OXFORD, OH – The Northern Illinois University baseball team got seven shutout innings from starting pitcher Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) Friday afternoon but could not stave off a late rally from the Miami RedHawks in a 4-3 loss at McKie Field at Hayden Park.
 
"Michael was fantastic again today and deserved more than he got," Kunigonis said. "We battled today but it wasn't enough. We need to flush this game away and be ready to get back in the series game one tomorrow."
Lasiewicz struck out seven batters while allowing just four hits and a walk. Over his last three starts, the junior has allowed just three earned runs over 22.1 innings with 17 strikeouts against just six walks.

Miami (11-8, 4-1 MAC) trailed 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth before it put it's first two runs of the game on the board. Right-fielder Nate Stone plated both runs with a two-out, two-RBI single to make it a 3-2 ballgame. In the ninth, Cole Andrews got the rally started with a leadoff double down the left-field line off Paul Turelli (Lake Forest, Ill./Heartland CC). After Nate Stolze struck out swinging, Tyler Wardwell was hit by a pitch and Nick Clark was walked to load the bases. Stephen Krause walked to send Andrews home to tie the game 3-3. Wardwell scored on a wild pitch to end the game.

NIU (4-12, 3-2 MAC) opened the scoring in the fourth inning. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) led off the frame with a single. Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) moved Smith to third with a base hit, and Smith came home to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of Paddy McKermitt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central). The Huskies loaded the bases with two outs but could not push across another run.

It stayed a 1-0 game until the top of the eighth when the Huskies tallied two more scores to push their lead to 3-0. Nick Drobushevich (Moline, Ill./Moline) drew a walk to lead off the inning, and one out later Smith followed with his second hit of the game to put runners on the corners. Smith eventually advanced to second on a wild pitch. Lonteen followed and lifted a fly ball to centerfield, with Drobushevich and Smith both scoring on a sacrifice fly.

"It was great baserunning by Kam," Kunigonis said about the run that put NIU up three. "He did a fantastic job of reading the play and tagging at second base and we wheeled him home."

Smith was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College) reached base all four times he was at bat Friday, recording two hits while getting hit by two pitches.

The Huskies and RedHawks will play two seven-inning games on Saturday, with the first game starting at 12 p.m.

--NIU--