CHICAGO – The Northern Illinois University baseball team rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth inning Tuesday night against the UIC Flames and hung on for a 9-8 victory at Granderson Stadium.
"It's getting to sound like a broken record but the resilience this team shows night-in and night-out is so impressive," said head coach
Ryan Copeland. "This was a really gritty win against a really good program, and to come from behind after we give up four runs in the sixth speaks so much about our guys. This was a really good win tonight."
This is the Huskies' first win over UIC since April 10, 2018. The top four batters in the NIU lineup –
Wyatt Wawro (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South),
Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet),
Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) and
Vinny Spotofora (Shorewood, Ill./Lake Land College) – were a combined 9-for-20 at the plate with six runs batted in. Spotofora drove in four runs and hit his second home run in three games.
NIU (23-12) trailed UIC 8-5 going into the eighth inning.
Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) led off with a walk and got to second base on a one-out Wawro groundout. Sandee then laced a single to left field, scoring Couchman to make the score 8-6. UIC left fielder Ashton Kampa bobbled the ball on the play, allowing Sandee to reach second. Robertson followed with a double off of UIC reliever Payton Barton to bring around Sandee and make it a one-run game, 8-7. Spotofora then stepped up to the plate and blasted a two-run home run over the left field fence to give NIU a 9-8 lead.
"Vinny put a really good swing on the ball," Copeland said of the go-ahead homer. "He had doubled earlier in the game. Vinny is really good when he uses the whole field."
Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry), in just his third relief appearance of the season and his career, retired UIC in order in the bottom of the eighth to cap two scoreless innings of relief.
Matt Tarr (North Aurora, Ill./Purdue) entered the game in the bottom of the ninth to lock up the save. He struck out Jake Busson for the first out but walked Kampa. Tarr bounced back with a strikeout of Thomas Curry for the second out. He struck out Vidal Colon, but an errant throw on a dropped third strike kept the inning alive. Tarr struck out Colin Husko to finish the game as
Connor Mendell (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) completed the strikeout with a toss to
Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) at first base.
Cohn threw a career-high two innings to earn his first career win, allowing one hit with one strikeout. Tarr got his fourth save of the year with a scoreless ninth. Freshman
Mason Orton (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) started the game and allowed two runs on three hits in four innings. He struck out a season-high seven batters with just one walk.
"Cooper gave us such a big lift out of the bullpen," said Copeland. "He came in throwing a ton of strikes and a bunch of different pitches in the zone. Matt's stuff was real tonight. His fastball was good and his slider was about as sharp as its been since early in the season."
NIU opened the scoring in the top of the first. Wawro led off with a single, reaching third on a Sandee base hit. After a strikeout for the first out, Spotofora hit a ground ball to Busson at second base to bring home Wawro and give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
UIC (15-22-1) responded in the bottom of the first. Orton got off to a good start on the mound for NIU, getting a popout and a strikeout for the first two outs. Kampa got the Flames' first hit of the game with a double to right field. Designated Hitter Thomas Curry followed with a two-run home run over the left field fence to put UIC ahead 2-1. Orton settled in from there, retiring seven of the next eight batters faced with four strikeouts.
The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) reached base on a one-out walk.
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) then was hit by a Keegan Luxum pitch. Couchman cleared the bases with a three-run home run over the right field wall, putting the Huskies ahead 4-2. UIC scored five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 7-4 lead.
NIU hosts Eastern Michigan for a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt & Janice Owens park this weekend. The series begins on Friday, April 24 at 3 p.m.
--NIU--
