Killing two birds with one stone.

The NIU baseball team has done that four times this season, playing in four weather-induced doubleheaders in MAC play.

NIU (21-23 overall, 12-9 MAC) was forced to play a doubleheader against Central Michigan (24-21, 11-9) on Sunday because Saturday’s game was rained out. Two games in one day can take its toll on a team. It makes for more than six hours of baseball, all packed into one day.

“It makes for a long day for sure,” Huskies’ third baseman Jordin Hood said. “You have to have the right mindset coming into it. You have to go in with a lot of confidence that you’re going to take the first game and that puts you in position to sweep.”

Momentum is important when it comes to taking the field twice in one day. NIU did not have that momentum heading into the second game after an 8-6 loss in the first matchup.

“The hard part is when you go out and lose that first game,” NIU head coach Ed Mathey said. “You’ve got to be ready to bounce back.”

Doubleheaders affect teams’ play physically and mentally. Coaches are pressured to set their lineups perfectly to avoid overworking a certain player. They also have to consider their pitchers’ exposure to the opposing team.

“That might have been a little factor in Game 2,” Mathey said. “We had to bring Dan Atkenson in a little early [in Game 1]. Then we had to go to him in Game 2, and not to say he was tired, but now they’ve seen him a little bit more and know what to expect.”

Atkenson was brought on to relieve starter Adam Holdenrid in the seventh inning of Game 2. The first batter he faced, Atkenson gave up a home run to Chippewa third baseman Tyler Stovall.

“They saw him more than we like to have other teams see our relief pitchers, and Danny got a little too much of the plate,” Mathey said. “I think that had a bit of an impact – not the way he was throwing, just the fact that they got to see him for several pitches. That hurt us from a strategy standpoint.”.

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