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Box Score (PDF)

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ohio baseball team (16-11, 10-7 MAC) ran its winning streak to five in a row by way of a 19-5 run-rule victory in eight innings over host Northern Illinois (5-22, 4-9 MAC) on Friday (April 16) in the opening contest of a four-game Mid-American Conference series at Ralph McKinzie Field.

The Bobcats set season highs with 19 runs and 17 hits in the victory, with the first six hitters in Ohio batting order all recording multi-hit games. Senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.) led the way from the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with a triple, a walk, five RBIs and four runs scored. He was one of two Bobcats to tally a three-hit afternoon, with senior first baseman Aaron Levy (Cincinnati, Ohio) registering a 3-for-6 day that included two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored. Senior right fielder Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) finished 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored  Redshirt junior second baseman Michael Richardson (Cambridge, Md.), graduate student third baseman Harry Witwer-Dukes (Monmouth, Ore.) and junior catcher Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.) each tallied two singles and drove in a run. Minzey also scored three runs and drew two walks while Witwer-Dukes coaxed three walks.

Junior southpaw starting pitcher Joe Rock (Aliquippa, Pa.) picked up his sixth-straight win on the mound to improve to 6-1 on the season. He struck out six over five innings while permitting five runs, four of which were earned, on seven hits and four walks. Senior right-handed reliever Chace Harris (New Marshfield, Ohio) earned a three-inning save, retiring all nine batters he faced with five strikeouts.

Despite the 14-run final margin of victory, Ohio found itself trailing in the early going as the Huskies held a 4-1 advantage going in the fourth inning. The Bobcats flipped the script, though, with a six-run fourth frame and never looked back. The inning was highlighted by RBI singles by Levy, Peterson and Witwer-Dukes and a two-run triple by senior shortstop Treyben Funderburg (Beavercreek, Ohio) as Ohio snatched a 7-4 lead.

Northern Illinois did get a run back in the home half of the fourth, but Ohio put up another crooked number in the fifth to make it 11-5. The bulk of the damage was done on a three-run triple by Peterson, followed by an RBI single by Richardson.

Taking a 12-5 lead into the eighth, the Bobcats exploded for seven runs to put the contest completely out of reach. Peterson added on an RBI single, Witwer-Dukes coaxed a bases-loaded walk, Fabik and Minzey hit back-to-back RBI singles, Levy smacked a two-RBI double and redshirt junior designated hitter Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) added an RBI double of his own to increase Ohio's lead to 14 runs.

Ohio will go for the series win on Saturday (April 17) when it takes on Northern Illinois in a doubleheader. The first of the two seven-inning games is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET.

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