BATON ROUGE, La. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team opened its second week of the 2024 season with a 10-2 loss to the #2 LSU Tigers and a 13-6 loss to the Northwestern State Demons at Alex Box Stadium Thursday.
 
NIU (1-5) took a 1-0 lead over LSU in the first game of the day. With Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) at second and two outs, Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) reached on an infield single that advanced Summerhill to third. A wild pitch from LSU starting pitcher Gage Jump allowed Summerhill to score, with Erato getting to third base. Jump got a strikeout to get out of the inning. Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa East) struck out a pair of Tiger batters in the bottom of the first to keep the Huskies in front.
 
"Overall, we competed very well against LSU for most of the game," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "It was really good to get that run in the first and see Tommy put up a zero. You feel like you're hanging with them but at some point their talent takes over. LSU has a lot of dangerous hitters in their lineup and I don't think they threw a fastball under 92 [MPH]."
 
LSU (5-0) got on the board in the bottom of the second on a pair of home runs from Michael Brasswell III and Paxton Kling to take a 4-1 lead. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with one out, but Meyer held LSU to just one run in the inning. Brasswell hit a sacrifice fly to left to make the score 5-1 and Alex Milazzo flew out to Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) in centerfield to end the inning.
 
The Huskies put a run on the board in the top of the fourth when Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) launched his second home run of the season over the left field fence, putting the score at 5-2. LSU responded with another four-run inning in the bottom half of the frame to go up 9-2.
 
"It's a good thing for our program to be out on the field with a team like LSU," Copeland said. "The goal is to look like that overall as a program, from how dangerous your hitters are, the stuff the pitchers have, how hard they play and the expectation of winning is very evident. It was an unbelievable atmosphere and a great experience for our guys."
 
Erato and Kelley both went 2-for-4 against LSU, combining for four of NIU's five hits in the ballgame. Meyer struck out five batters in three innings, allowing five runs on four hits with five walks.
 
Northwestern State (1-3) opened the scoring in the nightcap in the third inning. The Demons had the bases loaded with two outs when Daniel Young drew a walk off of Adam Brouwer (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) to make the score 1-0. Lathen Buzard followed with a two-run single down the right field line to make the score 3-0.
 
Summerhill put NIU on the board with a lead-off home run in the top of the fourth, the first of his two home runs in the game. The Demons responded with three more runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 6-1. The Huskies got those runs back in the top of the fifth. NIU loaded the bases on a Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College) double and walks to Parcell and Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech). Erato hit into a fielder's choice, beating out a relay throw to first to break up a double play. Nelson scored on the play to make the score 6-2. A Dawson Flowers balk brought in Demetral and put the score at 6-3. With Erato at second, Summerhill singled up the middle to bring him home and get the Huskies within two, 6-4.
 
"Colin has been outstanding so far this season," said Copeland. "One thing we stressed in the fall was letting him go out and get some swings off, especially ahead in the count, and be as dangerous as he possibly can. He had some really good at-bats tonight."
 
The Demons put another three-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth. NIU relief pitcher Mason Ruh (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS) retired the first two batters in the inning, but singles by Reese Lipoma and Rocco Gump kept the inning alive. Bo Willis then sent a home run over the left field fence to give Northwestern State a 9-4 lead.
 
The Huskies made one last rally in the top of the seventh. Parcell led off the inning with a double to centerfield. After a flyout, Summerhill hit his second home run of the game to make the score 9-6. The Demons scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to lock up a 13-6 win.
 
Summerhill was 3-for-4 in the nightcap with two home runs and four runs batted in. Parcell also had three hits in four at-bats. Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto CC) had two hits against Northwestern State.
 
The Huskies and Demons will face each other on Friday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.
 
--NIU--