ST. CHARLES, MO – The Northern Illinois University baseball team erased a four-run deficit to the Lindenwood Lions and scored a season-high in runs in a 14-8 win Sunday at Lou Brock Sports Complex.
NIU (7-4) scored double-digit runs for the second time this season and had a season-high 14 hits.
Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) was 3-for-6 with two runs batted in and two runs scored.
Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) and
Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) both scored three runs.
"I think the ultimate goal for your lineup is just that every single hitter is dangerous and they can beat you in a variety of ways," said head coach
Ryan Copeland. "We try to lengthen our lineup a lot with just the construction of it. When you got someone like Marcus in the five hole and Caden hitting sixth, those guys came up with two huge hits in the ninth and it makes you feel really good about where you're at."
The Huskies trailed 8-5 going into the fifth inning. Romero led off the frame with a walk, getting to second on a passed ball. Robertson drove him in with a single to centerfield to make the score 8-6. An error by Lindenwood centerfielder Kam Edwards allowed Robertson to get to third.
Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) followed with a base hit to left field that scored Robertson and got the Huskies within a run at 8-7.
Nick Bassi (Zionsville, Ind./St. Charles CC) entered the game from the NIU bullpen and promptly retired the first six Lions batters he faced, then stranded a runner on base in the seventh. The Huskies took the lead in the top of the eighth. Robertson loaded the bases with one out with a walk. Cohn then was hit by a pitch to bring home Dahlberg and tie the game at 8-8.
Vinny Spotofora (Shorewood, Ill./Lake Land College) reached on a fielder's choice that scored Romero and gave NIU a 9-8 lead.
Josh Loren (North Liberty, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and retired the side. NIU tacked on five runs in the ninth on a two-run Romero single and a Robertson three-run home run to go up 14-8, giving the Huskies their fifth win in the last six games.
"It just felt like it was going to be a high-scoring game," Copeland said. "We just stayed at it offensively and even when Lindenwood kept us off the scoreboard our outs were extremely loud. Throwing that final punch there to give us some margin for error in the ninth was an added bonus."
Lindenwood (5-7) opened the scoring with a two-run single from Will Geary that put the Lions up 2-0. The Huskies responded with four runs in the top of the third, highlighted by a two-run double from Smith. The Lions tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the third on a Geary RBI double and a William Zareh sacrifice fly. NIU went back in front 5-4 in the top of the fifth when
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) scored on a wild pitch. Lindenwood scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, capped off by a two-out Filip Sarota RBI double, to take an 8-5 lead.
Bassi earned the win in relief for NIU, throwing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Loren had his fifth scoreless appearance of the season.
"To come up with five zeroes after spotting them eight runs speaks to how good Nick, Josh and Blake [Gaskey] were today and how much they picked up our team," said Copeland. "With the way we're playing offensively you just never feel out of it. The more and more you start to come back in games like these, you truly start to believe you can win any type of game."
NIU opens Mid-American Conference play next weekend at Ohio. The series opens on Friday, March 6 at 2 p.m. CT.
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