DeKALB, IL – The Eastern Michigan Eagles earned a split of this weekend's four-game series against the Northern Illinois University baseball team on Sunday, sweeping a doubleheader by scores of 6-3 in 10 innings in game one and 10-4 in seven innings in the nightcap.
NIU (11-35, 10-20 MAC) scored first in the opening seven-inning game, putting three runs on the board in the top of the second.
Brandon Johnson (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Twp.) led off with a single, then got to second base on a
Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) sacrifice.
Scott Combs (Northville, Mich./Michigan State) drove in Johnson with a single up the middle, making the score 1-0. After a lineout,
Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto College) and
Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) delivered back-to-back run-scoring singles with two outs to put the Huskies up 3-0.
Freshman starting pitcher
Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa East) kept the Eagles off the scoreboard through the first six innings. He allowed just two hits through the first five innings, striking out two Eagles in the process. NIU had a chance to extend its lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Huskies had runners at second and third with one out, but Eastern Michigan reliever Zach Gillig got both
Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland CC) and
Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) to ground out to Shane Easter at first base to keep the score at 3-0.
Eastern Michigan (21-27, 15-17 MAC) got on the board in the top of the seventh. Meyer walked the leadoff man Will Oberg but got Logan Hugo to flyout for the first out.
Drew Hasson (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) came in from the bullpen and threw a wild pitch that allowed Oberg to get to second base. Easter drove Oberg home with a single to left center, making the score 3-1. A walk to Glenn Miller gave the Eagles two baserunners with one out, and another wild pitch gave Eastern Michigan the two tying runs in scoring position. Taylor Hopkins brought Easter in with a sacrifice fly to right field to get the Eagles within a run at 3-2 with Miller advancing to third base.
Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College) then came into the game to pitch for NIU. Daniel Warkentin tied the game 3-3 with a double down the left field line. NIU had an opportunity to win the game in the bottom half of the seventh. The Huskies had runners at second and third with two out but a groundout sent the game to extra innings.
The Eagles broke the deadlock in the top of the 10
th inning. With the bases loaded and two out, Easter cleared the bases with single to right field to put Eastern Michigan up 6-3. Luke Russo made that advantage hold up, getting the final three outs for the Eagles first win of the day.
"It was a disappointing end to game one," said head coach
Mike Kunigonis. "Tommy [Meyer] deserved to win that game. We had to be able to get two outs before they could score three runs, and we had our opportunities. There were chances to extend our lead and we didn't capitalize."
Meyer allowed one run on three hits in 6.1 innings in game one, striking out three batters with three walks. Harper was 3-for-3 in the opener as Erato and Johnson both had a pair of hits.
Eastern Michigan scored three runs in both the first and third innings in game two to build a 6-1 lead. A Matt Kirk two-run home run in the top of the fourth put the Eagles up 8-1. NIU got back in the game with three runs on three hits and three Eagles errors in the fourth to get within four at 8-4. The Huskies were held from there on by Eastern Michigan reliever Frankie Volkers, who threw three perfect innings of relief to get the save in a 10-4 Eagles win.
NIU goes on the road next weekend for a four-game series at Toledo beginning on Friday, May 12 at 2 p.m. CT.
--NIU--
