TOLEDO, Ohio - Junior Dalton Bollinger staked the Rockets to an early lead in the first, but it was all Northern Illinois the rest of the way as Toledo fell 16-2 in its Mid-American Conference opener on Friday night at Mercy Field.

The Rockets (5-16, 0-1 MAC) started the game well as senior Steven Calhoun faced four batters in a scoreless first inning. Junior Matt Hansen ignited the bottom of the frame with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Riley Campbell. Bollinger singled through the left side of the infield to score Hansen and give the Rockets a 1-0 lead.

Northern Illinois (5-16, 1-0 MAC) responded quickly with a pair of runs in the top of the second to take a lead it would not relinquish. The Huskies widened the lead in the middle innings with a five-run outburst in the fourth and a pair of tallies in the fifth.

Junior AJ Montoya just missed his second home run in as many games as the right field tripled to start the Toledo sixth. Freshman Malave Bettinger singled to plate Montoya for the Rockets second and final run.

Junior Nolan Silberhorn was effective in 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, out of the Rockets' bullpen.

NIU tacked on two runs in the seventh and put a punctuation on the game with a five-run ninth.

Calhoun takes his first loss of the season on the mound, while Northern's Joe Hawks picks up his second win.

The two teams will play game two of the series tomorrow, March 25, at 3:05 p.m. at Mercy Field. Fifth-year senior Ross Achter will toe the rubber for the Midnight Blue & Gold.