It’s the kind of loss that can kill a team. The kind when a team is leading the entire game and the win is just ripped away.

Sunday at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich., NIU headed into the ninth inning tied at seven in the rubber match of the three-game weekend series.

NIU pitcher Tom Zelasko had already worked 1 2/3 innings in the game after coming on in the seventh, and faced EMU catcher Matt Skirving to start the ninth inning. Zelasko hung a curveball on the first pitch of the at-bat and put it over the right-center field wall to give EMU the victory.

“He was trying to throw the get-me-over curveball and he left it over the plate,” NIU head coach Ed Mathey said. “It was a tough loss. We had a chance to win the series; that’s what our goals are when you’re on the road. Our pitching wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be. That’s what makes everything tougher.”

With the game tied at six in the top of the eighth, Matt Behren’s homer gave NIU (15-25, 6-11 MAC) the lead. The Eagles (14-28, 7-11 MAC) tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer by first baseman Todd Graves.

Right fielder Justin Behm went 2-3 on the day with three RBI’s, including a home run in the fifth. The homer was Behm’s 24th of his career, which put him in third place on NIU’s all-time list.

“Justin’s been getting his swing going,” Mathey said. “That’s a good thing to see in the middle of our lineup.”

NIU took the series opener Friday with a 5-2 victory. Starting pitcher Chuck Lukanen three 8 1/3 innings in the game and struck out ten.

“(Chuck) went out and battled for eight innings,” Mathey said. “He made some great pitches when he needed to.”

EMU evened the series Saturday with an 11-7 win, and took the series with Sunday’s win.

At 3 p.m. Tuesday, NIU will head up to Milwaukee to take on the Panthers of UW-Milwaukee.