NIU baseball secured its third win of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, clinching a spot in the title game with a 10-3 win over the University of Toledo Rockets. 

“We needed a big performance from Danny after the marathon game yesterday, and he was just outstanding,” NIU baseball head coach Ryan Copeland said. “He set the tone, and our offense got out there and got some guys on, and finally broke through there with the double by Caden, and then, the grand slam by Cole. So, yeah, total team effort, we played outstanding defense once again through a ton of strikes, and it’s on to tomorrow.”

With its 34th victory of the season, the Huskies have now tied a program record for victories in a single season. 

The Huskies have now topped two of the MAC’s top three teams in the MAC Tournament after taking down Toledo on Friday. 

A dominant pitching performance from junior pitcher Danny Cihocki and timely hits from NIU’s offense in the later innings helped guide the Huskies to the victory. 

In a season where the Huskies will say farewell to the Mid-American Conference, NIU has a chance to bring the program its first ever MAC Championship. 

Cihocki, who was roughed up earlier this year against Toledo, delivered a gem when NIU needed it after its 15 inning marathon against Miami University Thursday. 

The junior right-hander tossed 7.2 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits while picking up seven strikeouts. 

“It’s just massive,” Copeland said. “It puts us in a really good position for tomorrow night. Whether it’s Kent or Toledo again, we knew we had to get some length out of him, regardless of what it looked like tonight, and not only was he able to pitch deep in the game, he was outstanding throughout the entire game. So those starters are so competitive with one another. I think really good pitching staffs, of course, they compete against the opponent, but they compete with each other as well, and after Max had a great start Wednesday, and Carter was outstanding against Miami yesterday. I know Danny was pretty eager to get the ball.”

Cihocki’s long outing gave the Huskies a chance to rest their bullpen before tomorrow’s title match, using senior pitcher John Lyman to cover the final 1.1 innings to finish off the Rockets. 

The Huskies’ offense had its struggles early, stranding eight runners on base through the first four innings while scoring just one run. 

Almost every Huskie reached a base, with eight of the nine members of NIU’s starting lineup reaching. Graduate first baseman Gavin Baldwin was the lone Huskie kept off base. 

Although Baldwin was unable to reach a base, he did drive in two more runs on sacrifice flies, driving in two runs in each game of the tournament. 

The Huskies’ lone run through five innings was enough to keep them in front, but key insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings allowed NIU to take a commanding lead and put the game away. 

The sixth inning saw NIU pad its one run lead, tacking on two runs on RBI hits from senior infielder Cole Smith and sophomore infielder Nolan Sandee. 

The seventh inning is when NIU put the finishing touches on the Rockets by putting up a six spot in the inning. 

Smith capped off NIU’s explosive inning with a grand slam that made the score 9-0 at the time. 

The grand slam was Smith’s first with the Huskies and his second homer of the MAC Tournament, giving him six long balls on the season. 

Four different Huskies registered multi-hit games, with NIU’s spark plug, freshman outfielder Wyatt Wawro, reaching base in all five plate appearances at the top of the lineup. 

Wawro leads NIU in batting average and on-base percentage in just his first collegiate season. 

Senior outfielder Caden Robertson also reached base three times, going 3 for 5 while driving in two runs to bring his total to 58 on the season, which leads NIU.

Sandee collected two hits as well as a walk, going 2 for 4 out of the third spot in the order. Of his two hits, Sandee delivered an extra base hit to help pad NIU’s lead in the later innings and stole two bases. 

“We had some base runners early, weren’t able to get the big hit, but if you stick with it, keep getting guys on base, grinding out bats, eventually someone’s going to fire,” Copeland said. “So our guys did a great job sticking with our approach. Finally, got into their bullpen, and then when it mattered most we threw a good punch there.”

The Huskies will play in the MAC Title game at 5 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of the consolation bracket final between Toledo and Kent State University. 

“We’ll do everything we can to go get that thing done tomorrow night, so we’ll assume everybody’s available, starters, bullpen until we hear otherwise,” Copeland said.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats for the game will be available via SIDEARM Stats.