WATERLOO - Northern Iowa's baseball season looked a little frayed and torn following three losses to Indiana State.

Wednesday afternoon, Rick Heller watched the Panthers mend their game.

Dominant early, UNI rolled to a comfortable, 14-4 non-conference victory over South Dakota State at Riverfront Stadium.

"We came out with a lot of energy and swung the bats really well and did exactly what we needed to today," the Panther head coach said. "I was hoping we'd get everybody in the game and use a lot of pitchers. Everything worked out perfectly, just like we drew it up.

"You can't say that very often, but today was one of those days."

While dropping last weekend's Missouri Valley Conference series to Indiana State, UNI hit just .229 as a team. Wednesday, the Panthers rediscovered their stroke.

Yes, SDSU's pitchers primed the offensive pump a bit. Starter Blaine Alberta, for instance, hit the first two men he faced in the bottom of the first inning. But the Panthers took advantage of every opportunity early. Brett Douglas' RBI single and a two-run base hit by Travis Bennett triggered a five-run rally in the first frame.

The most potent bat in the 16-hit attack belonged to catcher Jeff Taliaferro. UNI's No. 7 hitter drove in four runs over the opening two innings with singles. Then he added an RBI double in the third.

Taliaferro finished the day with four hits in five at-bats and a team-high five RBIs.

Like much of UNI's lineup, Taliaferro struggled against Indiana State. Wednesday was a different story.

"I just felt good at the plate," the Panther catcher said. "I finally got a couple of days in the cage to fix my swing. I felt relaxed up there. It was a beautiful day to hit."

It wasn't a bad day for UNI's pitchers, either. Starter and winner Colin Rea threw three perfect innings on the way to his second victory in three decisions. South Dakota State (5-18) didn't have a baserunner until the fourth inning, with the Jackrabbits already facing a 13-0 deficit.

"Colin Rea gave us a great start," Heller said. "He didn't throw many pitches, so he's primed and ready to go for the weekend."

Beginning Friday, the Panthers (13-16, 2-7) meet Creighton in what's become a critical conference road series. UNI, now in eighth place in the MVC standings, knows it's got to climb in a hurry to make the six-team tournament field.

"I hate to use the word big, but this (series) is a big one for us," Heller said. "We put ourselves in a pretty big jam with the way the season started out."

The Panthers, though, will meet Creighton with their game repaired, if not perfect.

"It's huge to go into Creighton all feeling good with our swings and take that momentum and get back on track," Taliaferro said.

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

SDSU ab r h bi N. Iowa ab r h bi

Stitz,cf 5 2 2 2 Manrique,cf 3 3 3 2

Ayla,2b 4 1 2 0 Arp,rf 1 0 0 0

Sawyer,3b 4 0 2 1 Ferguson,rf 4 1 0 0

Martin,dh 5 0 1 0 Douglas,2b 4 1 2 2

Blake,lf 4 0 0 1 Schultz,2b 0 0 0 0

DeJong,1b 4 0 0 0 Bennett,lf 5 3 3 3

Lee,rf 4 0 1 0 Summers,1b 5 3 3 0

Briggs,c 4 1 2 0 Dinizo,dh 3 1 0 0

Marra,ss 4 0 0 0 Steichen,ph 0 0 0 0

Taliaferro,c 5 1 4 5

Ege,ss 4 1 1 1

Grgurich,3b 4 0 0 0

Totals 38 4 10 4 Totals 38 14 16 13

South Dakota St. 000 002 002 - 4 10 1

Northern Iowa 562 100 00x - 14 16 1

E - Lee, Arp; DP - South Dakota State 2. LOB - SDSU 9, UNI 7. 2B - Sawyer, Martin, Briggs, Manrique, Douglas, Bennett 2, Taliaferro. HR - Stitz. SB - Stitz, Manrique 3, Summers.

Pitching summary

South Dakota St. IP H R ER BB SO

Alberta (L,0-1) 2 10 11 11 1 2

Busse 3 5 3 3 1 2

Johnson 2 0 0 0 1 1

Thielbar 1 1 0 0 1 0

Northern Iowa IP H R ER BB SO

Rea (W,2-1) 3 0 0 0 0 4

Airey 2 1 0 0 2 2

Hochstedler 1 3 2 2 0 2

O'Rear 1 1 0 0 0 0

Worner 1 1 0 0 0 2

Lopez 1 4 2 2 0 0

HBP - By Alberta (Manrique, Ferguson, Grgurich. PB - Briggs.

U - Jeff Frese (plate), Scott Behn (first), Ryan Meyers (third).

T - 2:34. Att. 178