“Beware the Ides of March.” Words that fallen Roman leader Julius Caesar did not heed.

A Shakespearean soothsayer might advise the NIU baseball team: Beware of baseball teams from the west coast with average records.

NIU returns from its west coast Spring Break trip with a 1-7 record.

A pair of lefties hooked up to give NIU its long victory 2-1 over San Jose State on March 13.

Matt Jernstad picked up the win in his fist start of the season. The sophomore from Oswego scattered three hits and struck out nine in 7.1 innings.

“Matt Jernstad was simply outstanding for us tonight,” coach Ed Mathey said. “Matt German got us out of a jam and earned the save. It was a well-played game defensively, and we got timely hits on offense.”

Jeff Thomas and Pat Minogue each scored a run in the victory.

NIU dropped two games to St. Mary’s, 10-2 and 5-2, to start off its trip.

The NIU bats have sprung to life on the five-game set with Nevada to close out the road trip.

Unfortunately for NIU, Nevada hitters were up to the task when it came to getting into a slugfest.

Nursing a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning of the series opener, NIU couldn’t hold the lead and went on to fall by a score of 5-3.

NIU pitcher Trevor Feeney got a no decision for his six innings of work on the mound.

Reliever Brandon Copp picked up the loss when he surrendered a two-run homer in the seventh to David Ciarlo.

The next three games were the types of offensive showcases pitchers have nightmares about.

Nevada posted 12-8, 13-9, 17-10 and 6-2 victories

Despite out-hitting Nevada 18-14 on St. Patrick’s Day, NIU still came up on the short. Marc Besteman tied a school record with five hits, Brian Toner was four for five with four runs scored, Bobby Stevens was three for five and Justin Behn was two for three with two RBIs.