Preview: Northern Illinois at Ohio

ATHENS, Ohio (Interstat) — The Northern Illinois Huskies look to even their Mid-American Conference series against the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday at Bob Wren Stadium after a high-scoring opener.

First pitch is scheduled for the afternoon, though evening rain is in the forecast with a game-time temperature of 78 degrees.

The Bobcats (3-11) snapped a seven-game skid with a 14-7 victory Friday afternoon, overpowering the Huskies (7-5) in the series opener. Ohio’s offense erupted for its highest run total of the season.

Northern Illinois will aim for a bounce-back performance behind designated hitter Caden Robertson. The slugger homered and drove in four runs in Friday’s loss, giving him two homers and eight RBIs in his last two games. For the season, Robertson is batting .375 with four home runs and 15 RBIs.

Ohio’s offense was sparked Friday by left fielder Cameron Boyd, who matched Robertson with a home run and four RBIs. Boyd is hitting .308 over his last five contests.

Despite the lopsided result in the opener, Interstat’s game simulator projects a decisive 7-1 win for Northern Illinois in Saturday’s contest.

The Huskies had won five of six prior to Friday, including a series win at Lindenwood. Ohio’s victory was just its third of the season and first since a doubleheader split at Dayton on March 1.

The teams are scheduled to conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon.