Baseball

NIU Sets Program Records In 27-11 Fly the Flag Win Over Northwestern

Tuesday’s Baseball Results

Northern Illinois 27, Northwestern 11 (7 innings)
Bowling Green 15, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Ball State 3, Butler 2
Michigan State 14, Western Michigan 4
Michigan 10, Toledo 0 (7 innings)
Kentucky 4, Miami 3
Dayton 10, Ohio 8
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Northern Illinois 27, Northwestern 11 (7 innings)
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team scored a program record 27 runs and also drew a program-record 17 walks on Tuesday in a 27-11 seven-inning win over the Northwestern Wildcats at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.

"We had a tough weekend at Ball State and sometimes all you need is a change in scenery," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We felt confident coming in here after playing really well and swinging the bats last year. We challenged our guys to stay at it offensively and make sure we stayed in the strike zone. Once we got the lead, we stayed relentless and were on the barrel one through nine. Everybody was dangerous and had good at-bats."

NIU's previous record for runs was 22 which the Huskies reached twice in the 2000 season. Wednesday's game marked the second time NIU broke its single-game walk record. The Huskies had 16 walks in their 21-2 win at Nicholls on Feb. 16. This is NIU's second consecutive win over a Big Ten team this year, as well as its second straight win over the Wildcats. It's the first time NIU has beaten multiple Big Ten teams in a season since 2003 when the Huskies earned wins over Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.

Another piece of NIU baseball history was made on Tuesday as senior outfielder CJ Cepicky (St. Louis, Mo./Missouri) became the first Huskie to hit two grand slams in the same game. His slam over the right centerfield wall in the second inning put NIU ahead 5-1. He came up to bat with the bases loaded again in the top of the seventh and cracked his second grand slam to left center, making the score 27-10 and putting an exclamation point on the Huskies' record-setting offensive outburst. His eight RBI on the day tied the NIU single-game individual record, last set by Alex Jones against Western Michigan on May 14, 2009.

"I don't think I'd ever hit a grand slam before, let alone two home runs in the same game," Cepicky said after his big day. "To do it against a Big Ten team was special. I've been struggling a bit and the guys picked me up. This is the momentum we needed. It's our second Big Ten win of the year. It shows how good of a team we are when we pitch, hit and field and put it all together."

NIU (13-22) led 5-2 after two innings and broke the game open in the third. JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) was hit by a pitch and got to second on an Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC) single. Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) then hit a double down the left field line to score both runners and give the Huskies a 7-2 lead. Cooper Cohn (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) followed with a double of his own to bring in Loyd and make the score 8-2. After a Cepicky walk, Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) got his third hit of the game with a bunt single to Owen McElfatrick at third base, who threw the ball out of play which allowed Cepicky to score. Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine) then launched a three-run home run to left center to put NIU up 12-2.

The Huskies tacked on three more runs in the fourth to go up 16-2. NIU put six runs on the board in the top of the sixth. Parcell capped the inning with a three-run double to right center that gave him five RBI on the day and the Huskies a 22-5 lead.

"As Charlie goes, our offense goes," Copeland said. "He's done a much better job of working deeper counts. It helps our offense and especially Logan and Gavin right behind him. It was a really good day for him."

Eight of the nine Huskies in the batting order drove in a run on Tuesday. Parcell had a career-high four hits and five RBI. Gregorio also drove in five runs, tying a season-high while hitting his  14th home run of the year. Loyd was 2-for-2 with three walks, four RBI and five runs scored. Cepicky also scored five runs from the nine-spot in the lineup.

Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) started on the mound and went 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Mason Ruh (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran HS) earned the win, going 1.1 scoreless innings.

"Danny threw the ball better than his line says," said Copeland. "It was a tough day to pitch with a quick field and the wind blowing out. He looked the part and made it tough on them. I liked how he threw the ball. We treated this like a must-win, and we threw our good arms to find a way to win today."

Bowling Green 15, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Box Score
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team picked up a midweek win on Tuesday (April 15) registering a 15-5 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on the road. The Mastodons scored in the first inning, but the Falcons went on to score nine unanswered runs from the third through sixth innings, leading to the win. In total, the Orange and Brown recorded 14 hits and drew nine walks on the way to the win. BGSU moves to 24-11 on the season with a three-game home series set for this weekend against the MAC-leading Ball State Cardinals.

For Bowling Green, Gunner Antillon led the way with four hits, including his first home run of the season, two doubles and four RBI. Garrett Wright followed with three hits, including two doubles of his own. In total, 10 different Falcons reached base, eight logged a hit and eight scored on the way to the win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • In the bottom of the first, Purdue Fort Wayne connected on a solo home run for a 1-0 lead.
  • With two outs in the top of the first, Gunner Antillon logged the first BGSU hit of the game, ripping a double to left center. 
  • In the third inning, the Falcons joined the scoring. Carter Mottice and TJ Takats both walked to put two on for BGSU before Garrett Wright was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brady Birchmeier was also plunked, forcing home Mottice for the first Falcon run with a 1-1 score.
  • After a pitching change for the Mastodons, Gavin Ganun and Zack Horky drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to push home Takats and Wright for a 3-1 BGSU advantage. 
  • The rally continued with the first Bowling Green hit of the inning, coming from an Antillon single to left to score Birchmeier, keeping the bases loaded. Brayden Curlis followed with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home Ganun for a 5-1 lead.
  • The Falcons added on in the fourth. Takats singled and Wright doubled to put two runners in scoring position. A pinch-hit sacrifice fly by Caden Parker was enough to score Takats followed by a Ganun single to score Wright for a 7-1 score and PFW pitching change. 
  • After the change on the mound, the Falcons kept the rally going. Horky singled to left center, scoring Ganun after he stole second and took third on a throwing error.
  • In the sixth inning, Horky was hit by a pitch with two outs and took second on a throwing error. Antillon made the error count, connecting on his second double of the day to score Horky for a 9-1 lead.
  • The Mastodons answered with a run in the sixth, cutting the score to 9-2. 
  • The Falcons response came in the top of the seventh. Takats walked, took second on a wild pitch and third on a throwing error, setting up an RBI single for Wright, pushing the score to 10-2.
  • With two outs in the eighth, the Falcons rallied again. Curlis doubled before a Mottice single put runners at the corners. Alex Laird was able to single up the middle, scoring both Curlis and Mottice for a 12-2 tally.
  • The back-and-forth continued into the bottom of the eighth with Purdue Fort Wayne scoring three for a 12-5 score.
  • In the ninth, Wright led off with a double down the left field line, taking third on a wild pitch before a walk to Ganun put runners at the corners. Horky hit into a fielder's choice, but it was enough to plate Wright for a 13-5 score. 
  • In the next at-bat, Antillon blasted his fourth hit of the day, a two-run home run to right, bringing Horky home with him for a 15-5 advantage. 

Ball State 3, Butler 2
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS – The Ball State baseball team had contributions from seven different pitchers and used timely hitting on its way to a 3-2 win at Butler on Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Park.

The Cardinals (27-11) secured the season sweep of the Bulldogs (12-24) with Garrett Harker shutting down the hosts after they started the ninth inning with a leadoff double.

Korbin Griffin had an RBI grounder to plate Ty Davis, and Max Kalk drove in Ben Giovannetti with a double in the second inning to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Butler scored once in the fifth before Nick Husovsky provided an insurance tally for the visitors on a single to left field that brought in Alex Richter in the seventh inning.

Harker struck out two in 1.1 innings of work for his seventh save of the season. After Butler led off the ninth frame with a two-base hit, the senior sandwiched swinging strikeouts around a flyout to shut the door on a potential Bulldogs comeback.

Brendan Garza (1-0) struck out three in 2.1 innings to be credited with his first career win. Zach Kwasny, Will Jacobson and Evan Shapiro started the game with a scoreless inning each.

"We found a way to win despite losing the freebie war," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Brendan Garza gave us a lift out of the pen."

Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play with a three-game set at Bowling Green beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday.