Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois Claims Series Finale, 12-5
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 23, 2006
DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University took advantage of four key Central Michigan University errors on its way to a 12-5 win in the final game of the teams' three-game Mid-American Conference baseball series on Sunday.
Just four of the Huskies' 12 runs were earned, as Chippewa errors helped extend a four-run third inning and four-run seventh inning for NIU.
Ben Humphrey had three hits for the second day in a row for CMU (24-17 overall, 10-5 MAC). He homered for the fourth time this week, a two-run shot in the seventh, and added his 13th double of the season. He has posted three hits in four of CMU's last seven games overall.
The teams traded runs in the second inning, and Bryan Mitzel's 47th career double in the third scored J.T. Jones to put CMU in front, 2-1. Mitzel broke Doug Fisher and Mike Gates' shared school record of 46 career doubles with the hit.
Northern Illinois (19-20, 8-7) took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. With two outs and runners on second and third, a CMU error allowed Jesse Seykora to reach and extend the inning. Four more Huskies would reach base following Seykora, and the inning finally ended with NIU up 5-2.
The Huskies stretched the lead to 8-2 in the fourth courtesy of a two-run homer by Seykora and a run-scoring double by Kyle Pettengell.
CMU looked to get back into the contest in the fifth, but what looked to be a promising inning yielded just one run. Jones led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Moratti base hit. A Humphrey double moved Moratti to third, but he was cut down at home attempting to score on Mitzel's fielder's choice. NIU starter Brian Smith retired the next two Chippewa hitters to get out of the inning.
Humphrey's homer in the seventh cut the deficit to 8-5, but the Huskies plated four unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the game away.
Smith lasted six innings to improve to 4-5 for Northern Illinois. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and struck out four. Kurt Lauscher took the loss for CMU and fell to 4-3.
Humphrey's three hits were a game-high for CMU, while four players had two hits apiece for Northern Illinois.
CMU is on the road on Wednesday, visiting Oakland, then opens a season-long seven-game homestand on Friday against Toledo.
