Final Stats

CHICAGO - Playing its first game of the season in Northern Illinois, NIU (9-10) and Chicago State (6-13) battled back and forth at Cougar Stadium Tuesday but a six run rally by CSU in the eighth inning proved the difference as the Huskies fell to the Cougars, 9-5.

Wes Sery (Bloomington, Ill./Normal West) finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run to lead NIU at the plate. Starting pitcher Seth Fuller (Moline, Ill./Black Hawk College) finished the day with 5.0 innings, scattering six hits with one strikeout and no walks against the 19 batters he faced in the game. Brad Wood (Orland Park, Ill./St. Laurence) and Nate Ruzich (Joliet, Ill./South Suburban College) each record RBI in the game as well.

"It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise solid game. We played well for seven and half innings and right now, we're still learning how to finish games and the level of focus needed to sustain success," said Head Coach Mike Kunigonis. "Seth (Fuller) gave us a great start and we some good things from Kevin (Sweeney) and (Andrew) Frankenreider. Our lack of focus late allowed this one to slip away. I look forward to a great day of practice on Wednesday to get ready for Buffalo this weekend as we open conference play."

NIU got on the board in the third inning, started by a leadoff single by Justin Fletcher (Pekin, Ill./Illinois Central College), who was pushed over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jason Gasser (Dyer, Ind./Mt. Carmel). After stealing third base, Wood knocked Fletcher home on a single to right field to put NIU on top, 1-0.

The Huskies scored one more in the top of the fifth with two outs when Johnny Zubek (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) crossed home plate following an error at second base to put NIU on top, 2-0. CSU tied it up with a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame as Quintin Alexander hit a fly ball to right field that carried over the fence to even the Huskies and the Cougars, 2-2.

After CSU took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, NIU responded with three runs in the top of the seventh, including the go-ahead run scored by Ruzich, who doubled to tie the game after Tony Brandner's (Richfield, Wis./Hartford Union/Winthrop) leadoff single. Northern Illinois University would go on to lead Chicago State by two runs after a bunt single by Sery and an error on the same play, 5-3.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Cougars loaded the bases with no outs and would go on to score six runs on three hits and two errors in the frame to reclaim the lead, 9-6. Though NIU got the leadoff batter on base in the top of the ninth, a walk by Brandner, the Huskies were unable to put any more runners on base.

Kevin Sweeney (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) tossed a perfect seventh inning, throwing only seven pitches in the frame. Andrew Frankenreider (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) who entered the game in a jam, bases loaded and no outs, only allowed one hit and zero earned runs in his lone inning on the mound.

NIU will return to action this weekend for its Mid-American Conference opener against Buffalo, scheduled to begin Friday, March 20.

Visit NIUHuskies.com for updated schedule information later in the week.