ATHENS, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University baseball team earned its first win of the season Friday afternoon, winning 9-4 in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Ohio Bobcats at Bob Wren Stadium to open Mid-American Conference play.
 
"The first win is always the hardest to get," said head coach Mike Kunigonis following Friday's twinbill. "I'm proud of these guys for how they battled today."
 
NIU (1-12, 1-1 MAC) got off to a fast start in game two as Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) led off with a home run off of Ohio starting pitcher Braxton Kelly. After back-to-back flyouts, Scott Combs (Northville, Mich./Michigan State) and Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) hit back-to-back singles to give the Huskies two runners on base with two outs. Kelly got out of the inning with a strikeout to keep the score at 1-0.
 
The Huskies extended their lead in the top of the second. Paxton Kennedy (Mendota, Ill./Illinois Valley CC) reached on an error to start the frame, moving to second when Jack Blazevich (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) was hit by a pitch. Erato cleared the bases with a two-run double to centerfield, making the score 3-0. NIU then put two more runs on the board in the third with a two-run single off the bat of centerfielder Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland CC), making the score 5-0. Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College) retired the first nine batters he faced, allowing one hit that was erased when Combs threw out Colin Kasperbauer trying to steal second to end the bottom of the first.
 
"Eric set the tone with that leadoff home run and the boys never looked back from there," Kunigonis said. "Reagan gave us another great start. We did a great job grinding through today."
 
NIU put together a two-out rally in the fourth to go up 7-0. With runners at first and second, Jonathan Latham (Mahomet, Ill./Danville Area CC) laced a single to left to bring home the Huskies' sixth run. Kennedy then drove in a run with a single but was thrown out trying to extend it into a double to end the inning.
 
Ohio (6-6, 1-1 MAC) got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on four hits to make the score 7-3. NIU got a run back in the top of the fifth with a two-out Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) RBI single that put the Huskies up 8-3. Latham extended the NIU lead to 9-3 in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly. Ohio scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to get within five at 9-4, but that would be as close as the Bobcats got. NIU relievers Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry CC) and Matt Salomonson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) combined to throw 2.2 scoreless innings to close out the Huskies' first win of 2022.
 
All nine batters in the NIU lineup had a hit in game two. Erato and Peters each had three hits and were a combined 6-for-11 at the plate. Blazevich was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Klawiter struck out five batters in 6.1 innings for his first win as a Huskie, allowing four runs on six hits.
 
NIU dropped the seven-inning opener 10-2. The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run single by Combs. The Bobcats answered in bottom half of the inning with a three-run home run off the bat of Spencer Harbert. Ohio extended its lead with five runs in the fourth, sparked by a two-run AJ Rausch single.
 
Ohio starter Edward Kutt IV pitched a complete game for the Bobcats in the opener, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked three Huskies and struck out seven. Kyle Seebach (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Township) took the loss for NIU, allowing seven earned runs on five hits over four innings.
 
The two teams will wrap up their four-game conference series with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 13. Game one is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--