KENT, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University baseball team scored 23 runs on 27 hits Sunday afternoon but split its doubleheader against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. NIU won the opener 14-8 with Kent State taking the nightcap 10-9.
 
"We showed a ton of fight today," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "I loved the effort we put forward and how the team responded after Friday's game. They did a great job in game one, but even with the win we need to be better about finishing games. Game two was there for us to win and we let it slip away. We have to grow from it and learn from it going forward."
 
Junior catcher Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine) was 8-for-10 at the plate on the day with three home runs, two doubles, and nine RBI. He was 5-for-6 in the game one win with a home run and five RBI. Gregorio hit two home runs in game two and drove in four more runs while also scoring four runs.
 
"I don't know that I've ever seen anything like the day Logan had, where a hitter just completely dominated the other team," Copeland said. "It's as impressive a performance as I've ever seen in person. He's got a pedigree of hitting and that's why we wanted him here at NIU. Logan just has such good at-bats every single time he goes to the plate."
 
NIU (7-6, 1-2 MAC) put a run on the board early in the opener. Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) was hit by a Nick Guidas pitch to start the game. After a strikeout, Gregorio hit a double that scored Kosobucki all the way from first base to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) led off the second inning with a home run, followed two batters later by a Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) solo blast that put NIU up 3-0.
 
Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) started on the mound for game one, striking out a pair of Kent State batters in the bottom of the first. Micah Kiracofe got the Golden Flashes first hit of the game in the bottom of the second on a single to left field. He later stole second and got to third with two outs. Brachbill stranded the runner in scoring position by striking out Ripken Reese. The Huskies put another run on the board in the top of the fourth as a Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) infield single scored JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) to put NIU ahead 4-0.
 
Kent State (6-7, 2-1 MAC) scored twice in the bottom of the fourth as a two-run single by Hunter Klotz made the score 4-2. The Golden Flashes then tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. With runners at second and third with one out, Brody Williams hit a single through the left side to drive in Jake Casey and put the score at 4-3. Sawyer Solitaria then hit a sacrifice fly to score Hayden Jatczak to level the game 4-4.
 
The Golden Flashes had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Kiracofe led off with a double off NIU reliever Zach Hise (Joliet, Ill./Kentucky). A groundout advanced Kiracofe to third. Hise stranded the runner by striking out both Reese and Landon Tiesing to keep the game tied. Gregorio quickly broke the tie with a leadoff home run in the seventh, putting the Huskies back in front 5-4.
 
"This game is all about momentum," said Copeland. "It all starts on the mound and Zach made the big pitch to get the strikeout. Once Logan hit the home run to get the lead we never looked back."
 
NIU put the game away in the top of the eighth, scoring five runs to take a 10-4 lead. The Huskies loaded the bases on a Loyd single, Kosobucki walk and a fielder's choice. Gregorio laced a single to right to score Loyd and make the score 6-4. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) then cleared the bases with a three-run triple to put the Huskies up five, 9-4. Smart followed with a sacrifice fly to give NIU a 10-4 lead.  The Huskies put four more runs on the board in the ninth on two-run singles from Gregorio and Smart to go up 14-4. Kent State also scored four times in the ninth but it wasn't enough as NIU hung on for the 14-8 win.
 
Smart drove in three runs and was 2-for-3 in game one. Loyd scored three times and was 2-for-4 with his solo home run. Hise got the win in relief, striking out five batters in 3.2 innings while allowing four runs on four hits.
 
The Huskies scored first in the nightcap. With two outs Gregorio drew a walk, followed by a single to left from Baldwin. A wild pitch from Kent State starting pitcher Jacob Bean moved the runners into scoring position. Smart then reached on an error by Solitaria at third base that drove in both runners to give NIU a 2-0 lead.
 
The Golden Flashes responded with three runs in the bottom of the second. Alejandro Covas put Kent State on the board with an RBI single, followed by a Kolton Schaller sacrifice fly that tied the game 2-2. Covas stole second with two outs then scored on a Loyd error that put Kent State in front.
 
NIU came back with Gregorio's second home run of the day in the top of the third to tie the game 3-3. Baldwin and Smart followed with back-to-back singles but were left on base. Kent State got the lead back in the bottom of the inning. Jatczak led off with a double then scored on a Williams double to put the Golden Flashes up 4-3.
 
The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the fifth. Gregorio started the charge with a one-out double down the right field line. Baldwin drove him in with a double of his own to tie the game at 4-4. After a flyout for the second out, Cohn reached base on an error that allowed Baldwin to score and give NIU a 5-4 advantage. The Golden Flashes answered with a two-out RBI double from Solitaria that tied the game 5-5.
 
Will Couchman led off the sixth with an infield single, reaching second on a Matthew Thompson throwing error. After a pair of strikeouts, CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Gregorio then launched a three-run home run over the right centerfield wall to give NIU an 8-5 lead, his second longball of the game and third of the day. Kent State put five runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth to go up 10-8. A two-out grand slam from Casey put the Golden Flashes ahead.
 
NIU attempted to rally with two outs in the top of the ninth. Cohn started it with a double down the left field line. Loyd then reached base on a dropped third strike with the wild pitch advancing Cohn to third. Couchman ripped a liner off the glove of the second baseman Reese that brought in Cohn to make the score 10-9. Kosobucki then came in as a pinch hitter and hit a fly ball to deep centerfield that Kiracofe tracked down to end the game.
 
Baldwin had a season-high four hits in the nightcap, scoring twice. Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College) had a season-high 10 strikeouts on the mound in 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits for a no-decision.
 
NIU heads to Lexington, Ky. Tuesday, March 11 for a matchup against #23 Kentucky. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--