April 9, 2010

Final Stats

Final Box

OXFORD, Ohio - Giving up four runs in the first two innings and getting just three hits turned Friday's Mid-American Conference game against Miami (Ohio) into a 6-1 loss for the Northern Illinois baseball team (10-18, 3-4 MAC).

On a cool and sunny evening at McKie Field at Hayden Park, the RedHawks (13-15, 2-5 MAC) cooled the Huskie bats to the tune of one run on three hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts, as Miami plated six on 13 hits and one walk for the win in Game One of a three-game set.

"I give Tyler Melling a lot of credit," said NIU head baseball coach Ed Mathey. "He did a better job of executing the umpire's strike zone today than we did. Chuck Lukanen threw the ball well but caught too much of the plate early in the game. Miami was aggressive early and got some runs. But that's baseball sometimes. It's a situation where we had very limited opportunities, and when we did, they got out of it.

"It's Game One of a three game series and we need to come out and get after it tomorrow. Tomorrow is an important game."

Miami scratched a run in the first, and could have had more, if not for two stellar catches in the Huskie outfield. A leadoff triple off the right field wall, in which Jordin Hood nearly made a leaping catch on, came around to score on a single to center in the next at-bat. One out later, Cory Krupp made a head-first diving catch on a liner to center, and after a single to left, Alex Beckmann saved a pair of runs with an over-the-left shoulder catch, running straight back in left.

In their next at-bat, the RedHawks started with another leadoff extra base-hit, a double off the left-center wall. An out later, a slow roller to short stop Alex Jones turned into a single, moving the runner to third. On the next play, a single up the middle scored a run, and a double to right over Hood's head scored another, putting a runner on third. A sacrifice fly to right would plate him before the Huskies left the inning down 4-0.

Over the next five frames, starter Chuck Lukanen gave the bats a chance to pull off the comeback. The lefty held Miami scoreless over that stretch, striking out the side in the sixth. But it wasn't in the cards, as the NIU offense was only able to get one run. That tally came in the seventh on a Troy White sacrifice fly to center, scoring Krupp, who reached on a leadoff double to left-center.

"Chuck made a great adjustment after the second," Mathey said. "He did what a Friday starter should do. He gave us an opportunity to get back into it, but we didn't take it offensively."

The RedHawks didn't get to Lukanen again until the eighth, as he seemed to be getting tired, by bringing home a leadoff triple on a one-out single through the left side. Kyle Glancy replaced Lukanen, and got a swinging strikeout, but not before the runner stole second and third on him. Another single through the left side then pushed the game to its final score.

"Chuck was up in his pitch count, but he wanted to compete and have a chance to get out of that inning," said Mathey. "He's earned that right. I'm proud of the way he threw the baseball."

Tyler Melling (2-3) earned the win after throwing eight innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

Lukanen (2-6) took the loss, surrendering six runs on 12 hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Krupp led the offense, reaching base three times on two hits and a walk. Dave Reynolds had the other Huskie hit, going 1-for-3 at the plate.

The teams will play again tomorrow at 1 p.m. CDT and wrap the series Sunday at noon.