If spring break was evidence of how the rest of the season will go for NIU’s baseball team, then coach Dave Schrage has a lot to smile about.

Even though his Huskies went 3-4 during the break, NIU defeated Stetson 3-2 Wednesday in extra innings. Stetson is ranked 16th in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball.

The win was the Huskies’ first against a ranked opponent since the baseball program was brought back to NIU in 1991. It marked Schrage’s 300th career victory.

“It’s a great team win,” Schrage said. “So many guys contributed to this victory. There are a lot of things that aren’t going to show up on the box score. Our guys showed a lot of courage, and they weren’t intimidated.”

The Hatters took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning after Huskie pitcher Stephen Ayers walked a batter with bases loaded. The Huskies (7-6) got on the board next in the fifth inning after Dan Urban singled in Noel Danielson to tie the game. Both teams added one more run in the seventh inning.

Stetson had the chance to win in the ninth, but the Huskies forced a double play to end the inning, sending the game into extra innings. Danielson singled home junior outfielder Pat Kerrigan in the top of the 10th to give the Huskies the 3-2 win.

“A lot of credit has to go to Stephen Ayers,” Schrage said. “There’s no question this is the best I’ve seen him pitch. He was outstanding. He had his change-up and curve ball working for strikes, and he kept them off balance.”

NIU defeated St. Xavier 8-7 in 11 innings Wednesday, and Lehigh, 12-5, for its other win.

The Huskies took an early 6-0 lead in the first inning against St. Xavier, only to see the Cougars battle back to score three runs in the third and sixth innings, respectively. St. Xavier tied the game at 7 in the seventh inning, but the Huskies scored one run in the 11th to take the win.

“This gives our team an incredible amount of confidence,” Schrage said. “To do what we did today just gives us a tremendous amount of belief we can beat anybody. This is something that our kids will never forget and it gives us a tremendous boost as a program.”

Two of the Huskies’ games were canceled because of bad weather — Central Methodist on Tuesday and Bethune-Cookman on Friday. The Huskies lost to Indiana State 7-1 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday, Pennsylvania 6-1 on Monday and Iowa 6-0 on Thursday.