TULSA, Okla. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team was swept in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon by the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at J.L. Johnson Stadium. ORU won the nightcap 3-2 in 10 innings after winning the opener 8-2.
 
NIU's (0-3) Matt Salomonson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) and Oral Roberts' Jacob Widener were locked in a pitcher's duel to start the nightcap. The Huskies had an early chance to score as Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) led off with a single, then stole second base and third. Widener held NIU scoreless by striking out Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) and getting Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) to fly out.
 
ORU (3-0) put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the second inning when Holden Breeze hit a one-out double. After Sam Thompson was hit by a pitch, Salomonson struck out Drew Stahl and Jacob Godman to get out of the inning.
 
NIU got on the board in the top of the fifth. Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) was hit by a pitch to lead it off, advancing to second base on a Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) groundout. Widener then walked Erato and Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) to load the bases. ORU went to the bullpen for Cade Denton, who got a strikeout for the second out. Smart then reached on an infield single to Breeze at third base, which scored Demetral. Breeze threw the ball wide of first base, which allowed Erato to score to give NIU a 2-0 lead.
 
The Golden Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. With runners at second and third and one out, Breeze hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to bring in a run and make the score 2-1. Pinch-hitter J Cox then came up with a double down the left field line to tie the game 2-2. Stahl had a chance to put the Golden Eagles ahead with a single to left field, but Erato threw out Cox at home plate to keep the game tied.
 
NIU had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the ninth, loading the bases with one out on free passes to Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College), Parker Shupe (Johnston, Iowa/Kirkwood CC), and Brandon Johnson (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Twp.). However, ORU reliever Conner Floyd struck out Peters and Erato to keep the game tied. NIU's Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College) retired the Golden Eagles in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
 
The Huskies left two runners on base in the top of the 10^th. Oral Roberts got the lead-off man on in the bottom half on a single by Justin Quinn. A wild pitch advanced Quinn to second base. Jake McMurray then put down a sacrifice bunt up the third base line, but an errant throw allowed McMurray to reach and Quinn to score to give the Golden Eagles' a 3-2 win.
 
"It was a heartbreaking ending to a much better day," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We showed great resolve today. The payoff didn't show up in the win column today, but the character displayed by this team is going to pay dividends this season."
 
Salomonson took a no-decision after throwing six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with a career-high seven strikeouts. Erato and Smart each had two hits in game two.
 
"Matt was electric from the first pitch tonight," Kunigonis said of his game two starter. "He led the way and it was awesome to see him throw the way we know he could."
 
NIU scored an early run in game one. Erato led off the game with a triple and scored on a Summerhill single. ORU tied the game in the bottom of the first on a Blaze Brothers RBI single, then took a 2-1 lead in the second on a McMurray run-scoring triple. The Golden Eagles tacked on two runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead. The Huskies got a run back in the top of the sixth on a Smart sacrifice fly that made the score 4-2. Sparked by a Matt Hogan two-run home run, ORU scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-2 lead before winning 8-2.
 
The weekend series wraps up on Sunday, Feb. 19 with first pitch at 1 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--