EDWARDSVILLE, IL - The Northern Illinois University baseball team swept Sunday's seven-inning doubleheader against the SIUE Cougars at Roy E. Lee Field, winning game one 13-2 and rallying to win the nightcap 5-3. It's the first time the Huskies swept a non-conference weekend series since March 5-6, 2010 when NIU won all three games at Cal State Bakersfield.

"I'm really proud of what our group did this weekend," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We kind of did it in all aspects. We know we have to be more consistent offensively, but it was nice to see the bats do what they did in game one. We played complimentary baseball all weekend and showed a great amount of fight."

NIU (6-4) put five runs on the board in the top of the first of game one, sending 11 batters to the plate. All five runs came with two outs. starting with a CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) single that scored Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere). Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) followed with a single to center that scored Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) and put the Huskies up 2-0. Ryan Birr (Brownsburg, Ind./SIU) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College), who laced a two-run single to right field to make the score 4-0. Kayden Jennings (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) drew a walk to load the bases and keep the line moving. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) was hit by a pitch to drive in Birr for the fifth run of the frame.

SIUE (2-8) got a run back in the bottom of the first on a Kyle Ratliff fielder's choice. NIU responded with two runs in the top of the second. Smart hit a double to left center that drove in Cepicky and Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine), making the score 7-1. The Cougars put another run on the board in the bottom of the second, but the Huskies put another crooked number on the board in the top of the third. Parcell led off with a bunt single, then stole both second and third base. He scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Kosobucki, beating a throw home from third baseman Ethan Willoughby. Kosobucki scored on a two-out passed ball to make the score 9-2.

"Logan, Gavin and Andrew felt dangerous all weekend," Copeland said. "Those guys were really good. They a presence in the box about them and that's exactly what we want offensively."

Baldwin put the Huskies up by 10 runs in the top of the fifth, launching a three-run home run over the left centerfield wall to give NIU a 12-2 advantage. It was Baldwin's fourth home run of the season. Cepicky followed with a solo shot to left field to make the score 13-2. SIUE scored twice in the sixth but that would be it for the Cougars.

Eight of the nine NIU starters in the batting order had a hit in the opener. Baldwin and Smart were both 2-for-4 with three RBI. Cepicky was 2-for-3 with two RBI and scored three runs. Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College) went the distance, allowing four runs on 10 hits in seven innings. He walked just one batter while striking out eight Cougars.

The Huskies left five runners on base in the first two innings of the nightcap. SIUE struck first as Ratliff hit a home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead. The Cougars put two more runs on the board in the third, one coming on a Chase Bloomer RBI triple, to go up 3-0.

Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) led off the top of the fourth with a double. Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) followed with a single to center that gave the Huskies runners at the corners. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) drove in Couchman with a line drive single to left, making the score 3-1. Loyd then drew a walk to load the bases. An error by second baseman Lane Crowden on a Parcell soft liner allowed both Sandee and Cohn to score and tie the game at 3-3. After a groundout, Gregorio hit a sacrifice fly to score Loyd and put NIU in front 4-3.

SIUE threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with two outs. Mason Ruh (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS) entered the game from the bullpen and got Willoughby to flyout to Parcell in left center to keep the Huskies in front. Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) came in to pitch in the fifth and threw three scoreless innings of relief for his first career save. The sophomore struck out four SIUE batters while allowing two hits and a walk. Smart tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a two-out solo home run that made the score 5-3.

"Danny has been great all year long," Copeland said about the sophomore reliever. "He's got a good fastball with some jump that can beat people. We kept rolling him out there and I'm impressed by how he's handled himself in big moments."

NIU opens Mid-American Conference play next weekend, March 7-9, at Kent State. Friday's opener is at 2 p.m. CT.

—NIU—