MILWAUKEE – Trailing 8-0 in the first inning, Milwaukee baseball staged one of the greatest comebacks in program history with a 16-10 victory in 14 innings on Sunday afternoon over Northern Kentucky.
 
Dylan O'Connell highlighted the offensive effort for Milwaukee with a three-run home run in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 10, forcing the contest to extra innings. O'Connell struck again in the 14th with a three-run double to give the Panthers a four-run advantage over the Norse.
 
On the mound, Milwaukee got four innings of relief from Matthew Mueller, while Camden Kuhnke threw two hitless frames in the eighth and ninth. Tyler Andrews was effective in the extra innings with a career-high 2 2/3 innings, while Sotaro Ishida earned the win going the final 1 2/3 innings while also adding an RBI double at the plate.
 
"I can't say I've ever been a part of a game quite like that," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "It would have been so easy to fold up our tent and go home losing the conference-opening series, but so many people stepped up and ultimately the entire team played a part in that comeback today."
 
The 14-inning game was the longest game in terms of innings played since the 2016 season, when Milwaukee played an 18-inning matchup against Illinois State. It's the team's longest Horizon League game since the 2010 campaign, when Milwaukee also went 14 innings against Youngstown State.
 
NKU jumped on Panther starter Riley Peterson for eight runs in the first inning. Charlie Marion responded with a two-run single in the top of the second to begin Milwaukee's historic ascent.
 
"Peterson just couldn't get anything going with his execution in the first, and having to make a call to the bullpen in the first inning makes it really hard on the pitching staff, especially in the third game of a series," added Wegner. "But I tip my hat to all the arms that came in today and really just competed and battled to allow our offense to work and get us back into the game."
 
"I also want to credit Joey Spence behind the dish today," Wegner said. "He got beat up and battered throughout, yet remained a voice for the staff on the mound." 
 
Mueller, who got the last out of the first inning, faced the minimum over the next three frames. He allowed a pair of Northern Kentucky runs in the fifth on a ground ball and a sacrifice fly, as the Norse increased their lead to 10-2.
 
Milwaukee answered right back in the sixth with two runs. Dominic Kibler began the inning with a single and scored on a wild pitch, while Cade Palkowski added an RBI on a groundout.
 
Cullen Riel stranded a pair of runners in the sixth, allowing Milwaukee to come up once again. Tate Schmidt had a leadoff single and scored on an error. Three batters later, John Hadley VI blasted a two-run homer to shrink the deficit to three.
 
Lucas Watson hung up another zero for the Panthers in the seventh, allowing Milwaukee a chance to tie the game in the eighth. Palkowski and Grant Ross reached ahead of O'Connell's three-run home run to level the game at 10.
 
Kuhnke threw two hitless frames to send the game to extra innings. Aiden Fishnick was next out of the bullpen and worked into trouble before Andrews backed him up and got a first-pitch popup to strand a pair of Norse in the 10th.
 
Andrews worked through the next two innings to keep Northern Kentucky in check, while Milwaukee's offense sputtered without a baserunner in the 10th, 11th, and 12th.
 
In the top of the 13th, Milwaukee had the bases loaded with just one out but hit into a double play to end the threat. In the bottom half, Andrews got the first out but the next two reached before Ishida came on and navigated his way through the inning to strand the bases loaded.
 
Christian Holmes and Marion walked with one out in the top of the 14th before Palkowski loaded the bases with an infield single. Ross was up next and grounded into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. However, Wegner challenged the call at first, which was overturned, and Ross was ruled safe while allowing Holmes to score, giving Milwaukee its first lead of the game at 11-10.
 
After Ross stole second, Schmidt walked to load the bases, forcing Northern Kentucky to use its eighth pitcher of the game. After trailing in a 1-2 count, O'Connell worked the count full and followed with a double to centerfield to clear the bases and give Milwaukee a 14-10 lead.
 
"O'Connell coming through with six RBIs and two really big swing in big moments is easy to see, and that was big," Wegner added. "So many guys put together good at bats, and when you start stringing them together, scoring becomes reality."
 
Kibler reached on a single allowing O'Connell to score and then stole second base. Ishida got his first at bat with the Panthers and chipped into the offensive action with a double to score Kibler to put the Panthers up by sixth, helping his own cause.
 
Ishida allowed the first two batters to reach in the bottom half but got a ground ball double play and got a fly ball to end the marathon.
 
Pierce Bauerle had four of Northern Kentucky's 14 hits, as both teams were tied on the final scoreboard with 14 hits apiece. Bauerle, Marcus Harrison, and Mark Nowak, drove in two runs each.
 
Elijah Green got the start and allowed the first four Milwaukee runs, with four strikeouts. Gabe Stout was the most effective reliever for the Norse with five strikeouts over 3 2/3 shutout innings. Tannis Lange took the loss, allowing four runs over 1 1/3 innings.
 
Milwaukee will play one more game on its season-opening 20-game road trip, traveling to Western Illinois on Tuesday afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. start at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.