ISU baseball team held its final home games of the season Sunday when it was swept by Northern Iowa.

On a day the team’s seniors were recognized, a junior stepped up and earned his own recognition.

Junior second baseman Aaron Ruff was a bright spot among the struggling Cyclone offense. Ruff finished 6-of-8 with three walks in the three-game series. He also scored twice and notched an RBI.

He reached base in 9 of his 11 plate appearances earning an eye-opening on-base ratio of .818, batting in the lead-off position for the Cyclones in all three games.

“He’s earning that spot,” said ISU player-coach Jeff Peterson. “He played three games in one day, and that’s a lot to ask. He still did a great job.”

In game one of the series, Ruff was the ideal lead-off batter for the Cyclones, reaching base in all three of his appearances at the plate.

After hitting a lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning, Ruff doubled in the third inning and drew a walk in the sixth.

“I was just seeing the ball well, and when I got good pitches to hit, I capitalized on them,” Ruff said.

In game two, Ruff continued his success batting as the ISU designated hitter for pitcher Jeff Peterson.

Ruff again reached base in each plate appearance.

After a hit in the first inning and a walk in the second inning, Ruff got on base and later scored in both the fourth and sixth innings.

“I had two strike counts where I was fouling stuff off and forcing them to throw some more pitches,” Ruff said. “They would end up walking me or leaving a pitch right over the plate.”

The UNI pitching staff was able to put an end to Ruff’s perfect day by striking him out in the first inning of game three.

Ruff still went on to get two base hits in the game and earn an RBI.

“Ruff is one of those guys that is just really patient in the box,” said player-coach Tyler Strub. “He knows what he can do with the pitch. He doesn’t try and swing too hard every time.”

Ruff’s numbers and consistency Sunday didn’t come as a surprise to the team.

“He hasn’t slowed down all season,” Peterson said. “It’s great to see that he’s not taking it easy and he’s still working hard.”