SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Northern Illinois baseball team received multi-hit nights from three players and collected 13 hits, but the Huskies (3-7) committed two key errors in Cal Poly’s seven-run first inning and fell 13-3 in the first game of a two-game set on Tuesday night at Baggett Stadium.
“We got behind early and those errors hurt us,” said NIU coach Ed Mathey. “They were seeing the ball very well tonight and we gave them extra opportunities to score.”
“Our kids swung the bats pretty well tonight, but we did not come through with runners in scoring position. We had 13 hits but only three runs. We had a lot of missed opportunities throughout the game and too many strikeouts with runners in scoring position.”
At the plate for NIU, sophomore Troy White was 4-for-5 with an RBI, and Alex Jones and Alex Beckmann both collected two hits and scored a run.
Cal Poly (5-6) used nine singles, a double, two walks and two NIU throwing errors to score eight runs in the first two innings off Huskie starter Brian Smith . The Mustangs finished with 20 hits and also drew seven walks.
Smith allowed eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits over two innings. Sophomore Tom Barry relieved Smith in the third inning and retired the first four batters he faced. Barry struck out four batters and gave up just one run on two hits over three strong innings.
NIU got on the board in the third inning when White brought home Jones with a two-out single to right field. Jones led off the frame with a single and Jordin Hood reached on his second hit-by-pitch of the game. White advanced to second on his RBI single, but he and Hood were left in scoring position when Joe Etcheverry struck out swinging.
Beckmann’s hustle got NIU on the board again in the sixth inning. Beckmann led off with an infield single, and advanced to third on a balk and wild pitch before Joe Buonavolanto brought him home with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2. Ben Etcheverry scored the first run of his career in the ninth inning when Cory Krupp doubled him home with two outs.
Kyle Glancy and Tom Zelasko both extended their scoreless streaks in relief. Glancy allowed his first hit of the season while retiring two batters, but has yet to allow an earned run in four appearances this season. Zelasko finished the eighth inning for Glancy with a strike out and a groundout, and has not given up an earned run in a team-high six appearances in 2010.
