Lukanen’s second year of professional baseball was a good one as he provided the bridge to Brian Smith in the eighth and Ryan Quigley in the ninth in 2011. The lefty went 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA out of the ‘pen in 44 appearances. Lukanen struck out 48 batters in 48.1 innings. Lukanen graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2010.  The lefty led NIU in starts and strikeouts in his two years at the local university. Lukanen split the 2010 season with the Rockford RiverHawks and the Southern Illinois Miners.