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#MACBats Digest: Northern Illinois leaves the MAC on top

Northern Illinois rides off into the Horizon after clinching their first-ever MAC Tournament title thanks to dominant pitching.

Jack Dann

— 4 min read
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#MACBats Digest: Northern Illinois leaves the MAC on top
Photo credit: David Dermer (Courtesy of the Mid-American Conference)

Northern Illinois capped a historic run through the 2026 Mid-American Conference Baseball Championship by defeating Toledo 5-1 on Saturday night at ForeFront Field, securing the program’s first MAC Tournament title and completing one of the most dominant stretches in school history.

The Huskies, who entered the tournament as the fourth seed, leaned on elite pitching to finish off a tournament run that included victories over Western Michigan, top-seeded Miami, and Toledo– who they beat twice in less than 24 hours to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. 

Across the four postseason games, the Huskies had an earned run average of 1.80, holding opposing hitters to a batting average of just .193. Northern Illinois allowed just one run on six hits in the championship game while striking out 10, continuing a tournament of dominance for their pitching staff. 

Tournament MVP and All-MAC first team senior pitcher Max Vaisvila anchored the staff, fanning ten across seven shutout innings in Northern Illinois’s first round win over Western Michigan, then came in for a scoreless ninth inning in the championship game 

Senior pitcher Cooper Cohn delivered four scoreless relief innings in both the title game and the win over Miami, giving head coach Ryan Copeland the ability to be decisive with his pitching changes. Northern Illinois pitchers combined for 57 strikeouts, holding opponents to just nine total runs in the postseason.

Offensively, the Huskies executed.

Graduate student outfielder Gavin Baldwin was on fire throughout, hitting three home runs and driving in nine runs in postseason play. Baldwin delivered the go-ahead runs in the title game, earning himself an all-tournament honor. 

Senior infielder Cole Smith and freshman outfielder Wyatt Wawro were a constant presence on the basepaths, acting as the catalysts for many of the Huskies’ rallies. Despite being in a slump for the second half of the season, senior catcher Ivan Dahlberg delivered one of the tournament’s best moments, shooting an RBI single through the infield for the game-winning run in the 15th inning against Miami.

For Toledo, the loss ended an impressive run through the elimination bracket. Senior pitcher Cole Giesige and sophomore pitcher Braden Curry combined to strike out 15 in the title game, but they allowed five runs that their offense couldn’t match. 

The championship matchup was the second meeting between the teams in as many days after Northern Illinois routed Toledo 10-3 in the winners bracket semifinals. 

Toledo had kept the semifinal game close through six innings, holding NIU to just one before a sixth and seventh inning onslaught put the Rockets in a 9-1 hole in the seventh. The loss put them into the consolation bracket to face off with Kent State for the second time. 

The Golden Flashes were hot, eliminating Miami and Western Michigan in back-to-back games, but were stymied by redshirt freshman pitcher Nate Lengbehn, who struck out six in seven innings of two-run baseball. 

To support their pitcher, the Rockets strung together timely hitting and heads-up baserunning to build a four-run lead before redshirt junior infielder and Avon native Troy Sudbrook flied a wind-aided home run into left field to ice the game. 

The tournament was a story of heartbreak for the two teams that had dominated the regular season, Kent State and Miami. 

Miami arrived in Avon as the tournament’s top seed after clinching the regular season title, while Kent State entered with 40-plus wins and championship expectations of their own. Neither team was able to survive the tournament’s unforgiving format, with pitching depth, inconsistency, and missed opportunities derailing both contenders.

Miami’s downfall began in the second round, 15-inning marathon loss to Northern Illinois, where multiple chances to win materialized for the RedHawks. Miami left 17 runners stranded, eight of whom would have represented the game-winning run. 

Less than 24 hours later, the RedHawks were eliminated by Kent State in a 3-1 loss despite getting a quality start from Clayton Burke, who allowed just two earned runs in his 7.1 innings. 

Miami’s offense, one of the MAC’s most productive during the regular season, managed only four total runs across its two tournament losses.

Kent State’s exit was equally frustrating given how well the Golden Flashes had recovered after their loss to Toledo. After being shut out 8-0 by the Rockets on Thursday, Kent State responded impressively with consecutive elimination-game wins over Miami and Western Michigan. 

The pitching staff regained form, and the offense came alive behind junior outfielder Alejandro Covas and sophomore utilityman Sawyer Solitaria. For a moment, the Golden Flashes looked poised to battle all the way back to the championship game, but they couldn’t get the offense rolling against Lengbehn, exiting the tournament with a second loss to Toledo. 

Northern Illinois’ title carried even greater significance given the timing. This spring marked the Huskies’ final season as a member of the Mid-American Conference before the program moves their non-football sports to the Horizon League next year.

From Vaisvila’s dominant performances on the mound to Baldwin and Smith delivering timely offense throughout the week, Northern Illinois consistently rose to the moment. The Huskies survived a 15-inning thriller against top-seeded Miami, overwhelmed Toledo in the semifinal round, then closed out the Rockets once more in the championship game to leave no doubt about the tournament’s best team.

They’ll try to ride their momentum into the NCAA Baseball Championships in the Tallahassee Regionals, where Coastal Carolina, St. John’s and hosting Florida State await. 

The Huskies open regional play against Coastal Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. on May 29.

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