For at least one Huskie baseball player, Thursday’s season-ending doubleheader at Western Illinois (1 p.m.) will mark the end of a very short NIU career.

Jeff Carnes fulfilled one year of NIU baseball and must call it quits after the twin bill. The only senior on the team, Carnes was in a rare situation, according to coach Joe “Spanky” McFarland.

“He was involved in a Catch-22,” McFarland said. “We’re developing young guys for the future of the program, so he kind of sacrificed himself knowing that. I admire him for doing so.”

McFarland also admitted that the outfielder hasn’t seen an extraordinary amount of playing time, making his participation that much harder to swallow.

“We really haven’t been fair to him this year,” McFarland continued. “He’s our only senior, and with us trying to build our team for the future, it’s been hard to get him into the game.”

So when Carnes’ number was called last weekend for the final home game against the University of Chicago, the Crystal Lake native responded with a big day at the plate.

Carnes, who entered the game 0-for-15 on the season, belted a double to notch his first RBI of the season. Carnes finished the day with three RBIs, three stolen bases and another base hit.

“We just wanted him to have a good last day,” McFarland said. “And he took advantage of it.”

Indicative of the entire season, Carnes cited the team before himself after NIU’s sweep of the Maroons (8-4 and 9-0).

“I had my family here today, and it was a great day for the team,” Carnes said. “I got ahead in the count (on the double), he put the pitch over the plate, and I laid into it—it was a really good feeling.”

Through the whole experience of the season: an entire team full of walk-ons, an 0-18 start, then the Huskies went on to win 10-of-its-last-16 games, Carnes noted that the team was capable the whole time.

“That was just a great weekend,” Carnes said. “We knew we had the potential, and now we’re showing it.”

NIU (10-26) has one last chance to display its talent in Macomb on Thursday. McFarland cited the importance of the match-up with future Mid-Continent Conference foe, WIU.

“We want to finish strong,” McFarland said. “It’s important to have a good showing down there so we can set the tone as far as next season is concerned.”