OXFORD, Ala. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team was held to two hits on Saturday afternoon in a 3-0 loss to the Southeast Missouri State RedHawks at Choccolocco Park.
 
Saturday's game started as a pitcher's duel between NIU's Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) and SEMO's Brian Strange. The Huskies got the first hit of the game on a two-out Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine) single in the top of the first but Strange got Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) to ground out to end the inning. Brachbill stranded a runner in the bottom of the first, then left two runners on base in the second. The sophomore hit Cole Warehime with a pitch to lead off the inning, then walked Caleb Corbin. Brachbill then struck out the next three batters to get out of the frame.
 
SEMO (2-3) put the first run on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Bryce Cannon hit a lead-off home run over the left centerfield wall. The Cannon home run was the first allowed by Brachbill in the game. Brachbill struck out Warehime for the first out then allowed a single to Corbin. With two outs in the inning, Liam Forsyth laced a triple to right center to bring Corbin around to score and put the RedHawks up 2-0. Andrew Ramirez followed with a double to score Forsyth and give SEMO a 3-0 lead. Brachbill got out of the inning by striking out Brooks Kettering, his seventh strikeout of the game.
 
"They threw that punch there in the fourth and got to Ty a little bit, but he was outstanding today," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We were really excited to see how he would bounce back from a tough outing last weekend and he did a really good job. He made an adjustment and found a way to give us five strong innings to keep us in the game."
 
NIU's (2-3) best chance to score came in the top of the seventh. With two away Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) doubled to left field. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) and Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. SEMO went to the bullpen for Nathan Mertens to face pinch-hitter Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere). Mertens struck Kosobucki out to quell the Huskies' threat.
 
The Huskies had one last chance in the top of the ninth. Smart led off with a double to left center, but Mertens then struck out the side to lock up the save in the RedHawks' 3-0 win.
 
The two teams combined for 28 strikeouts on Saturday. Brachbill tied a career-high with eight strikeouts in five innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two walks. Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts. Strange got his first win of the year for SEMO, striking out nine Huskies over six innings while allowing one hit.
 
"Tonight was just a chilly night and two pretty good staffs with some good arms out there," Copeland said. "We have got to be a bit better offensively. We did a good job working the count but we lost some battles that we needed to win early in the game. We've talked a lot about building a pitching staff that can create swing-and-miss, and we showed today we're getting close. Danny was outstanding out of the bullpen."
 
NIU and SEMO wrap up this weekend's series on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--