Miami Drops 6-4 Game Three to NIU

Sunday, March 22

DeKalb, Ill.

2 p.m.

Miami University

14-8, 5-4

Northern Illinois

13-7, 6-3

Miami (Ohio)

Northern Ill.

3/22/2026 6:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

DeKALB, Ill. – The RedHawks were swept by Northern Illinois Sunday after losing the final game of their series 6-4. Marcus Dierks was the top offensive performer for Miami, coming up with two hits on three at-bats. The RedHawks fall to 14-8 (5-4 MAC) with the loss while NIU moves to 13-7 (6-3 MAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clayton Burke threw two strikeouts and a groundout to hold the Huskies scoreless in the first. A solo homer in the second gave NIU a 1-0 lead.
Miami responded with a run of their own in the third as Matthew Buffington hit a solo home run to right-center to lead off the inning.
After a double by Hayden Christiansen, Diego Cruz blasted a home run to right field to put Miami up 3-1 in the fourth.
The Huskies capitalized on three hits and two errors in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at three runs apiece. In the sixth, they hit their second home run of the day, a solo shot, to reclaim the lead at 4-3.
NIU scored an insurance run in both the seventh and eighth innings, taking their largest lead of the game at 6-3.
A single, walk, and HBP loaded the bases for the RedHawks in the ninth with no outs. Evan Appelwick hit a sac fly to score one run, but Miami was unable to close the rest of the gap, rounding out the 6-4 loss.

MIAMI GAME NOTES:

Dierks went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Appelwick went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.
Cruz had two RBIs.

UP NEXT:
Miami will head to Dayton on Tuesday, March 24 to face the Flyers at 3 p.m. They will then travel to Kent State for a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 27.