ATHENS, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University baseball team opened Mid-American Conference play Friday by splitting a doubleheader against the Ohio Bobcats at Bob Wren Field. The Huskies won the opener 8-6 in 11 innings while Ohio won game two 4-1.

NIU (4-11, 1-1 MAC) got off to a quick start in game one. The first three hitters in the lineup all reached base as Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) and Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) hit back-to-back infield singles, followed by a Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) walk. Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) drove in Erato with a sacrifice fly to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Freshman starting pitcher Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) retired the side in order in the bottom of the first. NIU put two more runs on the board in the second. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) led off with a double, reaching third on a groundout. Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College) drove in Cohn with a double to make the score 2-0. Erato followed with a base hit up the middle that scored Nelson and put NIU ahead 3-0.

Ohio (5-7, 1-1 MAC) scored a run in the bottom of the second on an Alex Finney two-out RBI double. The Bobcats took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the third when Gideon Antle launched a three-run home run to give Ohio a 4-3 advantage. The Huskies quickly tied the game in the top of the fourth. Erato led off with a walk, then stole second base and got to third on a wild pitch. Summerhill hit a sacrifice fly to bring the NIU leadoff man home, making the score 4-4.

NIU broke the tie in the top of the ninth on a Kelley home run to go up 5-4. Ohio had a runner at first and two outs when AJ Rausch hit a flyball that was dropped in the outfield, allowing the run to score and tie the game at five. Both teams scored one run in the 10th to send the game to the 11th tied at six.

The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the 11th with a two-out rally. JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) started it with a walk. CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) then reached on an error that kept the inning alive. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) drove home Gauthier with a single to centerfield, making the score 7-6. Nelson followed with a run-scoring single, his third RBI of the  game, to put the Huskies up two 8-6. DJ Hess (Germantown, Wis./College of Lake County) locked up the win by retiring Ohio in order in the bottom of the 11th.

"Those guys at the bottom of the order were really good in game one," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "In a back-and-forth last couple innings, it was Charlie and Jake that put us up 8-6 and that was good to see."

NIU's bottom three hitters in the order in game one - Cohn, Parcell and Nelson - were a combined 7-for-14 at the plate with four RBI. Nelson was 3-for-5 with three RBI. Brachbill threw 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. Ryan Linkletter (McHenry, Ill./Iowa Central CC) and Hess combined to allow two runs on two hits in 4.2 innings out of the bullpen.

"We won some key one-on-one battles late in the game, pitcher versus hitter where you have to get key outs," Copeland said of his bullpen's effort in the opener. "If you want to be a valuable arm for us out of the pen, as we move forward as a program, you have got to be able to get those guys out at key times. Linkletter came in and did a great job of stretching out the game and DJ threw the ball extremely well for the second time in a row to nail down a win."

Game two started as a pitcher's duel between Ohio's Dillon Masters and NIU's Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa East). The Huskies had three hits in the first three innings but could not score. Meyer allowed just one baserunner in the first three innings, striking out five Bobcats.

Ohio got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Finney drew a walk to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Nick Dolan followed by clearing the bases with a three-run double down the left field line to make the score 4-0.

Masters made that lead hold up, stranding two Huskies on base in the top of the fifth before turning the ball over to reliever Tyler Peck. NIU got on the board in the top of the eighth inning. Kelley led off with a double to left center. He advanced to third base on a Cohn flyout to right field, then scored on a Gauthier groundout to make the score 4-1.

"We threw the ball well all day, and especially in game two," Copeland said. "Unfortunately Tommy lost it a little bit in the fourth. He was in complete control and a couple walks and some bad counts did him in. After that we kept them off the scoreboard and gave our offense a chance but we didn't have an answer for Ohio."

Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto CC) was 3-for-4 in game two. The NIU bullpen threw four scoreless innings with Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry County College) retiring all five batters he faced.

The two teams are scheduled to wrap up their weekend series on Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m. CT.

—NIU—