Baseball | April 9
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team wraps up its current four-game homestand this weekend against the Mid-American Conference leaders Kent State beginning Friday at 3 p.m. at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt & Janice Owens Park.
For Saturday's 2 p.m. game NIU Baseball is partnering with the American Heart Association for a #WearRed game. Fans can go to
https://niuhuskies.com/AHA to donate to NIU's Lifesavers League cause through April 11, which raises awareness and critical funds to congenital heart defects, mental well-being, nutrition security, CPR education and more as the AHA works to create a world free from heart disease and stroke.
NIU (18-10, 10-5 MAC) took two out of three games at UMass last weekend, the Huskies fourth conference series win out of five.
Carter Cox (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) threw a career-high eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in the Huskies' 6-0 win against the Minutemen on April 4. He was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday and was ranked by D1Baseball as having the top pitching performance in the country for that day. Cox is the third NIU pitcher to earn the MAC's weekly pitching honor joining
Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) and
Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College).
Vaisvila leads the MAC with 51 strikeouts entering the weekend. Cox is fourth in the league with 11.18 strikeouts per nine innings. As a team NIU is third in the MAC with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings and second with 8.54 hits allowed per nine innings. Kent State leads the MAC with a 4.81 team earned run average and 8.31 hits allowed per nine innings.
Senior second baseman
Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) leads NIU with a.381 batting average, which puts him fifth in the MAC. Smith is on a five-game hitting streak entering the weekend with multiple hits in each game. In that stretch Smith is hitting .545 with a .583 on-base percentage. He is second in the league with 13 doubles and two triples.
Kent State (24-7, 12-3 MAC) comes into the weekend on a five-game winning streak after defeating Akron in a non-conference game 12-7 on Wednesday night The Golden Flashes swept their series at Ohio last weekend, outscoring the Bobcats 42-8. Sophomore Sawyer Solitaria leads Kent State with a .339 batting average, 10 home runs and 31 RBI. On the mound senior Ciaran Caughey is second in the MAC with a 2.59 ERA and fifth in strikeouts with 45.
NIU last won a series against Kent State in 2021. The last time the Huskies won a series against the Golden Flashes in DeKalb was back in 2008. The Golden Flashes at 12-3 in the MAC lead Toledo by a game with NIU, Miami, Western Michigan and Ball State all tied for third at 10-5.
For every Saturday home game, fans will have the opportunity to participate in "Baseball Bingo" presented by Sonic. Fans can pick up their complimentary bingo card from the marketing table and winners will receive prizes courtesy of Sonic. Sundays are Kids Day At The Ballpark presented by Raising Cane's. Following each Sunday home game kids ages 12 and under can run the bases postgame. Admission to NIU Baseball games is free.
The Huskies are on the road next week to take on Illinois State on Tuesday, April 14 before going to Akron for a series April 17-19.
--NIU--
