The Northern Illinois University baseball team scored two runs in the first inning Friday at McKie Field at Hayden Park against the Miami RedHawks, but Miami scored four runs in the top of the second on its way to a 6-3 win Friday afternoon.
“Today was a very well-played game by both sides,” said head coach Ryan Copeland. “We swung the bats and attacked early in the game and thought it was going to be an offensive type of game. Unfortunately we were not very fundamentally sound in the second inning and Miami made us pay with a big inning.”
NIU (7-15, 4-3 MAC) got three straight hits to start the ballgame. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) led off with a bunt single up the third base line. Jake Nelson (Altoona, Wis./Madison College) then ripped a single through the right side of the infield, but it hit Parcell on a hop for the first out. Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) laced a single to left center to give NIU runners at first and second. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) then reached on a fielder’s choice to beat out a potential double play. After JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) drove in Nelson and Erato with a base hit up the middle to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead.
Miami (8-12, 3-4 MAC) responded in the top of the second inning. After a flyout to start the inning, Justin Gorski struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch. Ryan Novak drove him in with a triple to right center to make the score 2-1. Tre Keels followed with a run-scoring groundout to Nelson at second base to tie the game at 2-2. Evan Applewick then hit a home run down the left field line to give Miami a 3-2 lead. After a single and a walk, Ty Batusich singled up the middle to bring in the RedHawks’ fourth run.
Miami’s Dylan Novak extended the RedHawks’ lead to 5-2 with a lead-off home run. Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) then retired the side, striking out Gorski and Ryan Novak. The Huskies got that run back in the bottom half of the inning. Erato drew a walk with two outs and put himself into scoring position with a steal of second base. Gauthier then laced a double down the left field line to bring in Erato and make the score 5-3.
The RedHawks went back up by three in the top of the fifth. With runners at second and third and two outs, a balk by Brachbill allowed Gorski to score and give Miami a 6-3 advantage. NIU had a chance to cut into the RedHawks’ lead in the bottom of the fifth. Nelson led off with a double to left center. After a strikeout, Erato drew a walk to give NIU runners at first and second with one away. Miami reliever Peyton Olejnik then got a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.
The NIU bullpen threw four scoreless innings to keep NIU in the game. Jackson Stewart (Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Area CC) retired all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings. Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry Country College) pitched a perfect eighth. Jacob Draeger (Johnston, Iowa/Des Moines Area CC) escaped Miami loading the bases in the ninth by getting a groundout to put a zero on the board. However, the Huskies had no answer for Olejnik who threw 5.2 scoreless innings and locked up the 6-3 win for Miami in the series opener.
“Miami went to its bullpen early and he [Olejnik] did a very nice job and we just had no answer for his stuff,” Copeland said. “Our bullpen, the last few weekends, especially since we hit conference play has been really good. Those guys have stepped up after a pretty tough start to the year. They kept us in the game. We had chances to come back and when you’re down late in the game all you want in an opportunity to put up a couple runs and have a chance to win and our bullpen did that today.”
Parcell and Nelson each had two hits at the top of the order for the Huskies, combining for four of NIU’s eight hits on the day. Brachbill struck out seven batters, tying a season-high for the second straight game, but allowed five earned runs in five innings.
NIU and Miami play the middle game of this weekend’s series on Saturday, March 23 at 12 p.m. CT.