DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University ball club opens an eight-game homestand this end of the week with a four-game arrangement against the Akron Zips at Ralph McKinzie Field starting Friday at 2 p.m.
The two groups will play a doubleheader of two seven-inning games on Saturday with game one beginning at 12 p.m. Sunday’s arrangement finale will have a first pitch of 12 p.m. also.
Because of COVID limitations, participation at Ralph McKinzie Field right now is restricted to 165 fans. Passageway will be permitted on a first to come general affirmation measure through the North door on the a respectable starting point side of the field. The North door will open 30 minutes preceding first pitch every day. NIU Athletics maintains whatever authority is needed to hold some participant spots for guardians of NIU Baseball understudy competitors if vital on gameday. Covers should be worn while inside Ralph McKinzie Field and self-observed general confirmation social removing will be required.
Each game this end of the week will be appeared on NIUTube on NIUHuskies.com, the Huskie all-entrance channel. Memberships are accessible for buy on a day by day ($6.95), month to month ($10.95) or yearly premise and gives admittance to all home NIU Athletics occasions spilled on the site for the buy time frame.
NIU (7-27, 6-14 MAC) gets back subsequent to dropping each of the four games at Ball State a weekend ago. Two of the three losses were by two runs or less, falling 6-5 last Saturday with the tying run at third base in the highest point of the seventh of a seven-inning game. Redshirt-Junior Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) proceeded with his hot streak at the plate against the Cardinals, hitting .417 for the arrangement. Smith is tied for fourth in the Mid-American Conference in hits with 41 and is second in the group with nine grand slams.
Another player who had a champion arrangement in Muncie was senior catcher Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North). The Huskies’ screen hit .333 with two pairs, a grand slam, and three RBI against the Cardinals a weekend ago. Over his last 10 games, Dunham is hitting a group best .382 with a .676 slugging rate and a .450 on-base mark.
This current end of the week’s arrangement is the first among NIU and Akron (9-25, 3-21 MAC) since 2015. Akron reestablished its baseball program in 2020 following a five-year break. The Zips are seventh in the MAC with a .260 group batting normal. Junior Bryant Shellenbarger drives Akron in hitting with a .326 batting normal. Cameron Tilly has a group high four grand slams and 17 RBI.
