April 11, 2006
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NORMAL, Ill. -
The annual home and home series between the Illinois State and Northern Illinois baseball team resulted in a split in 2006, thanks to a 7-3 win for the Redbirds on Tuesday at Redbird Field that evened the season series at 1-1. With the win, ISU improves its record on the season to 11-19, 6-3 at home, while NIU drops to 13-17 overall.
Junior Luke Baughman (3-2) picked up his third consecutive win in three starts for the Redbirds. Baughman threw four full innings on the mound, and allowed two runs on two hits while striking out five in the pre-determined split. Kyle O'Brien was strong in relief, eating up 3.2 innings on the mound and struck out five in his third appearance of the season. Junior transfer Mike Hlavacek came on in the eighth and finished the game strong, earning his fifth save of the season. Brandon Hodge (0-2) suffered the loss for NIU and allowed four runs, two of which were earned, and walked four Redbird hitters.
The teams traded runs in the first inning, with each squad putting two runs on the scoreboard in the inning. Jesse Seykora's two-run home run over the left field wall put the Huskies up 2-0 early. However, the Redbirds answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Senior Jay Molina led off the game with a double down the right field line and Matt Bolt followed by getting hit with a pitch. After a wild pitch allowed both base runners to advance to second and third, respectively, Ryan Anetsberger continued his hot hitting by lacing a single into center which advanced Bolt to third base and scored Molina to cut the lead to 2-1. Jesse Griswold followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Bolt and knotted the score at 2-2.
The Redbirds followed the two runs in the first inning with two more in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on second and third base and no outs, Bolt flew out to center field which brought in Blake Schoonover from third for the second ISU sacrifice fly of the day and gave the `Birds a 3-2 advantage. Anetsberger was due up next and crushed a ball into the gap in left center field, his eighth consecutive hit and fourteenth consecutive time reaching base safely, which brought in Mike Tokarski to give ISU a two-run lead at 4-2 after two innings of play.
Molina's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning extended the ISU lead to 5-2. In the seventh inning, Gabe DeMarco got into the act by doubling to right center field which scored Griswold from third base to bring the score to 6-2.
NIU would add a run in the top of the eighth inning on a double by Scott Simon that scored Bobby Stevens to cut the lead to 6-3. But, the Redbirds would answer with their final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth on a Bolt groundout to bring the score to its final at 7-3.
Anetsberger finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base and is now reached base in 15 of his last 17 appearances at the plate. Molina also chipped in two hits for the Redbirds, while Schoonover and Tokarski each scored two runs apiece in the win. Seykora's home run led the Huskies offense, which only tallied four hits in the game.
The Redbirds travel to West Lafayette, Ind., on Wednesday for a non-conference contest against the Purdue Boilermakers. Junior Brad Puntney (0-0, 4.05 ERA) takes the mound for the Redbirds and will make his first collegiate start, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Lamber Field.
