Coming off a sweep at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, NIU baseball (6-5, 0-1 MAC) fell to the Kent State University Golden Flashes (5-6, 1-0 MAC) in a 15-5 loss to begin Mid-American Conference play.
The Huskies left 12 on base over eight innings, while allowing 15 runs on 10 hits.
Kent State went up early, taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Golden Flashes held a 3 run lead until the fifth inning, when senior catcher Kaden Kosobucki sent the ball over the left field fence to get the Huskies on the board.
Also in the fifth inning, junior infielder Will Couchman and sophomore outfielder Charlie Parcell scored on a fielding error and a bases loaded walk respectively to even the score for NIU.
Kent State quickly took back its 3 run lead, scoring three in the bottom of the fifth to go up 6-3 on the Huskies.
Sophomore catcher Cooper Cohn brought home senior infielder/outfielder Andrew Smart in the top of the seventh to bring the Huskies within two, before Kent State took back the run off a steal at home plate in the same inning.
NIU’s final run came from junior infielder Ben Loyd, who came home on a base hit from senior outfielder CJ Cepicky in the eighth inning.
The Golden Flashes’ offense dominated in the bottom of the eighth, scoring 8 runs to end the game.
Redshirt junior pitcher Adam Brouwer gave up his first earned runs of the season, allowing six in 4.1 innings. Brouwer stuck out five and walked three in his first loss.
The Huskies’ utilized seven bullpen arms in the loss, going for a combined 9 earned runs off 4 hits.
UP NEXT
The Huskies continue their series against Kent State University with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Sunday in Kent, Ohio. Live stats will be updated on SideArm Stats.
