Baseball (6-17) opened conference play with a three-game series against Ohio University over the weekend, winning two out of three to take its second straight MAC opening series.

NIU began the weekend on a strong note, shutting the Bobcats out for a 2-0 victory Friday. Freshman pitcher William Anderson picked up the win for the Huskies, pitching a shutout in eight innings of work on the mound. He hasn’t given up a run in more than 17 innings, giving him two consecutive scoreless outings.

The Bobcats returned with a strong showing in the second game of the series Saturday, beating the Huskies in a close 4-2 contest. Ohio senior infielder John Adryan hit two home runs on the day, the second coming in the bottom of the eighth inning to seal the game.

Junior pitcher Jake Rudnicki earned the win for the Bobcats, pushing him to 3-0 for the year. Rudnicki pitched seven innings, giving up just two hits and two runs. He threw 101 pitches and struck out two batters.

NIU topped the weekend off with a 3-1 victory Sunday, out-hitting Ohio 8-6. Sophomore pitcher Donovin Sims picked up the win, going 7.1 innings and allowing four hits and striking out five. Sims’ 7.1 innings are a career-high. The win marked the second straight season NIU has won its opening MAC series.

“This was a great team weekend,” said head coach Mike Kunigonis, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “We pitched, we had clutch hitting, we played solid defense and we did it all against a really good Ohio team [that] won the conference tournament last year. Donovin gave us a great start for the second week in a row and we battled all game offensively and got it done.”

The team has now put together its strongest stretch of the season, winning four of its last six games. It still has a long way to go to get to .500, but has a lot of time to do so with many home stands and more than half a season left.

The Huskies will return to action this week with a one-game series against the University of Iowa. The first pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. Wednesday in Iowa City. They will end the week with a three-game series against Miami University beginning 3 p.m. Friday at Ralph McKinzie Field.