DeKalb — The baseball team was swept over the weekend in a three-game set with the Kent State Golden Flashes.

The Huskies lost every game by at least five runs. Head Coach Mike Kunigonis said the series was closer than the box scores indicated.

“I know if you look at the scores from [the weekend], you think those games weren’t close,” Kunigonis said. “Those games were close the entire game. We had a couple tough calls and bounces against us. We had a couple opportunities to tie the game or pull away and couldn’t get it done. We were literally a pitch or two away from winning.”

Friday Game One — Golden Flashes 7, Huskies 1

The Golden Flashes took the lead in the third inning with an RBI double. They added to their lead in the fourth inning with a pair of unearned runs.

Sophomore infielder Tommy Szczasny placed NIU on the board in the sixth inning with an RBI double to score senior infielder Samuel Vega. The extra base hit pulled the Huskies to within two runs.

The Golden Flashes responded in a big way in the bottom of the seventh inning by hitting a grand slam and putting the win out of NIU’s reach. The game ended with a score of 7-1.

“We gave up a grand slam near the end,” Kunigonis said. “It made the score look more lopsided than it really was.”

Friday Game two — Golden Flashes 7, Huskies 2

Kent State got out to another early lead in game two with an RBI single in the first inning.

Szczasny responded in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to score Vega for the second consecutive game of the series. Vega scoring tied the game at one.

The Golden Flashes took the lead back in the fourth inning. A pair of doubles earned them four runs to take a sizable 5-1 lead.

The duo of Szczasny and Vega went back to work in the fifth, combining for another run.

The consistency of Szczasny and Vega was not enough as Kent State won the game by a final score of 7-2.

“We felt like we had an opportunity to split the first two games, if not, have an opportunity to win two,” Kunigonis said.

Saturday — Golden Flashes 14, Huskies 0

The Golden Flashes scored three runs in the first and never looked back. They smashed 18 hits on their way to 14 runs.

Starting pitcher senior George Faue only lasted 2.1 innings in a rough outing. He surrendered five runs on nine hits in his short start.

The bullpen struggled as well, as each of the four relievers called upon gave up at least two runs.

The Huskies compiled three hits in a blowout 14-0 loss.

“[Saturday] was what it was,” Kunigonis said. “We didn’t execute anywhere, and it got a little bit out of hand at the end. We have to get back on the horse and grind it out.”

The Huskies will look to rebound against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 4 p.m. Tuesday in Iowa City.

“We have to put it behind us,” Kunigonis said. “We can’t carry this into next week.”