ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team notched 17 hits Saturday afternoon and used two three-run innings to power its way to a 9-5 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Oakland Baseball Field.
"We had a great offensive weekend and finished it very strong on the mound," said head coach
Mike Kunigonis following Saturday's victory.
NIU (7-27) got on the board first in the top of the second.
Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto College) started the threat with a one-out single. After a flyout for the second out,
Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) kept the inning alive with a single to centerfield.
Carlos Aranda (Santo Domingo, D.R./Ellsworth CC) drove home Harper with a double to left field that gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland CC) then cleared the bases with two-run single to right field making the score 3-0.
Oakland (17-17) threatened to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. The Golden Grizzlies loaded the bases on two singles and a two-out walk to Gabe Lux.
Michael Lasiewicz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) got out of the frame unscathed, getting Brad Goulet to pop out to
Paddy McKermitt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) at second base to end the inning. Oakland got on the board in the third. After Jared Miller led off the inning reaching on a two-base error, back-to-back groundouts brought him in to score and cut the Huskies' lead to two 3-1.
The Huskies built upon their lead in the top of the fourth. NIU's first four batters all reached base with McKermitt leading off with a single followed by a Demetral walk. Aranda then laced a single to left field, his third of the game, to drive home McKermitt and make the score 4-1. After a walk to Barnes,
Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) hit a groundball to Brad Goulet at second base who flipped to the shortstop Thomas Green for an out. Green's relay throw to first for a double play was wild, allowing both Demetral and Aranda to score and put the Huskies ahead 6-1.
NIU tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Harper led off with a single and advanced to second on a Chas Sagedahl wild pitch. McKermitt then hit a double to left field, scoring Harper to make the score 7-1. After a groundout and a walk, Barnes hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home McKermitt and give the Huskies a seven-run lead at 8-1. After allowing the Golden Grizzlies' run in the third, Lasiewicz allowed just one hit over the next two innings on a Goulet single in the fifth. The senior scattered five hits over five innings, allowing just one unearned run with a walk and three strikeouts before
Matt Salomonson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) entered the game in the sixth.
Oakland scored a run in both the sixth and seventh innings to make the score 8-3. NIU put a run on the board in the top of the ninth when a
Scott Combs (Northville, Mich./Michigan State) sacrifice fly put the Huskies ahead 9-3. The Golden Grizzlies attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, as back-to-back RBI singles from Goulet and Miller made the score 9-5. An infield single by Cam Post loaded the bases with two outs but Salomonson got Brandon Heidal to fly out to lock up the victory.
"It was great to get back in the win column to start the second half of the MAC season on a high note," Kunigonis said.
Aranda was 4-for-4 in the game with a pair of RBI. Harper had three hits and scored a pair of runs. Barnes was 2-for-4 with three RBI. McKermitt, Erato and Combs each had two hits as well.
The day started with the resumption of the seven-inning game from Friday's doubleheader in the fifth inning with the Golden Grizzlies leading 9-4. Oakland tacked on a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead 10-4, which ended up being the final score.
NIU returns to Ralph McKinzie Field next weekend for a Mid-American Conference series against Ball State. The Huskies and Cardinals open the series on Friday, April 22 at 3 p.m.
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