CARBONDALE, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team dropped the final game of its weekend series against the Southern Illinois Salukis Sunday afternoon 6-0 at Itchy Jones Stadium.
"It was a very disappointing weekend for us," said head coach
Mike Kunigonis after the Huskies were swept in the series. "SIU did a nice job of executing offensively all weekend and we didn't. Our pitching staff did a very nice job of giving us a chance to win in each game."
NIU (7-8) put the lead-off man on to start the game as
Nick Drobushevich (Moline, Ill./Moline) hit a double down the left field line off SIU starting pitcher Mitchell Jackson. Drobushevich got to third base on a wild pitch but Givens struck out the side to end the top of the first.
SIU (10-6) got on the board in the bottom of the second. J.T. Weber led off with a single off of NIU starting pitcher
Erik Hedmark (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown). Weber then stole second and Philip Archer drew a walk. Lucas Danielewicz drove in Weber with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to give the Salukis a 1-0 lead. The Salukis had runners at second and third with one out but Hedmark was able to get out of the inning allowing just the one run.
The Huskies had a chance to tie the game in the top of the fifth innings. NIU loaded the bases with one out on a
Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) walk, a bunt single from
Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College), and Drobushevich getting hit by a Jackson pitch. Dylan Givens then entered the game from the SIU bullpen and got
Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland C.C.) to ground into an inning-ending double play. The Salukis took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth on a Nick Neville sacrifice fly, then added three runs in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead.
Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.) had two of NIU's five hits on the day, going 2-for-4. Hedmark allowed two runs on four hits in four-plus innings, walking four. Givens earned the win for SIU, allowing two hits over the final 4.2 innings.
NIU opens a two-game midweek series at Missouri on Tuesday, March 10. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.
--NIU--