AVON, Ohio (Interstat) — Northern Illinois erupted for six runs in the seventh inning, powered by Cole Smith’s grand slam, and Danny Cihocki turned in a dominant start as the Huskies defeated Toledo 10-3 on Friday in a Mid-American Conference game at Sprenger Stadium.

The Huskies improved to 34-17 overall, while the Rockets fell to 31-28.

Northern Illinois took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Wyatt Wawro led off with a bunt single, moved to third on a single by Nolan Sandee and scored on Gavin Baldwin’s sacrifice fly to right field. That was all the Huskies could muster against Toledo starter Hayden Frey, who allowed only that run on two hits over the first five innings.

Cihocki, the Huskies’ top star, kept Toledo off the board through six innings. The right-hander relied on his fastball and slider to strike out seven batters, and he did not allow a hit until the seventh inning. He worked around a walk in the third and a two-out single in the fourth, but the Rockets never advanced a runner past second base during that stretch.

Northern Illinois broke the game open in the sixth inning. Caden Robertson singled and stole second, then scored on a single by Smith. After a ground-rule double by Sandee scored Wawro, the Huskies held a 3-0 lead.

The decisive rally came in the seventh. Vince Spotofora walked, Michael Romero singled and Isaiah Dahlberg walked to load the bases. Robertson cleared them with a double down the left-field line, scoring Spotofora and Romero. After a flyout, Wawro walked to bring Smith to the plate. Smith launched a 1-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a grand slam, giving the Huskies a 9-0 lead.

Cihocki’s bid for a no-hitter ended in the bottom of the seventh when Nolan Wagner singled to center field. Wagner advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Luke Cahill. Cihocki finished with a stat line of 7 2/3 innings, no hits, three earned runs and seven strikeouts – a line that reflected the two runs he allowed in the eighth inning. He was replaced by John Lyman after Charlie Scholvin hit a two-run homer to left field that scored Robert Sudbrook, cutting the deficit to 9-3.

Lyman retired the next batter and worked a clean ninth inning, striking out one and allowing no hits as he earned the save.

Northern Illinois added an insurance run in the ninth. Wawro singled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Baldwin’s second sacrifice fly of the game. Wawro finished 3 for 3 with three runs scored and a walk.

Smith went 2 for 5 with the home run and five RBIs. Robertson had three hits, including a double, drove in two runs and scored twice. Sandee added two hits, including a double, and drove in a run. The Huskies finished with 12 hits.

Toledo managed only five hits. Scholvin’s homer was his only hit in four at-bats, giving him two RBIs. Frey took the loss, allowing three earned runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. Arturo Ormaza pitched two innings of relief, allowing one earned run on one hit.

The game was a rematch of a series played in March in which Toledo won two of three, including a 17-2 rout. Northern Illinois entered Friday having won eight of its last nine games, including a 6-5 extra-inning victory at Miami (Ohio) the previous day. Toledo was coming off an 8-0 win at Kent State on Thursday.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of Toledo 7, Northern Illinois 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Toledo a 57.40 percent probability to win.