MILWAUKEE – In a wild offensive slugfest, the Milwaukee baseball team outlasted Northern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon winning by an 18-15 score in front of a record-setting crowd at Franklin Field.
 
The 2,234 people in attendance, the largest crowd in program history and the State of Wisconsin's Division I history, were treated to an outburst by the Panthers early on as Milwaukee outscored the Huskies 16-2 through the first five innings. MKE was led by Tyler Bickers with a 5-for-5 effort, his second of the season, while he also drove in six of Milwaukee's 18 runs.
 
"First off thanks to [head coach] Ryan [Copeland] and the NIU staff for allowing us to have an early game here and have 'School Day', which was an awesome atmosphere to be a part of," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "Having all those students here and cheering on the Panthers was hopefully something we can continue into the future."
 
Thomas Otto added three RBIs while Gabe Roessler and Caden Headlee each drove in a pair. In addition to Bickers' five hits, Charlie Marion and Headlee each had three of Milwaukee's season-best 19 hits on the afternoon.
 
Milwaukee scored four runs in both the second and fourth innings, with the bottom of the second highlighted by a two-run blast from Bickers. Marion and Headlee added RBIs in the second, before Headlee plated another run in the fourth. Otto added another two runs on a single to score Marion and Tate Schmidt.
 
The biggest inning for the Panthers came in the six-run fifth inning, where MKE got a bases-loaded walk from Otto, an infield single from Camden Kuhnke, and another two runs on a single by Bickers. Justin Hausser and Roessler increased Milwaukee's lead to 16-2.
 
"Tyler's been on it … he's been special over the past couple of weeks," Wegner added. "We had length in our lineup and when we get rolling it's a really good offense … we just have to do a better job of finishing the game and never taking anything for granted."
 
NIU got a pair back in the sixth on a two-run home run, before adding four runs in the top of the eighth to trim Milwaukee's lead to 17-8. The Panthers got one back on a run-scoring wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth to regain a 10-run advantage.
 
Things got dicey for the home team in the top of the ninth as a leadoff home run sparked a seven-run rally for the Huskies. Northern Illinois hit three home runs in the inning, including the second of the game for CJ Cepicky.
 
Ultimately, Logan Snow came on got the final batter on a three-pitch strikeout to pick up his fifth save of the season.
 
"Early in the game our pitchers did a really good job of attacking and getting ahead in counts, and that's really the difference maker," said Wegner of his staff. "We didn't want to have to use Snow, but he's been lock down for us and was able to put the game away for us finally."
 
Tristan Arnold got the start, and his first career win, allowing the first run to NIU while striking out a pair over two innings. Mike Sullivan did not allow a run in his two-inning effort. Riley Peterson retired all four batters he faced over his 1 1/3 innings.
 
Eight different pitchers made their way to the mound for the Huskies, with Max Vaisvila allowing five runs over the first two innings to suffer the loss. Alex Day pitched a 1-2-3 sixth for NIU. Cepicky along with JP Gauthier and Gavin Baldwin all had three RBI games for Northern Illinois offensively.
 
Milwaukee will get right back to work with another non-conference game on Wednesday evening. The Panthers will host Milwaukee School of Engineering for a 5:00 p.m. start at Franklin Field, the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a t-shirt.