After losing two out of three games in each of its first two Missouri Valley Conference series of the season and opening conference play with a 2-4 mark, ISU (20-10) took its frustration out on Northern Illinois (8-24) in a big way, blowing past the Huskies, 22-3 in non-conference action Tuesday in DeKalb, Ill.

With only one career home run coming into the game, junior center fielder Chad Hinshaw (3-for-4) hit two long balls against NIU to bring his career total up to three.

“Chad has really stepped his game up here in the last month,” ISU head coach Mark Kingston said. “He’s made some adjustments and not only is he getting on base, but he’s got a .500 on-base percentage right now which is tremendous. He’s also really starting to hit the ball well and his average is up to .250, so he’s doing a really good job at the top of the lineup.”

Senior left fielder Ty Wiesemeyer (3-for-7) and senior second baseman Kevin Tokarski (3-for-6) both finished one hit shy of the cycle. Wiesemeyer needed a single to complete the feat, while Tokarski was short a triple.

ISU starting pitcher Brad Sorkin (2-2) surrendered three runs in six innings on the mound.

“Brad Sorkin gave us one of his better starts in a long time,” Kingston said. “I thought he had good command today. He made a mid-game adjustment with [pitching] coach [Bill] Mohl to simplify his wind up. I thought his command after that was very good.”

Martha Warfel/ Daily Vidette Photo Editor: Junior Chad Hinshaw had two home runs in the Redbirds’ 22-3 thrashing of the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Junior Matt Schmitt and senior Ryan Camp combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief. NIU sophomore pitcher Eli Anderson took the loss, giving up 10 runs in 2.2 innings.

ISU put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard with a five-run third inning and seven-run fourth.       

The Redbirds’ offense got going early, tallying three runs in the opening frame. Junior first baseman Zac Johnson drove in the game’s first run by singling home Wiesemeyer.  Sophomore catcher Mike Hollenbeck tripled, scoring Tokarski and junior right fielder, Eric Aguilera to extend the ISU advantage to 3-0.

NIU got on the board in the bottom of the first inning to close the deficit to 3-1, but the ISU bats did not let up. Hinshaw’s two-run homer in the second inning gave the Redbirds a 5-1 lead.

The Redbirds opened up a 7-1 lead on Tokarski’s two-run blast. Hinshaw doubled to score junior shortstop Brett Kay and senior designated hitter David Fallon, and Wiesemeyer tripled to plate Hinshaw, ending the third with a 10-1 ISU advantage.

Fallon opened the fourth inning by scoring with a double to plate Hinshaw and senior Bryan Huff. Fallon later scored on a wild pitch. Wiesemeyer’s three-run jack and Tokarski’s double to score Aguilera enabled ISU to close the fourth inning with a 17-1 lead.

After registering 12 runs combined in the previous two innings, the Redbirds tacked on two more runs in the fifth to grab a 19-1 advantage. Kay doubled to drive home Fallon and Huff also scored on a wild pitch in the frame.

The Huskies plated two runs in the sixth to cut their deficit to 19-3. ISU concluded its scoring in the contest on Hinshaw’s three-run blast in the ninth to account for the 22-3 final tally.

ISU will resume MVC play with a three-game series Friday through Sunday against Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The first contest against the Bears is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m.