HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A 10th-inning error by third baseman Wes Pickering allowed Matt Wagers to score the winning run Sunday as Northern Kentucky University posted a 5-4 victory over Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in the second game of a doubleheader at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex at Friendship Field.
Wagers opened the 10th inning with a walk, and he advanced to second base on Shaun Erie’s sacrifice bunt. After a ground out sent Wagers to third, Keith Jackson stepped to the plate and smashed a grounder directly at Pickering.
The ball deflected off Pickering’s glove and rolled into short left field as Wagers scored the winning run. Wagers finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored for NKU.
NKU rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the eighth inning by scoring three runs after a trio of walks were surrendered by SIUE pitching. Justin Mundt’s two-run single to right field made it 4-3, and a throwing error by SIUE first baseman Craig Ohlau allowed Erie to score and tie the game at 4-4.
NKU’s Justin Seiter pitched three innings of one-hit baseball to earn the victory for NKU, which is 18-18 overall, 11-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. SIUE is 12-24 overall, 9-14 in the GLVC.
In the opener, SIUE right-hander David Briesacher hurled a two-hit shutout as the Cougars defeated NKU, 5-0. SIUE scored twice in the second inning and added three runs in the third to coast to the win.
Jared Brueggeman was 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Cougars, who split the four-game weekend series with NKU.
NKU will hit the road Tuesday for Ashland, Ohio, for a 2 p.m. doubleheader against Ashland University. The Norse will return home Wednesday to meet the University of Indianapolis in a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
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Matt Wagers |