Kevin ODell went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, but the Illinois State baseball team dropped a non-conference game to Northern Illinois, 7-5, Tuesday at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Ill.
Illinois State falls to 15-25 overall, while Northern Illinois improves its overall record to 24-17. The Redbirds managed only five hits in the game and recorded two errors in the field. The Huskies recorded 15 hits with only one error.
With bases loaded and one out in the first, Illinois State starter Kyle Zaleski struck out the next two NIU batters to keep the score 0-0 after the first inning. A two-run homer to left field by ODell, his second of the season, put the Redbirds in front 2-0 in the top of the second.
Northern Illinois was able to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run by Mike Santoro down the left field line. The Huskies took the 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth with one run off two hits, including a double with no outs to left-center by Anthony Venetucci. Illinois State was able to load the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth after Huskies starter Nathan Stillwell hit Jeremy Pickrel and Jay Molina in consecutive at-bats following a leadoff single to left field by Jeremy Accardo.
After a wild pitch tied the game 3-3 and advanced runners to second and third, Stillwell struck out the next three Redbird batters to retire the side. Santuro homered again to left field to open the bottom of the fifth and give Northern Illinois back the lead, 4-3. Mike Hochhauser recorded a sac fly later in the fifth to extend the Huskies lead to two, 5-3, heading into the sixth. Dave Macdonald came in to relieve Zaleski with two outs in the fifth and was able to get Jeremy Busch to ground out to second base for the final out.
A solo home run by Joe Mazzuca in the bottom of the sixth put NIU ahead, 6-3, after six innings of play. Northern Illinois reliever Jim Caine came in to start the sixth inning on the mound and put the Birds down 1-2-3 in both the top of the sixth and seventh innings respectively. An RBI single to left field by Greg Larsen in the bottom of the seventh put the Huskies in front by four, 7-3.
Brownlee was ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning following an argument with the home plate umpire over a called strike. Three walks in the first four batters by Caine and a throwing error by Mazzuca at short helped the Redbirds plate two runs in the top of the eighth and narrowed the Huskies lead to two, 7-5.
NIU stranded a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the eighth after Macdonald struck out Santoro and forced Simon into a groundout at second base. A single to short by Peacock followed by an error on the throw put runners at second and third for the Birds with one out in the top of the ninth. However, Scott Bialobreski and ODell struck out in the next two at-bats to end the game.
Illinois State continues its Missouri Valley Conference schedule this weekend with a four-game series against Indiana State at Redbird Field. The first game begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 2.
