Northern Illinois 12 — Coastal Carolina 10 (Game Summary)
- CCU is spending the weekend in the same spot where the Chanticleers made their first NCAA appearance. Coastal played in the 1991 baseball regionals in Tallahassee, going 0-2 in the tournament with losses to Florida State and Georgia Tech
- Friday night’s game was the first between the two baseball programs, but not the first encounter on the athletic fields between the schools. CCU pulled out a wild 47-41 win over the Huskies in the 2021 Cure Bowl in Orlando
- The victory was the first NCAA tournament win in program history for NIU, which last appeared in the postseason in 1972
- The game started off well for the Chanticleers, who were in a position to avoid Florida State in the winner’s bracket after the Seminoles fell to 4th-seeded St John’s 6-5 earlier in the day. Coastal grabbed a 4-0 lead after two innings and enjoyed a two-run advantage going to the fourth. But that’s when the wheels fell off for the Chanticleers
- The Huskies sent 13 men to the plate in the top of the fourth, scoring eight runs on just five hits. Two sacrifices, an HBP, a bases-loaded walk, and a pair of singles highlighted the big inning and put the Huskies out in front 10-4
- CCU rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut NIU’s lead to 10-7. It stayed that way until the 9th, when the #3-seed Huskies plated two huge insurance runs
- Dean Mihos’ 3-run HR in the bottom of the 9th got the Chanticleers within 12-10, but Rex Watson lined out to first base to end the game
- CCU and FSU will face one another at 2pm on Saturday in an elimination game