North Dakota State Rallies Past Western Illinois in Summit League Opener, 10-9

Friday, April 9

Macomb, Ill.

3:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

9-13, 1-0

Western Illinois

7-17, 0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
North Dakota State	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	4	0	10	9	1
Western Illinois	0	2	1	1	0	1	3	1	0	9	11	4

North Dakota State Rallies Past Western Illinois in Summit League Opener, 10-9

4/9/2010 11:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MACOMB, Ill.--Catcher Justin Kline and first baseman Zach Wentz had two hits apiece to lead North Dakota State to a 10-9 victory over Western Illinois in the Summit League baseball opener for both teams Friday, April 9, at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

Kline was 2-for-5 with a two-run go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and Wentz was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Wentz had an RBI single in the sixth and a run-scoring double in the seventh.

North Dakota State (9-13) had just three hits through the first five innings before scoring four runs in the sixth, two in the seventh and four more in the eighth.

Western Illinois (7-17) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning when John Koszulinski doubled and Andrew Hagins homered two pitches later.

The Fighting Leathernecks scratched across a run in the third before Koszulinski hit a leadoff homer in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. Koszulinski was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

NDSU tied the game in the sixth when Tyler Steen hit a two-run double to cap the four-run inning and chase Western Illinois starter Randon Lingle, who struck out four batters in 5 1/3 innings.

Koszulinski put Western Illinois back ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth when his single to right field scored Bryan Jordan after a leadoff ground-rule double.

The Bison got a pair of unearned runs in the seventh when Tanner Adam reached on an infield error and scored on Wentz's two-out double. Wentz came in on Eric Nutzhorn's triple to make it 6-5.

Jordan's three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh gave the Fighting Leathernecks an 8-6 lead before NDSU went ahead for good in the top of the eighth.

Adam drew a bases-loaded walk to pull within one, Kline's single up the middle put the Bison ahead 9-8, and a balk scored Adam from third with the eventual game-winning run.

NDSU closer Anthony Kliniske pitched the final two innings for his second save of the season.

Bison starter Kyle Kingsley allowed five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings before giving way to Jason Mattila (2-1), became the winner despite allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Chris Fuchs, the third of five Western Illinois pitchers, dropped to 0-2 with the loss after facing four batters and not recording an out. He was responsible for four runs.

North Dakota State and Western Illinois are scheduled to continue their four-game series with a 12 p.m. doubleheader Saturday, April 10.