Baseball went head to head with two of the top teams in college baseball over spring break but was unable to record a win in seven games.

The Huskies (1-15-1) were swept by No. 5 Oregon State in a four-game series in Corvallis, Ore., March 7 to 9.

The Beavers (17-3) shut out the Huskies in three of four games and only allowed them to score two runs total in the four-game series, which they scored in a 12-2 loss in game three. The Huskies were outscored 30-2 total in the four games.

The Beavers’ pitching staff had their way with the Huskies’ batters all weekend as they only gave up 10 hits. In game one of the doubleheader on March 8, Oregon State pitcher Jace Fry tossed a complete game no-hitter while striking out 10 batters, in a 2-0 victory.

“Alex [Klonowski] was great on the mound today. Our defense was good. We just needed to put the bat on the ball in the first game,” Coach Ed Mathey said, according to a news release. “I tip my cap to Oregon State’s pitcher because he was spectacular.”

The Huskies put up a battle against No. 11 Cal Poly (16-3) in a three-game series Tuesday through Thursday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

NIU fell 4-2 in game one, was blown out 10-1 in game two on Wednesday and came up short again in game three, 11-9.

The Huskies had their chances in game one but failed to take advantage of their opportunities, leaving eight runners on base.

“That eighth inning, I thought we had a chance to do some things, put some runs up on the board,” Mathey said, according to a news release. “[We had] runners at the corners and Tommy Hook at bat, but just fell short.”

The Huskies fell behind early in game two, giving up nine runs in the first three innings, and they were never able to get back in the game. Starting pitcher Jordan Ruckman lasted just 2.2 innings while giving up nine runs — six of them earned — on eight hits and five walks.

In game three, the Huskies got their bats out in a big way, recording 17 hits. Infielders Justin Fletcher and Brian Sisler had big days at the plate, each going three for five. Klonowksi and outfielder Landon Tenhagen each came up with timely hits, earning two RBIs each.

“We did a lot of good things tonight that normally win you ball games,” Mathey said, according to a news release. “Our hitters deserve some credit tonight; they showed what we are capable of at the plate. I hate to complain with the effort they had, but we left a few too many runners on, and that’s something we need to improve upon.”

The Huskies were set to close their spring break with a three-game series against Bradley in Peoria, , but the weather conditions suspended play in the seventh inning of game one of the doubleheader Saturday.

At that point, the Huskies trailed the Braves, 5-1. The game will be resumed April 17, with the Huskies at the plate in the top of the eighth inning.

Source: northernstar

Baseball is set for what will arguably be its toughest test of the season when it plays a four-game set against No. 5 Oregon State this weekend in Corvallis, Ore.

The Beavers (10-3) are playing strong baseball to start the season, winning six of their last seven games. The Huskies are coming into this series after earning their first win of the season against Southern Illinois Friday.

“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge,” said head coach Ed Mathey. “They pitch the ball extremely well, they defend the ball extremely well and they are a pretty efficient offensive group … . We’re going to a great environment; I mean, it’s Oregon State, two-time national champions in 2007 and 2008, and they were in the College World Series last year, so they are a hungry team.”

The Beavers are a strong offensive team led by outfielder Michael Conforto, who has a .333 batting average while leading the team with 20 RBIs. As a team, they have scored 93 runs this season, the 10th-most in college baseball.

The Huskies’ starting pitching is going to play a key role in this series. Mathey will need them to be able to go deep into games to keep his bullpen from pitching a lot of innings.

“Our starting pitching is going to need to be effective,” Mathey said. “You have a situation where you have a four-game set, so you have 36 innings in a matter of pretty much 48 hours, so if our starting pitching can give us some innings, then we can limit our bullpen exposure. I think that’s going to be the key.”

The Huskies got strong outings from pitchers Eli Anderson, Jordan Ruckman and Alex Klonowski last weekend against Southern Illinois. They each lasted six innings or more.

As for the fourth game, the Huskies have not decided who will be the starter. They have narrowed it down to Dirk Ormsby, Anthony Andres, Ben Neumann or Andrew Frankenreider. The decision will come down to how much work the bullpen has done throughout the weekend.

Offensively, the Huskies have been struggling at the plate. Last weekend, they recorded just two runs on 13 hits.

“Our guys have to swing to their capabilities, that’s the big thing,” Mathey said. “We know that they can do it; they just need to do it. That’s a hard thing because it gets into a press situation, and that’s not good in the batter’s box, pressing. We have to put them in situations where we can make it easier on them. So if we have to bunt we’re going to bunt, if we can hit and run then we’ll hit and run, and those type of things will help manufacture some runs, just to get them relaxed and let the game come to them.”

Source: northernstar