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FINAL: Ohio (10-12, 1-1 MAC) 4, Northern Illinois (5-17, 1-1 MAC) 2 -- Athens, Ohio (Bob Wren Stadium)

OHIO STARTERS: Manny De Jesus (CF), Ty Black (2B), Mitch Longo (LF), John Adryan (3B), Cody Gaertner (C), Rudy Rott (1B), Tony Giannini (RF), Nate Squires (DH), Tyler Finkler, Jake Rudnicki (P) 

NORTHERN ILLINOIS STARTERS: Justin Fletcher (CF), Brad Wood (2B), Brandon Mallder (LF), Brian Sisler (SS), Tommy Hook (1B), Stephen Letz (RF), Tony Brandner (DH), Luke Yapp (3B), Johnny Zubek (C), Ryan Olson (P)

THE BASICS
Powered by a two-home run day from senior third baseman John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) and seven strong innings on the mound from junior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Rudnicki (Toledo, Ohio), the Ohio baseball team (10-12, 1-1 MAC) took the second game of its 2016 Mid-American Conference opening series against West Division foe Northern Illinois (5-17, 1-1 MAC), 4-2, on Saturday (March 26) at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, Ohio.

The Huskies won the first game of the series on Friday (March 25) by a 2-0 margin despite a complete game from senior right-handed starting Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio).

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Rudnicki struck out two while allowing two earned runs on two hits and three walks. The win improved his record to 3-0 on the season.
• Redshirt sophomore right-handed reliever Jake Roehn (Sandwich, Ill.) earned his second save of the year, throwing the final two frames for the Bobcats. He struck out one while allowing two hits.
• Adryan went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI.
• Junior second baseman Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
• Senior southpaw starting pitcher Ryan Olson went four innings for the Huskies and allowed three runs -- two of which were earned -- on three hits and one walk. He struck out three.
• Junior right-hander Joe Hawks also pitched four relief innings for Northern Illinois, allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk. He tallied three strikeouts.
• Senior center fielder Justin Fletcher went 1-for-4 with a solo homer for the Huskies.
• Redshirt junior left fielder Brandon Mallder was 2-for-4 for Northern Illinois
• The Huskies struck first in the top of the fourth, as sophomore second baseman Brad Wood scored from third when Mallder found himself caught in a rundown as he attempted to steal second base. Mallder was tagged out by Ohio freshman first baseman Rudy Rott (Holmen, Wis.) but not before Northern Illinois grabbed a 1-0 lead.
• Ohio struck back with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth when Adryan ripped a three-run homer over the fence in left center, bringing home junior left fielder Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) and Black. Black reached base on a leadoff walk while Longo got on via a fielder's choice.
• Northern Illinois narrowed the Ohio lead to 3-2 when Fletcher hit a line drive home run over the left field wall.
• Adryan went yard again in the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot to left field to give Ohio a 4-2 lead it never relinquished.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Adryan hit his team-leading and career-high seventh home run of the season. He also notched his team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season and his fifth multi-RBI game of the year. He also drove in his 21st RBI of the season, taking the team lead.
• Black tallied his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
• Redshirt senior catcher Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a two-out double to right center in the bottom of the eighth.

QUOTABLE
Junior right-hander Jake Rudnicki on his pitching performance:
"Today was obviously a big game, and it was my first conference start. And after last night's loss, I needed to go out there and give my best effort and I think I did a good job of that today."

Fourth-year coach Rob Smith on senior infielder John Adryan's performance:
"Hitting is hard to do and I think we're seeing that we're just in a little bit of a grind with it. Fortunately we had John Adryan on our team today and he was a massive, massive difference for us and that's what a senior four-hole hitter is supposed to do. In stretches like this, you've got to have your veteran players step up and provide offense."

UP NEXT
Ohio hosts Northern Illinois in a rubber match on Sunday (March 27) with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. ET. Senior right-hander Connor Sitz (Westerville, Ohio) will receive the start for the Bobcats.

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