Streaming past the pitcher’s feet and beyond the outstretched arms of the second baseman, NIU’s Trevor Stocking advanced the game-winning run in the ninth inning Tuesday to get the Huskies out of a four-game slide with a 9-8 win over the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.

Heading up to the plate with no outs and his team down by one run, the freshman shortstop was looking to advance pinch runner Rob Marconi to third. Fortunately for the Huskies, the Panthers’ Mike Oiler threw a wild pitch that trickled by the catcher to advance Marconi to third, putting Stocking in a position to win the game.

“We were looking for a spark, and we got it in this game,” said NIU baseball coach Dave Schrage. “We talked a lot before the game with our team about persevering and staying together. Also, about how you are going to have your highs and lows and you can’t let your lows last and you’ve got to keep persevering and seeing it through. I think our kids showed that to the max today. I couldn’t have been prouder because a ton of guys contributed to this victory.”

Among those who played a big part in the come-from-behind win was junior pitcher Brandon Nelson. Pitching four and two-thirds innings, Nelson only let up a single run while facing a team-high 18 batters.

“Brandon Nelson deserves a lot of credit for a really solid game played for us,” Schrage said.

The Huskies weren’t within striking distance for much of the game, however. Down 6-0 against Eastern Michigan in the first inning in Sunday’s matchup, which the Huskies eventually lost, it looked like deja vu for NIU on Tuesday, down 5-0 against the Panthers after the first three innings.

Starting pitcher Brian Miller let up four earned runs in two innings to start off the game before Nelson came in to work the mound. When Nelson gave up another run, the Huskies’ chances weren’t looking bright.

“It’s a great win for what happened this weekend, and when you come out and you’re down 5-0 after three innings and the feeling in the dugout was, ‘Ah, here we go again,'” Schrage said. “But we were just trying to keep encouraging them and saying, ‘Let’s go, we’ve got to keep battling through.’ And when we put up the four spots in the bottom of the sixth, then you could kind of feel it like, ‘Hey, we’re going to score some runs.'”

With a ninth-inning rally and runners at second and third, Brent Coyner (4-for-5) continued with his hot bat, hitting a two-RBI double.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t get caught because the wind was blowing in a little bit from left,” Coyner said. “I was just glad to put the ball in play with two strikes. You’re going to feel pressure in that situation, and I was just pretty happy to get a break.”

With Coyner tying up the game at 8-all, that put the pressure on Stocking.

“With the pitcher throwing a wild pitch [advancing Marconi to third], I just wanted to make contact and put the ball in play,” Stocking said.

With a hard bouncing chop up the middle, he lifted the Huskies’ fans off their seats to cheer for NIU’s 11th win of the season. Their record is now 11-14.

“This is a huge win,” Stocking said. “We’ve been playing hard lately, but things just haven’t been going right for us, and today it just started going right and all we need is one win and good things start happening. It gives us a lot of confidence.”

“This is a huge momentum builder for us,” Schrage added. “These are the kind of wins that could turn your season around, and I hope that happens.”