March 13, 2010

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. - The Northern Illinois baseball team held a lead late in game one and tied the score late in game two, but the Huskies (3-11) dropped both games of their doubleheader with UC Santa Barbara (7-4) Saturday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. A walk-off single gave UCSB a 7-6 victory in game one, and an unearned run in the seventh inning allowed UCSB to win game two, 3-2.

The Huskies pounded out 21 hits on the day, including three home runs and two doubles.

“A couple of tough losses but our kids came out with great energy and focus,” said head coach Ed Mathey. “We really swung the bats well and it’s good to see that."

"Our starting pitching was outstanding all day long and we threw the ball well enough to win both games. Jeremy (Gonzales) really competed and battled in game one. He gave us a chance to win, but unfortunately our defense let us down. Tom (Barry) was absolutely outstanding in game two but their winning run was unearned. We will continue to work hard on our defense in practice and fix those miscues.”

NIU raced out to a 4-1 lead in game one, only to see UCSB take a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning. The Huskies fought back to tie the game at 6-6 in the eighth inning, but allowed a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth inning.

NIU took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three-run home run by junior Joe Etcheverry (Bakersfield, Calif./Centennial), his second long ball of the season. Sophomore Alex Jones (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) led off the inning with a double, but was forced out on a fielder’s choice. Senior Jordin Hood (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) drew a walk and Etcheverry launched his 8th career home run over the right field wall. Etcheverry now leads the Huskies with 11 RBI on the season.

UCSB scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first when a leadoff walk advanced to third on a wild pitch, passed ball and came home on a two-out RBI single.

Sophomore catcher Brett Frantini (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) led off the fifth inning with his second home run of the season over the left field wall. The Huskies loaded the bases with two outs after Frantini’s home run, but sophomore Troy White (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) flied out to end the inning with NIU ahead 4-1.

UCSB scored two runs, one earned, in the bottom half of the fifth. After a leadoff triple, a NIU error allowed a run to score and the batter to advance to third. A sacrifice fly brought in the Gaucho’s second run of the inning to trim NIU’s lead to 4-3.

Senior Brian Smith (Chicago Ridge, Ill./Richards), who filled in at DH after throwing three scoreless innings yesterday, walked to lead off the sixth inning, and pinch-runner junior Tom Kotis (Rockford, Ill./Madison Area Tech) scored on Frantini’s one-out RBI single to extend the NIU lead to 5-3.

Junior Tom Zelasko (Lansing, Ill./Mount Carmel) relieved starter Jeremy Gonzales (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) in the sixth inning and allowed three runs (two earned) on three consecutive hits and UCSB took a 6-5 lead.

After Zelasko held the Gauchos scoreless in the seventh, senior Dave Reynolds (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) tied the game in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI single. Frantini singled to left with one out and Jones advanced him to second with a two-out single to center. Freshman Jamison Wells (Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly) replaced Frantini on the base paths and scored on Reynolds’ fourth hit of the game to tie the game at 6-6.

Sophomore Kyle Glancy (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) (0-1) replaced Zelasko on the mound with a man on in the eighth inning and retired the next five batters in order.

With two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the ninth inning, Glancy allowed a double down the right field line and walked the next two batters to load the bases. Senior Andy Deain (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) relieved Glancy and allowed an RBI single to end the game.

Gonzales, who threw seven shutout innings in his last outing, allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits over five innings in game one. The junior right-hander struck out a season-high eight batters and walked five in his third start of the season.

Game two featured stellar pitching on both sides, as sophomore Tom Barry (Orland Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) (0-2) and UCSB starter Nick Capito both lasted until the decisive seventh inning. Both teams collected two hits in their respective halves of the seventh inning, yet only UCSB plated a run with the help of a NIU fielding error.

UCSB used a leadoff double and RBI single to race out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

With one out in the top of the fourth, Hood tied the game at 1-1 with a home run over the left field fence. The long ball was Hood’s team-high fifth of the year, fourth of the road trip and 28th of his career.

Barry settled down to hold UCSB off the scoreboard until the fifth inning, when a leadoff walk came all the way around to score without a hit.

Hood was once again the catalyst in the sixth inning, as the senior led off with a double down the left field line and stole third base for his second swipe of the game. After two men reached via the hit-by-pitch, junior Cory Krupp (Cary, Ill./Santa Barbara City College) drove Hood home with an RBI single to tie the score at 2-2.

Barry held UCSB scoreless in the sixth but suffered bad luck in the seventh to pick up the loss. An error to lead off the inning was moved to second on a sacrifice and Barry’s day was done. Glancy relieved Barry and allowed the unearned run to score on an RBI single and UCSB held a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

The Huskies put two runners on base in the ninth inning after Joe Buonavolanto (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale South) singled and Hood reached on an error with two outs. Etcheverry followed with a bomb over the wall in the right field corner, but the ball was ruled foul and he eventually struck out swinging to end the game.

Barry, in his first start and seventh appearance of the season, allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits over a career-high 6.1 innings. The 6-foot-3 left-hander also struck out a career-high four batters.

Deain relieved Glancy in the ninth inning and induced three quick outs. The senior right-hander has now made three consecutive scoreless appearances on the road trip.

The Huskies and Gauchos will play the series finale of their four-game set tomorrow at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT.

- NIU -