EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team trailed 8-0 but came back to take an eighth inning lead Tuesday afternoon against the Northwestern Wildcats at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park, but the hosts scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the win 15-11.

NIU (5-18) tied the game 10-10 in the top of the seventh. Tyler Thierry (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland CC) led off with a single. Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) then cued a ball to right on a hit-and-run that got Thierry to third base. Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) then hit a groundball deep in the hole at shortstop, leading to a fielder's choice that scored Thierry to tie the game 10-10 and retiring Kosobucki at second base. Northwestern relief pitcher David Utagawa got out of the inning with a double play.

The Huskies took its first lead of the game in the top of the eighth inning. Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) drew a walk with two outs to keep the inning alive. Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto College) followed with a single. Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) then hit a hard liner to Northwestern shortstop Tony Livermore that went off his glove and into centerfield, bringing Demetral in to put the Huskies up 11-10.

Northwestern (2-17) took back the lead in the bottom half of the eighth. Alex Calarco and Trent Liolios led off with back-to-back singles. Two wild pitches brought Calarco around to score the tying run, 11-11, and put Liolios at third. The final pitch of a walk to Bennett Markinson went to the backstop, allowing Liolios to score and put the Wildcats ahead 12-11. Northwestern added three more runs to take a 15-11 lead. The Huskies got two runners on base in the top of ninth but didn't score as the Wildcats took the win.

"Offensively, we've been doing a good job battling and scoring runs," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We need to be better on the mound and find ways to limit the big innings and eliminate the self-inflicted mistakes."

The Huskies got their first hit of the day on a leadoff double by first baseman Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) in the third. Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College) followed with a bunt up the third base line. Northwestern's Trent Liolios threw the ball wide of first base, allowing Smart to score for the Huskies' first run. With the bases loaded and one out, Harper hit a single to right field to bring in Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) and make the score 8-2. Northwestern then went to the bullpen for Luke Sauser. Summerhill hit Sauser's first pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam to get NIU within two, 8-6.

NIU closed within a run in the top of the fourth. Nelson drew a walk leading off the inning, getting to third base on a Peters single. Peters reached second when Arnone tried to throw out Nelson getting to third base. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamiton) drove in Nelson with a base hit to right field, making the score 8-7. NIU had a chance to tie the game when Demetral hit a flyout to McElfatrick in centerfield. Peters attempted to score from third but McElftarick threw him out at home plate for a double play. Northwestern added two runs in the bottom of the inning to extend its lead to 10-7.

The Huskies kept chipping away at the Wildcats lead. NIU put a run on the board in in the top of the fifth on a Thierry RBI triple to get within two 10-8, scoring Summerhill who drew a walk leading off the inning. Harper delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth to put NIU within a run at 10-9.

Harper and Kosobucki each had a team-high three hits, as all nine Huskies in the lineup had a hit in the game. Summerhill's grand slam was his team-leading fourth home run of the season.
Tanner was 4-for-5 for Northwestern with three doubles, a home run and four RBI.

The Huskies open a four-game series at Xavier on Friday, March 31 at 4 p.m. CT. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1 starting with a 7-inning game at 11 a.m. CT.

--NIU--