DeKALB | After starting the weekend on the right foot, the NIU softball team left Kent State not only with bruised egos, but with bruised bones, as well.

Trying to salvage a two-game series against the Golden flashes (24-15, 10-2), the Huskies (18-21, 7-7) managed just four hits, while getting hit by pitches four times as they fell 4-3 on the road.

Ultimately, the game came down to two pitches.

The first came in the fifth inning when Jamie Fitzpatrick, KSU junior first baseman, hit a grand slam.

The second came in the sixth inning when sophomore Randi Kreiter just missed a grand slam of her own, which instead turned into a two RBI double.

“She missed it by about two feet,” said coach Donna Martin. “That was the difference; one ball went over and the other just missed.”

The Huskies’ weekend started on a high note with a pair of wins in Friday’s double-header at Buffalo. NIU out-hit the Bulls in the first game, winning 9-4, and dominated both ends in the second winning 10-1 in six innings.

Sophomore Bailey Ouellette was the star of the afternoon, going a combined 3-6 while driving in six runs.

Ouellette continued to swing a hot bat in Saturday’s game against Kent State, but it wouldn’t be enough for the Huskies, who lost 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Huskies went into the seventh down 4-2 when Ouellette hit a two RBI single to tie the game, scoring Krystn Sendejas and Jenna Roberts.

In the bottom half of the inning, a triple by Kent State junior Kim Hamilton brought in the winning run and ended any chance of NIU completing the comeback.

“It was a tough loss,” Martin said. “Kate [Greenough] did a pretty good job. We had some really good at-bats against a really good pitcher.”

Kreiter hit her third home run of the season when she led off the fourth inning with a solo shot.