DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team split its doubleheader with the Toledo Rockets Saturday afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field. The Huskies won the opener 8-5 with the Rockets taking the nightcap 9-1.
NIU (15-34, 14-25 MAC) bounced back from a 4-0 deficit after the top of the first inning of game one to tie it in the bottom of the third.
Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) started the rally with a one-out double to left center.
Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College) then drove in Erato for the Huskies' first run on a single to left field. After a
Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) double gave NIU runners at second and third,
Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) laced a single through the left side of the infield to bring home Joyce and make the score 4-2.
Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.) drove in the third run by beating out a fielder's choice that scored Smith.
Dylan Lonteen then hit a laser of a double off the left field fence to give the Huskies runners at second and third with two out.
Jordan Larson (Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) tied the game by reaching on an error by Toledo shortstop Trace Hatfield, which scored Huebbe to make the score 4-4. Lonteen also tried to score on the play but was thown out at home.
Toledo (22-29, 20-15 MAC) took back the lead in the top of the fifth when a Marcus Strother sacrifice fly scored Mason Sykes to give the Rockets a 5-4 advantage. NIU responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Once again it was the top of the order starting the threat. Erato and Joyce hit back-to-back two-out singles to keep the inning alive to Smith. The Huskies' third baseman drove in Erato with a single to right field to tie the game at five. Dunham then reached on an error that allowed Joyce to score the go-ahead run, putting NIU on top 6-5.
After allowing those four runs in the top of the first, NIU starting pitcher
Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) took control from the mound. He allowed just one hit and two walks over the final six innings, striking out five Rockets in the process. The Huskies tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, with a Dunham RBI single and a run-scoring fielder's choice giving NIU an 8-5 lead. Lasiewicz retired the side in order in the top of the seventh with a pair of punchouts to lock up the complete game victory.
The Huskies pounded out 14 hits in the win, with eight of the nine batters in the order recording at least one hit. Smith was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Erato and Joyce were a combined 4-for-5 at the top of the order with three walks and four runs scored. Lasiewicz struck out eight Rockets on the day, allowing five runs on six hits and a pair of walks.
"Mike [Lasiewicz] really settled in after that first inning and controlled the game from there on out, which gave a chance to win game one," said head coach
Mike Kunigonis. "We played really well from the third inning on. That's when we really stepped it up. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep that momentum up into game two, but we have an opportunity to split a series again and we'll be ready to go tomorrow."
NIU took an early 1-0 lead in game two on a Dunham RBI double. That would be the only run the Huskies scratched across against Toledo starting pitcher Nate Haugh. The right-hander held NIU to just four hits in the nightcap, striking out five Huskies. The Rockets tied the game in the top of the second, then scored three runs in both fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-1 lead on their way to a 9-1 win.
Sunday's series finale between the Huskies and Rockets has been moved up to an 11 a.m. first pitch due to a weather forecast of possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. Prior to the game, NIU will honor its 2020 and 2021 seniors with its Senior Day ceremony beginning at 10:40 a.m.
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