TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team made history once again on Friday night, winning it's first NCAA Tournament game in program history in a 12-10 victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium.
"This was just a remarkable baseball game," said head coach
Ryan Copeland as the Huskies won their fifth game in a row. "It took three weekend starters and one of our better relievers. I loved the game plan offensively. As we've done all year, we were resilient and tough and found a way to battle back. You have to win game one of a regional. You gotta win. It's just hard to climb out of that hole in the loser's bracket. This was a great team win."
Eight of the nine Huskies in the lineup had a hit and all nine reached base.
Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley),
Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet),
Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) and
Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) all had two hits in the game. Sandee was 2-for-2 with two walks and four RBI, tying his season-high.
Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) had three RBI on the night, all in NIU's eight-run fourth inning.
Coastal Carolina (37-21) led 4-0 after two innings, scoring three in the bottom of the second inning. The Huskies put two runs on the board in the top of the third.
Wyatt Wawro (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) led off with an infield single, NIU's first hit of the night. Smith followed with a triple to left field to score Wawro and put NIU in the run column. Sandee then put down a bunt single up the first base line to bring in Smith and cut the Chanticleers lead to 4-2.
"To pretend there wasn't some nerves from our group early, we'd be lying," Copeland said. "I thought we did a good job settling in. You just got to go get that first contact, feel that first ground ball, secure the catch. Once we did that I thought we were pretty relentless offensively and played some really good baseball."
NIU (36-17) took the lead in a big way in the top of the fourth. Romero led off with a single, getting to third on an
Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) double. Robertson hit a deep fly ball to centerfield that scored Romero and got the Huskies within a run at 4-3. Parcell then laced a single through the right side to give NIU runners at the corners with one out. Wawro then dropped a bunt which Coastal Carolina pitcher Colby Richardson threw wide of first base, scoring Dahlberg to tie the game 4-4.
The Huskies weren't done. Smith drew a walk to load the bases for Sandee, who was hit by a pitch which scored Parcell and put NIU up 5-4.
Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) followed with a walk to bring in Wawro and make the score 6-4. After a strikeout, Coastal Carolina brought in its closer Darin Horn. Romero got his second hit of the inning with a single to center, plating two more runs to put the Huskies up 8-4. After a Dahlberg walk, Robertson cleared the bases with a two-run single up the middle to give NIU a 10-4 advantage.
"I'm a big believer that hitting is contagious," Robertson said after his fifth three-RBI game of the year. "Whenever you see one good at-bat after another, it just feels like you're not going to be the guy to make an out. You just want to keep the rally going."
Coastal Carolina cut the NIU lead in half in the bottom of the fifth. A two-run double off the bat of Colby Thorndyke and a Jackson Winer RBI double made the score 10-7. The Chanticleers had a chance to tie or even take the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) entered from the bullpen and hit the first batter he faced, then allowed a double to Dean Mihos. Cohn got Trace Mazon to foul out to Baldwin at first base for the first out. After a second hit by pitch loaded the bases, Cohn struck out both Domenico Tozzi and Blagen Pado to hold Coastal scoreless in the inning and keep NIU up 10-7. The junior reliever threw 2.2 scoreless innings to keep the Huskies in the lead.
"Cooper has thrown 10.2 scoreless innings in the postseason," Copeland said. "He survived against an outstanding Coastal team. They're gritty over there and he competed his tail off and it felt like the game there in the sixth, getting those two strikeouts with the bases loaded and finding a way to get the job done."
NIU got some needed insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Parcell reached on a single to right field with one out. Wawro then drew a walk with both runners advancing a base on a Daniel Parker balk. Sandee took advantage and drove in both runners with a double to right center, extending the Huskies' lead to 12-7. The Chanticleers got three runs back in the bottom of the ninth on a three-run home run from Mihos but
Carter Cox (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) got Rex Watson to lineout to Baldwin at first to finish off the Huskies' first-ever win at the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The Huskies are the first Mid-American Conference team to win a game at an NCAA Regional since Central Michigan in 2022. NIU is now 16-0 this season when scoring 10 or more runs in a game.
Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) earned the win in relief, going 2.1 innings for his seventh victory this season. Cohn had four strikeouts in 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and two walks. Cox earned his first save of the season, striking out three over 1.1 innings.
NIU will face St. John's on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT. The Red Storm upset the #10 national seed Florida State 6-5 on Friday.
—NIU—
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