DeKALB – NIU baseball (15-26, 4-15 MAC) lost a high scoring battle to Western Michigan University (11-26, 7-12 MAC) on Friday, dropping the series opener by a score of 16-15.
Home runs by four different Huskies, three of them coming in the ninth inning, were not enough in Friday’s action as their 15 run outburst came just short.
“These guys fight,” said NIU baseball head coach Ryan Copeland. “They care, it’s never going to be a problem with effort with our program. Sometimes it’s not good enough, and those guys, offensively, have really turned a corner and it feels like this is one of the more feared offenses in the country. Some of the numbers aren’t as good as we’d like. We need to find a way to get more hits once in a while, but if you have an offensive day like this, we’re as good as it gets in this country.”
The Broncos, a team who had only hit 13 home runs all season before Friday, slugged a season high five long balls and scored a season high 16 runs.
The Huskies were able to jump out to an early 9-1 lead but the Broncos were able to storm back, scoring 13 runs in innings five, six and seven to put them up 14-12.
Junior pitcher Max Vaisvila and redshirt junior pitcher Mason Ruh were the Huskie pitchers responsible for giving up the lead, as the two combined for 3.2 innings pitched, allowing 13 runs on 13 hits and 3 walks.
Ruh was assigned the loss for the game, as his outing only lasted 1.2 innings and he gave up three home runs.
“It’s not good enough on the mound,” Copeland said. “A team like Western Michigan that comes in struggling quite a bit offensively, it sure didn’t look like it today. So we’re just trying to find solutions to the issues on the mound. You like to think you score 15 runs at home on a Friday that you’re going to win.”
Redshirt junior pitcher Adam Brouwer returned to the mound on a pitch count after missing his start last weekend. Brouwer lasted 3 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 unearned run, walking 3 batters and striking out three.
“He was rusty, not his normal self,” Copeland said. “It was an extremely tight zone for both sides. It was tough to throw strikes. But he found a way to go three innings and gave up just one run. So, it’s a good sign for us.”
Despite missing a start, Brouwer still sits tied for fourth place in the MAC in strikeouts with 54. Brouwer is tied with his Huskie teammate, sophomore pitcher Ty Brachbill.
Sophomore outfielder Charlie Parcell reached base five out of the six times he came to the plate Friday, going 2/3 with three walks. Parcell also slugged his fifth home run of the year, surpassing his total from last season.
The left-handed leadoff man also scored a season high 5 runs in the ballgame and now ranks fifth in the MAC in runs scored with 45.
“I think sometimes we’re probably a little tough on Charlie (Parcell),” Copeland said. “We want him to be the best version of himself that he can be. And you saw it today, a guy that’s willing to work deep into counts, a guy that’s willing to take his walks, but a guy that can also go pull side home run on you because he has the bat speed. So what it does is it makes it really tough to pitch to Logan (Gregorio) when Charlie is consistently on base.”
Junior catcher Logan Gregorio continued to swing the bat well as he has all season, going 4/6 with 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored.
Gregorio now leads the MAC in RBIs with 58 and is ranked 10th for batting average at .352.
The lefty slugger also hit his 15th home run of the season which moves him into a tie for second place on NIU’s single season home run list with former Huskie Mike Santoro.
Junior infielder Will Couchman also provided run support out of the cleanup spot, going 3/5 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Couchman also slugged his seventh home run of the year in the ninth inning, which ranks fourth on the team.
Senior outfielder Gavin Baldwin slugged his 13th home run in Friday’s action, a solo shot in the ninth inning to put the Huskies down just one run.
The Huskies will continue their series against Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt and Janice Owens Park. Live stats for the game will be available at SIDEARM Stats and the game will be live streamed via NIU All Access.
