EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team hit four home runs and got 26 strikeouts from its pitching staff on Friday as the Huskies swept a doubleheader against the SIUE Cougars at Roy E. Lee Field. NIU rallied in the top of the ninth to win the opener 5-4 and won game two 8-4 in seven innings.
"It was a good day overall," said head coach
Ryan Copeland. "Our pitching has been outstanding for the most part early on this season. We had some struggles today but anytime you're finding ways to win when things aren't going perfectly it's a good sign."
NIU (4-4) got on the board quickly in game one.
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) led off with a single, followed by
CJ Cepicky's (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) first home run of the season to put the Huskies up 2-0.
Adam Brouwer (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) did his part on the mound early to hold that lead. The redshirt-junior recorded five strikeouts in the first three innings, allowing just one hit.
SIUE (2-7) tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Niedzwiedz hit single with one out, followed by a Kyle Ratliff double. Brouwer struck out Fry for the second out, but an Ethan Willoughby single drove in both runners to draw the Cougars even. SIUE had a chance to take the lead in the fifth as Lane Crowden reached on an infield single, then got to third on a stolen base and an errant throw. Brouwer stranded the runner with a ground out and his ninth strikeout of the game. He then struck out the side in the SIUE sixth, giving him 12 for the ballgame and a new career-high.
"Adam's been fantastic to start the season," Copeland said. "He just attacks the zone and throws four pitches for strikes which is tough to do. He competes very hard and gives a chance to win every time he takes the ball."
The Cougars broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bloomer led off with a single up the middle. After Daniel Gierer popped out on a bunt to NIU catcher
Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine), Chase Bloomer advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt by relief pitcher
Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College). Niedzwiedz was intentionally walked to give SIUE runners at the corners with one out. Ratliff then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, driving in Bloomer to give SIUE a 3-2 lead.
The Huskies tied the game in the top of the ninth on a solo home run off the bat of
Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC), his second of the year.
Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) was hit by a pitch from Tyler Davis with two outs to keep the inning alive.
Jalen House (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) came on as a pinch runner and stole second base.
Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) followed with a walk.
Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) then delivered a base hit to centerfield to bring in House and put NIU up 4-3. An error by centerfielder dd allowed Sandee to score all the way from first to give the Huskies a 5-3 lead.
SIUE got within a run in the bottom of the ninth when Crowden doubled down the left field line to drive in Mack Mitchell from second base with two outs to make the score 5-4. That would be as close as the Cougars got.
Zach Hise (Joliet, Ill./Kentucky) got Bloomer to fly out to lock up the win for NIU and get his first career save.
Brouwer allowed two unearned runs on five hits over six innings. His 12 strikeouts were the most by a Huskie pitcher since Eli Anderson had 12 against Western Michigan on April 13, 2013. Cihocki got the win in relief, striking out five batters in 2.2 innings. The 17 strikeouts by NIU pitching in game one was the second-most in a single game in program history. The Huskies struck out 18 Chicago State batters in a game on April 6, 1999.
SIUE scored first in the seven-inning nightcap as Willoughby launched a solo home run down the right field line to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead. The Huskies responded in the top of the third. Parcell drew a walk with one out, followed by a single from
Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere). Gregorio then slugged a three-run home run over the right field fence to give NIU a 3-1 lead.
"Logan's been our best overall hitter early in the year," said Copeland. "He just has professional at-bats. No matter the situation he makes sure to stay in the zone and when he gets a pitch to hit he's got some impressive pop, especially from the pull side."
Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) stranded two runners on base in the bottom of the third. The Cougars got back-to-back hits from Niedzwiedz and Gierer with one out in the inning. Brachbill got Willoughby to fly out to Parcell in centerfield, then struck out Ratliff to get out of the inning unscathed.
NIU tacked on three more runs in the top of the fourth starting with a leadoff home run by
Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO). Cepicky followed with a triple off the right field wall. Loyd drove him in with a double to left field that made the score 5-1. The Huskies loaded the bases on a
Ryan Birr (Brownsburg, Ind./SIU) walk and a Parcell hit by pitch. SIUE reliever Rossy hit Kosobucki with a pitch to drive in the third run of the inning, giving the Huskies a 6-1 lead.
The Huskies led 7-2 in the sixth when the Cougars threatened to rally. With the bases loaded and two out, Gierer laced a single to left to score two runs and get SIUE within three at 7-4.
Mason Ruh (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS) then entered the game from the bullpen and struck out Willoughby to quell the threat. NIU put an insurance run on the board in the top of the seventh on a Cepicky RBI single that put the Huskies up 8-4. Ruh then threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh to get the save and cap off the doubleheader sweep.
Gregorio was 2-for-4 in the nightcap with four RBI. Cepicky also had two hits in the win. Brachbill earned his first win of the season, allowing four runs on six hits in 5.2 innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. Ruh had two strikeouts in his 1.1 innings of relief to get the save.
NIU and SIUE continue this weekend's series on Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m.
--NIU--
