Jason Watson belted his team-best seventh home run on Sunday against NIU.

May 22, 2005

Final Stats

TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (15-39, 5-17 MAC) ended its 2005 season today with a 7-3 setback to Northern Illinois (16-36-1, 6-18 MAC) at rain-soaked Scott Park.

Junior Joe Welsh (0-10) took the loss and allowed five runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Junior Dan Stong (2-for-3, RBI) and freshman Jake Swint (2-for-4, run scored) paced UT with multi-hit contests.

The teams battled through three scoreless innings, before Northern Illinois tallied a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Greg Larsen. With one out in the frame, NIU's Jake Blair singled up the middle and advanced to third base on back-to-back wild pitches from Welsh, before coming around to score the game's initial run on Larsen's 25th RBI of the season.

Toledo countered with two runs on three hits and the aid of a NIU error in the bottom of the fourth. Freshmen Drew Hoisington and Swint began the rally with back-to-back singles and were moved into scoring position on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by sophomore Joel Visser. Stong then singled between first and second base and scored Hoisington. NIU second baseman Kyle Cherney made a diving attempt on the play to keep Hoisington's ball in the infield, but his throw to first base was wide of the bag and allowed Swint to score all the way from second and give UT a 2-1 lead.

Back came the Huskies, though, plating three runs on three hits in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead and all the damage was done with two outs. Jeremy Busch singled and came around to score on a triple off the top of the wall in left field by Eric Sansouci. Mike Santoro then hit a home run to establish a two-run cushion and a lead it would not relinquish.

Toledo cut into the lead in the bottom of the fifth on junior Jason Watson's team-leading seventh home run of the season to make the score 5-3 but could get no closer.

Northern Illinois retaliated with a run in the sixth on a RBI groundout by Larsen scoring Cherney, who led off the frame with a triple into the gap in left-center. The Huskies then finished off the scoring with a pair of runs on a two-run home run to center field by Jeremy Busch to make the final 7-3.

Dave Nykiel (2-0) picked up the win tossing five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with two strikeouts.