The start of conference play was well worth the wait for the NIU baseball team as they hooked up with Ohio this weekend for an action-packed, three-game series.

Friday’s inclement weather led to a postponement and a Saturday double-header.

The Huskies were not shaken by the wait as they took Game 2 of the double-header 14-10 and won Sunday’s rubber match 10-7. The Huskies dropped the series opener 8-6, however.

“It’s great to win a series on the road in the MAC,” said coach Ed Mathey. “It wasn’t easy out there with the conditions. The temperature was in the 30s [with] rain, sleet [and] snow. But I’m real happy with the effort our guys put forward.”

In Game 1, the Huskies waited until Ohio had a 4-0 lead before exploding for five runs in the top of the third.

NIU took a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh when senior right fielder Brian Toner singled to right and scored senior first baseman Scott Simon. Simon was 4 for 4 with two runs scored and an R.B.I.

“I just had a good rhythm at the plate,” Simon said. “Any time my teammates are hitting the ball well, I get better pitches to see.”

In Game 2, NIU wasted no time with a seven-run first inning. Ohio starting pitcher Matt Schlarb lasted one-third of an inning and allowed an ERA-inflating five earned runs.

Center fielder Pat Minogue walked to open the game and Marc Besteman singled to left.

Simon and Brian Toner followed with back-to-back doubles.

Toner moved to third on a sacrifice fly from third baseman Jessie Seykora, and scored on a wild pitch from Schlarb, a pitch that sent the Ohio starter to an early shower.

NIU left the first inning with a comfortable 7-0 lead, and held off a late Ohio rally with solid work from its relievers.

The bullpen secured the win for Brian Smith (2-4) as Dave Nykiel, Copp, Mark Badgley and Matt German combined to allow one run in three and one-third innings.

When the offensive display was finally over, the dust settled on a 14-10 NIU win.

A 19-hit attack helped NIU pick up its first MAC win. Simon had two doubles, Toner had two doubles and a triple, Minogue and Jeff Thomas had three hits apiece, and Justin Behm went yard for his first home run of the season.

The Huskies’ hot bats carried over to Game 3 as they racked up another 16 hits in the victory.

Toner, Simon and Minogue all had three hits for the Huskies and combined for six RBI’s and four runs.

German threw 2.2 scoreless innings in the series to keep his ERA at 0.00.

Staff Reporter Nathan Lindquist contributed to this article.