DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team led the Toledo Rockets 3-2 going into the eighth inning Sunday afternoon, but the visitors scored three unanswered runs to spoil the Huskies' Senior Day and win 5-3 at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt & Janice Owens Park.
 
Toledo (25-27, 14-13 MAC) manufactured the first run of the game in the second inning. Charlie Scholvin led off with a double down the right field line. Cole Cahill then hit a deep flyout to JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) in right center that allowed Scholvin to tag up and reach third base. Luke Leto then ripped a single to centerfield to bring in Scholvin and put the Rockets up 1-0. Carter Cox (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) left Leto on base by getting a flyout and a strikeout to end the inning. Cox had six strikeouts in his first four innings on Sunday. The Rockets extended their lead to 2-0 in the sixth on another Leto RBI single.
 
NIU (20-31, 8-19 MAC) tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) started the rally with a two-out double, his second of the game. Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) then drew a walk with both runners advancing on a Braden Curry wild pitch. Gauthier then delivered a base hit to left field, scoring both runners to make the score 2-2 while getting to third on a throwing error by leftfielder Luke Walton.
 
"JP isn't a guy that's afraid of the big moment," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "He wants to be up there when it matters the most."
 
Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College) entered the game from the NIU bullpen in the top of the seventh and threw a scoreless inning. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) led off the bottom of the inning with a pinch-hit walk. Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) then laced a single up the middle that got Cohn all the way to third base. Senior CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) grounded into a double play that scored Cohn and put the Huskies up 3-2.
 
The Rockets tied the game 3-3 in the top of the eighth on a Leto double that drove in Scholvin from third base. Mason Ruh (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS) came in for Vaisvila with one out and runners on second and third. The Huskie reliever kept the game tied by striking out Tre Mariano and getting Walton to ground out.
 
Brayden White led off the Toledo ninth with a single, getting to second base on a Kaleb Herbert sacrifice bunt. After a walk to Caden Konczak, Troy Sudbrook hit a single through the right side to drive in White and make the score 4-3. Scholvin popped out to Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) for the second out of the inning. Cahill then reached on a fielder's choice that scored Konczak and put the Rockets up 5-3. The Huskies had the tying run on base with one out in the bottom of the ninth after Loyd was hit by a pitch and Sandee walked. Nathan Leininger struck out Cepicky for the second out then got a groundout to lock up the series win for the Rockets.
 
"We were not good offensively all weekend," Copeland said. "We just couldn't counter what Toledo was doing on the mound. We scored nine runs in the three games and it's just not good enough."
 
Cox allowed just two runs in six innings, striking out six Rockets while allowing just five hits and two walks, The freshman left-hander has struck out 26 batters in his last 23 innings pitched with an earned run average under 2.00.
 
"We got another good start from Carter after throwing him in relief on Friday," said Copeland. "It's kind of unheard of these days and it speaks to the kind of competitor he is. He was outstanding."
 
Prior to Sunday's game, NIU honored Cepicky, Gauthier, Ryan Birr, Zach Hise, Kaden Kosobucki, Conner Lutes, Chad Saner, Andrew Smart, Nick Varon and Jacob Wilde for Senior Day.
 
"This group of seniors has guys that have been here four, five years and some only one," Copeland said of the class of 2025. "That's always going to be the challenge in college baseball nowadays with the transfer portal and recruiting, to make sure they have a great experience, create some memories and truly enjoy their experience as a Huskie. You try and treat them all like they've been a part of your program for a long time."
 
NIU closes out the regular season at Bowling Green May 15-17.
 
--NIU--