Baseball gets win 1,000 on Gavelek’s gem

By Nick Gerts

Brad Gavelek gave the NIU baseball team another pitching gem Sunday in the Huskies’ 10-0 victory over Buffalo.

The Huskies (27-24 overall, 9-14 Mid-American Conference) won all four games against the Bulls for their first conference sweep of the season. The performance keeps the Huskies’ chances for a berth in the MAC tournament alive. It also marked NIU’s 1,000th baseball win in school history.

“It is a great accomplishment for the school and everyone who’s ever been apart of the program,” said NIU coach Dave Schrage. “I’m just fortunate to be the guy here when it happens.There have been a lot of people along the way who have contributed to this. It’s a nice milestone for Northern Illinois baseball.”

Gavelek (6-5) went the distance for NIU — the fifth time this season for the senior pitcher — and struck out a career-high 12 batters, which puts him second on the single-game chart behind Jesse Richardson’s 15 Ks on April 1, 1995.

Gavelek limited the Bulls to three hits on the day and walked only one batter. He also moved into second place for career wins with 17.

“He was outstanding,” Schrage said. “This is the best game he’s pitched since I’ve been here. He was in command the whole time. He had a really good

breaking ball, probably the best breaking ball of the season. He kept a lot of guys off balance by changing speeds.”