The Northern Illinois University baseball team took the Mid-American Conference leaders Bowling Green to the wire Friday afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt and Janice Owens Park, but the Falcons broke a 4-4 tie with a three-run home run in the ninth to come away with a 7-4 win in NIU’s home opener.
“We found a way to fight back against a good team,” said head coach Ryan Copeland. “It felt like we had a chance to take the game once we tied it. We’ve got to find a way to win games late and take them from other teams. It’s nice to be back on our home field because we’ve been gone for so long. It’s nice to get this one under our belts. Hopefully we can settle in and play good baseball throughout the day tomorrow.”
NIU (10-19, 6-7 MAC) trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. With one out, pinch-hitter Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) launched a home run over the left field fence to tie the game at 4-4. Bowling Green reliever Owen Poole kept the game tied with a strikeout and a groundout. The Falcons had a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Bowling Green had runners at second and third with one out when Garrett Wright hit a groundball to NIU third baseman Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College), who got Leighton Banjoff caught in a rundown between third base and home for the second out. Jackson Stewart (Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Area CC) then got Nathan Archer to groundout to end the inning.
“Our defense has been great all year,” Copeland said. “That’s a testament to the way [assistant] coach [Joe] Kelch does things with our infielders. Our outfield defense has been good with catching the baseball and being accurate with their throws back in. We feel like we can play defense with anyone in the country.”
Bowling Green (13-10, 10-0 MAC) put its first two batters in the top of the ninth on base. Sam Seidel led off with a single and advanced to second when D.J. Newman was hit by a pitch. Stewart struck out Tyler Ross for the first out, with Seidel and Newman both advancing on a double steal. Jack Krause broke the tie with a three-run home run over the right field fence to make the score 7-4. Falcons relief pitcher Connar Penrod got the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure the series-opening win.
The Falcons jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third, capped off by a two-run single from Krause. NIU got back in the game with a three-run fourth inning. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) led off with a double, extending his current hitting streak to seven games. After a popout Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) ripped a double to left centerfield to bring in Erato and make the score 4-1. CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) followed with a two-run home run just inside the left field fair pole, his second home run of the season, to get the Huskies within a run at 4-3.
Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) went five innings on the mound in his first start on the home field, tying a season-high with seven strikeouts while allowing four runs on five hits and five walks. Ryan Linkletter (McHenry, Ill./Iowa Central CC) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. The middle of the NIU lineup – Kelley, Cepicky and Nelson – combined to go 4-for-12 at the plate with three RBI.
Due to inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday, April 7, NIU and Bowling Green will wrap up their series with a doubleheader tomorrow, Saturday, April 6. First pitch of game one is at 11 a.m. CT.