NIU baseball player Mark Badgley suffered a skull fracture and a concussion after being struck in the face by a line drive during the Huskies’ 7-6 win Wednesday at Bradley.

Early in the second inning of the first game, a line drive off the bat of Bradley batter Ryan Curry hit Badgley in the left temple, knocking him unconscious.

The right-handed pitcher was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Illinois in Peoria, where he was expected to spend the night for further observations.

Badgley was fully alert and talking in the hospital when the team visited him after the game, NIU coach Ed Mathey said.

“As soon as it happened my heart sank,” Mathey said. “I mean, he really had no chance to react. But it looks like he is going to be okay. A few inches more to one side and it could have been a lot worse.”

The game didn’t get any easier for NIU as a tornado hit 20 minutes east of the field in Metamora – causing a one-hour, 58-minute delay.

Once the weather subsided, the Huskies were able to regroup and win the game.

A three-run single by Kyle Cherney put NIU up 6-5 in the fifth and another RBI single from Cherney in the eighth gave NIU the win.

But despite the win, the mood on the bus ride back was somber at best, NIU senior Mike Santoro said.

“That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen firsthand,” said Santoro, who has been a teammate of Badgley’s for the two seasons. “When it first happened I felt numb and a little queasy. Then I saw him move a little and I felt better. But everyone is deeply concerned right now.”

The team will find out how the rest of the tests went this morning, Mathey said.

“Mark is a pretty tough kid,” Mathey said. “When I was walking out to the mound I was hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Luckily the worst didn’t happen.”

Badgley was making his first collegiate start after coming out of the bullpen the past two seasons.