The Northern Illinois University baseball team erased an early 6-0 deficit Friday afternoon to take the series opener against the Butler Bulldogs 17-10 at Bulldog Park.

“Today was a good, tough win,” said head coach Ryan Copeland. “To go down like that early and fight all the way back and finish, continue to get better as the game went on was really good to see.”

The Huskies’ comeback was their largest since May 17, 2024 when NIU came back from down 8-3 to Eastern Michigan for a 15-14, 11-inning win. JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) had a career-high four hits in the game, including two home runs, and had four RBI. Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) and Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) each had three hits in the game with Smart driving in three runs. Couchman extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

“Will has been a welcome addition to the middle of our order,” Copeland said. “He’s another dangerous left-handed bat and has been on the barrel more. We’ve been waiting for someone to step up and get hot and that’s been him, especially in the five-hole behind Smart and Gavin [Baldwin] and Logan [Gregorio]. JP has been a spark near the bottom of the order, turning pitches to hit into doubles and home runs.”

NIU (9-14) trailed 8-4 going into the fifth inning. Couchman led off with a single, his third hit of the game, and stole second base. Gauthier then hit a single through the left side. An error allowed Couchman to score as Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) got to first base. Nolan Sandee (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, Wis./West De Pere), who drew a walk to make the score 8-6.

Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine) hit a sacrifice fly to score Loyd and get the Huskies within a run at 8-7. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Smart tied the game 8-8 on an infield single, capping an inning where NIU scored four runs on three hits.

The Huskies took the lead in the top of the sixth. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) led off with a walk. Gauthier then sent a home run, his second of the year, over the right field wall to put NIU up 10-8. NIU extended its lead in the seventh. Parcell drew a walk with two outs and got to second on a Gauthier single. Loyd then hit a double that scored Parcell to make the score 11-8, but Gauthier was thrown out at home plate trying to score.

Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) came in from the bullpen to get the final out of the Butler sixth, then retired the side in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams scored in the eighth and NIU pulled away in the ninth. The Huskies scored five insurance runs, two on Gauthier’s second home run of the game then three on a Gregorio blast, to take a 17-9 lead in the ninth. The Bulldogs put a run on the board in the bottom of the ninth but Cihocki held Butler at bay to lock up his second save of the season.

“It was a really offensive day with the wind howling out to right field,” Copeland said. “At 10-8 we felt a little tight, but once we made it 12-8 and 14-9 we felt really good about where we were. The hitters in college baseball are as good as ever so a game is never really put away. Butler is a well-coached team that’s going to fight until the end, so every run we can add on late in the game is beneficial to us and the pitching staff.”

Butler (7-17) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with two outs when Tommy Townsend was hit by an Adam Brouwer (Tinley Park, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) pitch, followed by a Harry Carr infield single. David Ayers laced a single to centerfield to score two runs and put Butler in front. The Bulldogs extended their lead in the bottom of the second to 6-0, scoring four runs with three on a Townsend home run.

NIU responded with four runs in the top of the third. Baldwin reached base on a two-out error. He then took second base on a wild pitch. Smart drove in the junior first baseman with a double to centerfield for the Huskies’ first run of the game. Couchman made the score 6-2 with a single to center, bringing Smart around to score. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) followed with a two-run home run over the right field fence to get NIU within two at 6-4.

Brouwer earned his second win of the year on the mound, battling through 5.2 innings. Cihocki went the last 3.1 innings for NIU to earn his second save. The sophomore allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in his longest appearance of the season.

“Danny’s been throwing the ball well and we knew we could use him as a bridge guy to get deeper in the game,” said Copeland. “He’s thrown a lot for us lately and once he got to the 30, 40-pitch count we decided to let him finish the game.”

The Huskies and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29 beginning at 11 a.m. CT with a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning nightcap.