BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader in drastically different ways Saturday at Bowling Green, losing 10-9 on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the opener before falling 7-0 in game two. 
 
"Today was a tough day," said NIU head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We had our opportunities in game one. We led for most of the game but couldn't hold the lead. BG did a good job and rode the momentum of the first game and carried it into game two. We need to come to the park [Sunday[ and finish the year on a good note." 
 
NIU (15-37, 14-24 MAC) got off to a fast start in the seven-inning opener, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Eric Erato led off with a single, then stole second base. After Brendan Joyce was hit by a pitch, Kam Smith advanced the runners with a flyout to right field. Jake Dunham then brought the runners home on a single to left.
 
NIU kept up the offensive pressure in the top of the second inning. Paddy McKermitt led off the frame with a double. Two batters later, Erato brought the NIU shortstop in to score on a single. Erato then stole his second base of the game and scored on a two-out single from Smith to put NIU ahead 4-0.
 
Starting Pitcher Ryan Anderson left three runners on base through the first two innings. Bowling Green (19-29, 17-21 MAC) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, scoring twice to make it a 4-2 game. The Huskies answered in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs on an Erato walk, Joyce hit by pitch and Smith single. Dunham then cleared the bases with a triple to make the score 7-2. Brady Huebbe reached base after being hit by a pitch from Falcons reliever Griffin Parnell and stole second. Dunham put NIU ahead 8-2 when he scored on a wild pitch.
 
Bowling Green rallied to close the gap to one run in the bottom of the fifth. The Falcons sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring five runs on five hits. An Adam Fallon RBI single capped the scoring in the frame, with Andy Gaytan crossing home plate to make the score 8-7. Nick Bonk came in from the NIU bullpen and struck out Tyler Ross for the second out. After a walk, Bonk got Kyle Gurney to ground out to end the inning.
 
The Falcons took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With runners at first and second with two outs, shortstop Ryan Johnston cleared the bases with a double to left center to give Bowling Green a 9-8 lead. Dylan Lonteen tied the game in the top of the seventh, leading off with a home run over the left field fence to make the score 9-9. Bowling Green answered Lonteen's home run with a bases loaded, game-winning sacrifice fly off the bat of Nathan Rose that scored Ross to give the Falcons a 10-9 win.
 
Dunham tied a career-high with five RBI and went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Smith was 3-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Huskies' offense. Tristan Michaels (1-2) took the loss for NIU.
 
In game two, the Falcons rode a five-run fourth inning to victory while getting a stellar pitching performance from starter Rigo Ramos (3-6) and reliever Will MacLean, who picked up his fourth save as the two combined to shutout the Huskies.  NIU managed seven singles, scattered over five innings, while the BGSU duo walked just one batter. NIU was shut out for the second time this season and first time since April 2.
 
The Falcons took a 1-0 lead in their half of the second inning without benefit of a hit. Jack Krause walked, stole second and, after advancing to third on a sac bunt, scored on a sacrifice fly by Johnston.
 
NIU's best chance to score came in the fourth when singles by Dunham and Lonteen and an error on the Bowling Green second baseman loaded the bases with two out.  Dunham was thrown out attempting to come home on a pitch that got away from the Falcons' catcher to end the inning.
 
Bowling Green broke the game open with a five-run fourth off of NIU starter Kyle Seebach (0-6). The Falcons tallied four hits and took advantage of two Huskie errors and a pair of wild pitches to open up a 6-0 lead. Adam Furnas singled to open the frame and Tyler Haas walked.  BG's Gaytan singled and Furnas scored when the throw to the infield got away from the cutoff man. Johnston singled to drive in Haas and Gaytan scored on a double steal when the throw to second went into centerfield.  With two outs, Ross walked before a pair of wild pitches brought Johnston around to score and sent Ross to third. After another walk, Gurney hit a slow roller for an infield single, scoring Ross.
 
The Falcons made it 7-0 in the fifth to close out the scoring. Haas doubled over the centerfielder's head, went to third on a fly ball to right and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gaytan.
 
Freshman reliever Spencer Hill took over for Seebach in the sixth and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one while walking two. Joyce collected three of the Huskies' seven hits in the game.
 
The teams close out the series, and the season, on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. (CT).  Both games can be viewed live on YouTube.
 
-- NIU --