CARY, N.C. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team earned its first win of the 2023 season Sunday morning with a 6-3 victory over the Maine Black Bears at the USA Baseball Complex.
 
"It's always nice to get that first win under your belt," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We've been close to clicking the past few games and today we grinded out a great win."
 
NIU (1-6) broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh. Parker Shupe (Johnston, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) reached on an infield single after Maine reliever Gianni Gambardella recorded back-to-back strikeouts. Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) hit a double to centerfield to bring in Shupe and put the Huskies up 4-3. Matt Salomonson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) kept the Huskies in front by retiring the Maine side in order in the bottom of the inning.
 
Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) led off the eighth with a home run over the centerfield fence, extending the NIU lead to 5-3 with his first long ball of the season. DJ Hess (Germantown, Wis./College of Lake County) entered the game from the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth and put a zero on the board. Shupe gave the Huskies an insurance run in the top of the ninth with his first career home run as a Huskie, a solo blast over the right field wall to make the score 6-3. Hess got the final three outs in the ninth to lock up the Huskies' first win of the 2023 campaign and his first career save.
 
NIU got off to a fast start, putting a run on the board in the top of the first. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) led off with an infield single. Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) then reached on an error by Maine shortstop Jake Rainess, which allowed Erato to get to third. After a strikeout Summerhill drove home Erato with a single to right field. The Huskies loaded the bases with two outs when Kelley was hit by a Noah Lewis pitch, but a pop out ended the inning.
 
Maine (2-4) had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the first. The Black Bears had the bases loaded with one out when NIU starting pitcher Brandon McPherson (Chicago, Ill./Wabash Valley College) got Jeff Mejia to hit a come-backer to him on the mound. McPherson threw home to the catcher Kosobucki for the second out. He then struck out Dylan McNary to end the threat.
 
"Brandon was our opener today and battled out of that jam early to set the tone on the mound," said Kunigonis. "Salomonson came in and did a great job keeping us in the game until DJ came in and slammed the door."
 
Summerhill got his second hit of the day with a one-out single in the top of the third. He stole second and got to third on a passed ball, but was left on base. The Black Bears tied the game in the bottom of the third when Connor Goodman hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield off of Matt Salomonson (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) to bring in Quinn McDaniel and make the score 1-1. Maine took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Jeremiah Jenkins which put the Black Bears up 2-1.
 
NIU took the lead back in the top of the fifth. Kosobucki drew a walk with one out and stole second base. Shupe then cracked a double to centerfield that scored Kosobucki and tied the game 2-2. Shupe advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on another wild pitch to put the Huskies up 3-2. Maine put a run on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Nick White sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Shupe was 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Summerhill was also 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Salomonson earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings with two strikeouts.

"Offensively, we're starting to see glimpses of what we have seen out of this group all fall and winter," Kunigonis said. "The guys are starting to play Huskieball and it showed on the scoreboard today."
 
NIU heads to Bowling Green, Ky. next weekend for a four-game series against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The series begins on Friday, March 2 with a 3 p.m. CT first pitch at Nick Denes Field.
 
--NIU--