On a day when swirling winds were blowing in toward the first base side, home runs were not a viable option for the NIU baseball team.

To compensate, head coach Ed Mathey decided that in order to score runs, the team needed to start bunting.

“You have to play to the conditions,” Mathey said. “And on a day like today, bunting becomes more of a premium because there are not going to be a lot of runs scored.”

As NIU first baseman Brian Smith stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, NIU was down 4-0 with a runner on second and one out. Smith decided to go for the bunt, but his attempt went straight up in the air and was caught by the catcher.

“Brian is a good bunter,” Mathey said. “That time he was just trying to do too much with the ball. He was trying to bunt for a hit.”

“I don’t know what I did,” Smith joked afterwards.

But the very next inning, the freshman, who also is a relief pitcher, found redemption. On a letter-high 2-1 fastball, Smith stroked a two-out double to score outfielder Mike Santoro and designated hitter Brian Toner and give the Huskies a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Huskies were still clinging to their one-run lead when senior third baseman Jake Blair doubled to lead off the inning.

Despite Smith’s previous sacrifice attempt, Mathey called for the bunt again. This time the call paid dividends as Smith beat the throw to first and scored Blair when ISU dropped the throw.

“We’ve been working on bunting a lot,” Smith said, “ever since the Eastern Kentucky series where they showed us putting down sacrifice bunts can win ball games.”

Following the 6-4 win, Mathey said the bunting strategy will continue as the Huskies attempt to get back on a winning course.

“Get the lead-off man on, next guy bunts him over, next guy drives him in,” Smith said. “That’s the game of baseball. And with winds like today, there’s no way you’re hitting home runs, you got to play small ball.”