MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team scored four runs in the top of the first inning Friday afternoon against the Central Michigan Chippewas and did not look back in a 12-1 victory at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium.
It was a milestone victory for the Huskies. NIU moved to 17-8 in the Mid-American Conference, the most conference wins for the Huskies in a single season. The previous high of 16 was set in four different seasons, most recently in 2013. Head Coach
Ryan Copeland won his 200
th career game as a bench boss between Illinois-Springfield and NIU.
"It's a privilege to be able to be a head coach at this level and you don't do it without a great coaching staff," said Copeland. "I've been with Coach [Joe] Kelch and Coach [Calvin] Peacock for a long time at a couple different spots and you don't get this far without a very high quality staff. We've had a lot of good players, especially going back to my time at UIS and continuing on here. We've had a lot of talent and are getting more talented by the year. We got guys to buy in and coaching them, especially when things are going well, is a blast."
NIU (27-13, 17-8 MAC) outhit Central Michigan 11-6 and drew seven walks in the game.
Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) and
Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) were both 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs. Sandee drove in four runs on the day as Baldwin added three RBI.
Wyatt Wawro (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) was 2-for-5 with an RBI, his 12
th consecutive game with a hit and seventh straight with multiple hits.
The Huskies got off to a fast start offensively in the top of the first. With runners at second and third and two away,
Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) was hit by a Hayden Bailey pitch to load the bases. Sandee put the Huskies on the board with a two-run bloop single to right center, bringing home
Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) and
Vinny Spotofora (Shorewood, Ill./Lake Land College) for a 2-0 lead. After Sandee stole second, Baldwin hit a double down the right field line to bring Romero and Sandee around to score and give NIU a 4-0 lead.
"With our lineup we can move anybody around and it kind of fits," Copeland said. "You just want to make your lineup really tough for the opponent. Today is a sign of really good things when you can roll out Nolan, Gavin, Ivan and Charlie and have them go 7-for-17 with eight RBI at the bottom of the order."
Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College) retired the Chippewas in order in the bottom of the first, getting a sliding catch from
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) on the warning track in center field to start the inning. He then got a groundout and his first strikeout of the game. Parcell put the Huskies up 5-0 in the top of the second, launching the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for his first home run of the season. In the third inning the Huskies loaded the bases with one out on walks to Romero and
Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) and a Sandee infield single. After a popout for the second out, a Jack Potteiger wild pitch allowed Romero to score and give NIU a 6-0 lead.
While the Huskies were scoring Vaisvila was putting zeros on CMU's ledger. The senior lefty retired the first six batters he faced on Friday before Zach Knowlton drew a walk to start the bottom of the third. Drew Loikits put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Knowlton to second base. Vaisvila kept him there by getting a popout and striking out Bryson Webb to end the inning.
The Huskies plated two more runs in the fourth inning to go up 8-0. Smith led off with his third walk of the game, took second base on a wild pitch and stole third with one out. A Spotofora ground out drove in Smith to make the score 7-0. Romero then hit a triple to the right centerfield gap. An errant pickoff throw from catcher Logan Keilan allowed Romero to score NIU's eighth run.
Central Michigan (19-25, 9-16 MAC) got its first hit of the game with one out in the bottom of the fourth on a Keilen single. Vaisvila got a flyout for the second out but a Spencer Verburg triple off the left field wall scored Keilen and made the score 8-1. The Huskies got that run back in the top of the seventh on Baldwin's eighth home run of the season that put the score at 9-1. Sandee hit a two-run home run in the ninth to highlight a three-run inning that made the final score 12-1.
"Today was a good effort in setting the tone for the rest of the weekend," Copeland added. "We performed in all three phases. We were just so good offensively early and made CMU's starter work. Max gave us a great start and we were outstanding on defense. We scored 12 runs on a Friday against a pretty good starter."
Vaisvila moved to 7-0 on the year, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts. NIU is 12-0 this season in games Vaisvila has started on the mound. It was Vaisvila's eighth start this season in which he went at least six innings with three or fewer runs allowed.
The two teams are back in action on Saturday, May 2 at 12 p.m. CT.
--NIU--
