time NIU has won at least two games at a MAC Tournament, and the first since 2008. The win was the Huskies' fourth over Ohio this season after sweeping the season series at Ralph McKinzie Field April 5-7.
 
NIU (20-35) trailed Ohio 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth and was without a hit off of Bobcats starting pitcher Eamon Horwedel. Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel led off with an infield single, the Huskies' first hit of the game, followed by another infield hit by Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College). Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) put down a sacrifice bunt to move the two runners into scoring position. Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) brought in Peters with an RBI groundout to make the score 2-1.
 
The Huskies took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) started the rally with a ground-rule double over the left field fence. Jordan Larson (Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) drove in Smith with a single up the middle to tie the game at two. Nick Byrnes then entered the game in relief of Horwedel. Josh Mutter (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) shot the first pitch from Byrnes through the right side to give NIU runners at the corners with one out. Mutter got to second on a safety squeeze bunt by Peters.
 
Ohio (20-33) went to the bullpen once again, this time for Braxton Kelly. Larson put the Huskies ahead 3-2 when he scored on a passed ball by Bobcats catcher Nathan Mallott. Kelly then walked Joyce to give NIU runners at the corners with two outs. Szczasny then stepped up to the plate and crushed a three-run home run over the right field fence, putting NIU ahead 6-2.
 
"The team did a good job of battling in front of me and they got on base and scored runs," said Szczasny about NIU's key seventh-inning barrage. "I got a good pitch and hit it well. I'm glad we got this team win. It's huge."
 
"That home run was big to give us some breathing room," Kunigonis added. "Anytime you can pull away you have to."
 
The Huskies' closer Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) made that lead hold up. The junior right-hander entered the game in the sixth and proceeded to throw a season-high four innings and striking out a season-high five batters. Thomas scattered six hits and allowed one run in the ninth that made the final score 6-3.
 
"Nate's done a great job of coming in games in the middle to late innings and giving us quality innings," said Kunigonis about his junior closer.
 
The Bobcats threatened to score right from the start of Friday's game. Michael Richardson reached base on an error to leadoff the game. After William Anderson (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) got Aaron Levy to ground out, Rudy Rott got a single and Zyon Avery drew a walk to load the bases. Anderson got out of the jam by striking out Trevor Hafner and getting Ryan Strittmather to ground out to Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) at second base.
 
The Bobcats took advantage of another NIU error in the second for the game's first run. Sebastian Fabik reached on a fielder's choice with one out, then got all the way to third on an errant pickoff throw from Anderson. The Ohio centerfielder scored on an RBI groundout by Ryan Sargent to give the Bobcats' a 1-0 lead. Horwedel kept the Huskies' bats at bay, retiring the first seven batters he faced before allowing a one-out walk in the second to Mutter. NIU had just two baserunners in the first five innings.
 
NIU's six hits came from six different batters. Szczasny's home run was his third of the season and gave him a season-high three RBI. It also extended his current hitting streak to 10 games. Joyce was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored to give him a nine-game hitting streak. Anderson allowed two runs, one of which was earned, in five innings on six hits and two walks.
 
The Huskies will face the loser of Friday night's Ball State/Central Michigan game on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT in another elimination game. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
--NIU--