DeKALB | A ninth-inning rally made for a good bus ride home.

On the verge of being swept by Southern Illinois (9-4), the NIU (2-4) men’s baseball team scraped together a four-run ninth Sunday for a dramatic 9-6 win.

A clutch two-out, three-RBI double from junior right fielder Danny Reed cleared the bases, and made a winner out of Matt German (2-0).

Despite being stretched to 2 2/3 innings of work, the senior closer surrendered only two hits and struck out four.

“I was trying to float the zone,” German said. “They had some aggressive hitters; I knew that if I got my slider over early in the count, I’d have some success.”

Confidence at the plate was the key for Reed, as the junior-college transfer said that once the game was tied, his goal was to seize the momentum that invaded the NIU dugout.

Trailing 6-5 with one out in the ninth, red-hot senior third baseman Jesse Seykora’s third hit of the game scored sophomore shortstop Bobby Stevens to tie the game 6-6.

“They brought in a side arm junk-baller, he left a change-up up in the zone, and I stayed back and lined it over the shortstop’s head.”

On the weekend, Seykora was 7-for-16 with three runs, four doubles, one homer and four RBI.

“Jesse has had a very good start to the season,” NIU coach Ed Mathey said. “He’s exceeded expectations and has been great in RBI situations.”

The performance of sophomore pitcher Cody Adams allowed SIU to control Game 2 from the rubber. The right-hander scattered seven hits, held NIU to one run, and struck out nine in an eight-inning performance.

A second-inning blast off the bat of Seykora cleared the fences at Abe Martin Field for the lone Huskie run in a 5-1 loss.

In game one, SIU used a four-run seventh inning to post a 9-4 victory.

A first-inning single from Seykora knocked in Stevens and senior second baseman Marc Besteman for a 2-0 lead.

SIU took a 3-2 lead in the sixth with an RBI single from right fielder Aaron Roberts.

NIU rallied behind Seykora’s third hit of the day and the first home run as a Huskie from Reed, but the decisive four-run, four-hit seventh proved to be too much to overcome.

The come-from-behind win Sunday gave NIU confidence and resolve heading into their spring trip that starts next Saturday.

“We are looking to go to Florida and win,” German said. “This was like our preseason, and it’s over now; we are going down there to win every game. Losing is unacceptable.”