It was a bittersweet day for the NIU baseball team Wednesday.

Freshman first baseman Joe Etcheverry tied a school record with five hits, but the Huskies fell 14-10 to Illinois State (18-19) after blowing a ninth inning lead.

NIU (17-20) took a 10-7 lead heading into the top of the ninth inning. Pitcher Andy Deain was brought in to pick up the save, but started the inning off with a walk.

“We had one in our hands but we gave it away,” NIU coach Ed Mathey said. “[Deain] struggled with his command and when you fall behind these guys on a windy day, you can’t protect a three-run lead.”

Following the walk, ISU catcher Kevin Dubler hit a two-run home run to bring the Redbirds within one run. Deain then hit the next batter, followed that with another walk, and the hitting onslaught arrived. ISU scored seven runs on five hits in the final frame to tie the season series at 1-1.

“You can’t walk two guys and hit a batter and expect good fortune,” Mathey said. “At some point in time you’ve got to keep it within striking distance and that didn’t happen.”

The bats were hot in general on Wednesday. The two teams combined for 31 hits in the afternoon contest.

Etcheverry turned the loss into a career day, cranking out five singles and one RBI. The freshman also scored two runs.

“I didn’t come in and try and do too much. I just put the ball in play and hit the ball hard,”

Etcheverry said. “It’s disappointing though. Reynolds had his best stuff and came out and threw a good game. He gave us a chance to win, but Andy had a rough day.”

Mathey mentioned that Etcheverry had been swinging the bat well for some time. He just needed an opportunity to showcase it.

“He’s really been working hard on his swing in batting practice,” Mathey said. “He hasn’t had a lot of consistent opportunities, but boy he went out there and swung the bat well today. He hit the ball to all parts of the field and showed a great approach.”