AKRON, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University baseball team split its doubleheader against the Akron Zips Saturday afternoon at Skeeles Field, winning the nightcap 8-2 after Akron won the opener 3-1 in seven innings.
 
"Today was an extremely tough day to play in the elements," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "Our guys did a great job grinding it out all day."
 
NIU (3-13, 3-2 MAC) fell behind 1-0 in the nightcap but took the lead in the top of the third. Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland CC) led off with a single to right field. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) followed with a double down the left field line. Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) then grounded out to second base, driving home Barnes to tie the game 1-1. Scott Combs (Northville, Mich./Michigan State) followed with a run-scoring groundout to put the Huskies up 2-1. The Huskies extended the lead in the fourth on a Paddy McKermitt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) RBI single made the score 3-1.
 
Caleb Pittman (Suffolk, Va./Bryant & Stratton College) struck out four batters in the first four innings, allowing one run on four hits. He stranded runners at second base in both the third and fourth innings. The Huskies extended the lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth on a McKermitt RBI single. Akron threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, putting two runners on base with two outs. Pittman got out of the inning by getting Bryant Shellenbarger to line out to McKermitt at second base.
 
Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry CC) entered the game in relief of Pittman in the bottom of the sixth and retired the first six batters he faced. NIU broke the game open in the top of the eighth with four runs to go up 8-1. With the bases loaded and two out, Erato drew a bases loaded walk to make the score 5-1. A passed ball allowed Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) to score from third for NIU's sixth run. Demetral put the exclamation point on game two with a two-run double down the left field line. The Zips scored one run in the bottom half of the inning, but that would be as close as they would get as NIU secured the twinbill split with an 8-2 victory.
 
"The hitters did a fantastic job of grinding out eight runs and battling the entire game," Kunigonis said about the game two victory. "Pittman and Pederson were awesome and were key in our bounce back to split the day."
 
Erato was 2-for-4 in game two with an RBI and two runs scored. Demetral drove in three runs as part of a 1-for-4 day at the plate. Pittman struck out four batters in five innings, allowing one run on four hits. Pederson allowed one run in four innings of relief for his first save as a Huskie.
 
Akron (4-12, 3-4 MAC) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third of game one. Jackson Haas doubled down the left field line with one out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Tate Wargo then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Haas for the game's first run. After being held scoreless for four innings, NIU tied the game in the top of the fifth. Barnes led off with a walk, then got to third on an Erato sacrifice and a Demetral groundout. Combs then delivered a two-out double to left center, driving home Barnes to make the score 1-1.
 
The Zips took back the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jerry Reinhart drew a walk with one out and got to second base on an Ian Pennington infield single. Haas reached on an error that allowed Reinhart to score and put Akron up 2-1. Wargo then doubled to left center to bring home Haas and make the score 3-1. Akron reliever Jacob Beall made that lead hold up, retiring the seven batters he faced to earn the win.
 
Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College) started the opener on the mound for NIU and pitched all six innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
 
NIU and Akron wrap up their Mid-American Conference series on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
 
--NIU--