Windy conditions and Central Michigan’s hot bats made it a long weekend for NIU pitchers as the Huskies were swept in a three-game home series.

The Huskies (10-26 overall, 1-11 MAC) surrendered 41 runs and 51 hits over three games as Central Michigan (24-14, 6-6) hitters took advantage of the blustery weekend.

“We just didn’t hit our spots or change speeds effectively this weekend,” NIU coach Ed Mathey said. “We got behind hitters in the count and when you have the wind blowing out, the last thing you want to do is put them on base.”

Following a Friday rainout, the two teams played a doubleheader Saturday.

Game 1 saw the Huskies jump out to a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, thanks to RBI doubles by seniors Jake Blair and Greg Larsen. But a grand slam and six RBIs by CMU first baseman Kurtis Wells capped an 11-run fifth inning off starter Nick Hall and reliever Jeff Hall. The NIU offense couldn’t recover as the Chippewas took the first game 14-6.

NIU left-hander Adam Holdenrid came into Game 2 with a 1.98 ERA in six appearances, good for No. 2 in the MAC. But the redshirt freshman fell victim to the CMU offense and surrendered eight runs in four innings.

The Huskies battled back with four runs in the eighth inning, thanks to home runs from catcher Tug Gillingham and second baseman Kyle Cherney. But it was not enough as NIU fell 12-6.

The NIU pitching staff saw more of the same in Game 3 Sunday as freshman left-hander Brian Smith gave up six runs in three innings. Four Huskie errors contributed to seven unearned runs as CMU ran away with the game by a 15-6 margin.

“Our approaches at the plate weren’t very good,” said NIU senior outfielder Jeremy Busch, who added a home run in Game 3. “With the wind blowing the way it was, we just had to get the barrel on the ball. And we didn’t do that this weekend and we didn’t get the key hits when we needed them.”

The next action for the Huskies will be a 3 p.m. home game Tuesday against Purdue University-North Central.