MUNCIE, Ind. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team made two late rallies but could not get past the Ball State Cardinals in a doubleheader Saturday, falling 5-2 and 16-12 at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
NIU (7-29, 4-12 MAC) took an early lead in game two. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) led off with a single to right field. Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) then cracked a two-run home run over the left centerfield fence, his first of the year, to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead. Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto CC) followed with a single to right center, but Ball State starting pitcher Ty Weatherly held NIU to just the two runs with two strikeouts and catcher Hunter Dobbins throwing out Harper trying to steal second.
Ball State (25-13, 12-5 MAC) put a run on the board in the bottom of the first. Nick Gregory led off with a triple, then scored on an Adam Tellier groundout to Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College) at second base to make the score 2-1. The Cardinals came alive for six runs in the bottom of the second inning. First Baseman Blake Bevis led off with a home run and Ryan Peltier capped the frame with a three-run home run that gave the Cardinals a 7-2 lead.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 8-2 in the third before the Huskies got back on the board in a big way in the fourth. Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) started the rally with an infield single with one out. Weatherly got a strikeout for the second out. Nelson then hit a triple down the right field line to drive in Peters. Weatherly then hit catcher Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) with a pitch and walked Erato to load the bases. Demetral drove in Nelson with a walk to make the score 8-4. Harper followed with a two-run single to centerfield, scoring Kosobucki and Erato to make the score 8-6. Weatherly got a strikeout to end the Huskies' threat.
Ball State added two runs to it's tally in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out, two-run single to right field which made the score 10-6. Andrew Wilhite added a two-run single in a three-run fifth for the Cardinals to extend the host's lead to 13-6.
NIU trailed 14-6 going into the eighth before making one last charge in the nightcap. The Huskies loaded the bases with one out against Ball State reliever Brady Owens, as Erato and Demetral drew walks and Harper was hit by a pitch. Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) drew a walk to bring in Erato for NIU's first run of the inning. A wild pitch allowed Demetral to score and put the tally at 14-8. After a walk to pinch-hitter Spencer Bartel (Sun Prairie, Wis./Madison College), Peters was walked which scored Harper.
Logan Schulfer came in from the Ball State bullpen and got a strikeout for the second out, but Nelson kept the inning alive with a two-run single up the middle to make the score 14-11. Ty Johnson was then brought in the game for Ball State and Kosobucki ripped a single to centerfield to bring Peters home and make the score 14-12. The Huskies scored six runs on just two hits in the inning to get within two. The Cardinals answered with two runs in the bottom half of the eighth to take a 16-12 lead and Johnson retired the Huskies in order in the ninth to secure the doubleheader sweep.
Harper was 3-for-5 in game two with two RBI. Demetral drove in three runs and was 2-for-4 with two walks.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first of game one on a two-run home run from Peltier. NIU had a chance to tie the game in the top of the second. Summerhill led off with a single to centerfield and later stole second base. Brandon Johnson (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle Twp.) reached on a two-out infield single to move Summerhill to third. The Huskies then rolled the dice with a double steal, but the Cardinals threw out Summerhill at home plate to end the inning.
Ball State tacked on a run in the bottom of the third. Peltier hit a triple down the right field line and scored on a Scheffler sacrifice fly to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. The Huskies put their first run on the board in the top of the sixth. Erato led off with a double down the left field line, reaching third base on a one-out Harper single. Summerhill hit a sacrifice fly to Scheffler in right field to bring in Erato and make the score 3-1.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh on a Wilhite RBI double and a Dobbins run-scoring single to centerfield. Nelson led off the top of the eighth with his first home run as a Huskie, a lead-off shot over the right field fence that put the score at 5-2. That would be as close as NIU got in the opener as Ball State closer Ty Johnson allowed one hit in getting the final five outs to lock up the victory.
Ball State starting pitcher Trennor O'Donnell struck out seven over seven innings, allowing a run on six hits. NIU starter Brandon McPherson (Chicago, Ill./Wabash Valley College) allowed three runs on six hits over five innings, striking out four but also walking four. Erato, Harper and Thierry each had two hits in game one.
"We played two hard-fought games today, and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of both," said Mike Kunigonis at the end of the day Saturday. "Brandon gave us a chance to win game one but we didn't do enough offensively for him. The team is playing hard and that showed in game two especially."
The Huskies and Cardinals wrap up their weekend series on Sunday, April 23 at 12 p.m. CT.
—NIU—
