Final Stats

DeKALB - NIU (13-15, 4-3 MAC) accounted for 10 hits and left 13 men on base in the series opener Friday versus Kent State (15-11, 4-3 MAC) as the Golden Flashes accounted for 18 hits, seven extra base hits and three home runs to defeat NIU, 16-4.

The Friday loss was NIU's first since March 7 at Southern Illinois when the Huskies lost on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth, 5-4. The Huskies are 3-3 in Friday games this season.

Freshman Joe Jumonville (Munster, Ind./Munster) went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs while sophomore Jason Gasser (Dyer, Ind./Mt. Carmel) was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI from the leadoff position.

Though Kent State came out aggressive in the first inning, scoring two runs on a two out double, the Huskies evened it up in the bottom of the second as Northern Illinois University accounted for four hits with two out, starting with Justin Fletcher's (Pekin, Ill./Illinois Central College) double down the left field line.

Fletcher scored from second on the next at-bat on a single by Jumonville, sliding between the catchers legs and under the tag to cut the KSU lead in half, 2-1. After Gasser's second hit of the game sent Jumonville to third, Johnny Zubek (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) beat out an infield single to tie the game, 2-2.

The Golden Flashes responded in the top of the third with four runs to take a 6-2 lead, which carried until the bottom of the sixth inning when NIU scratched across two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Gasser and an error by the Kent State defense that brought the Huskies within two, 6-4.

KSU then scored three runs in the seventh and seven more in the eighth, all of which were unearned, to increase its lead to 12 runs, 16-4.

The NIU pitching staff accounted for nine punch outs in the game, the second-most registered this season.

Kent State's Conner Simonetti was a single away from hitting for the cycle as he was 3-for6 with five RBI, including three on a homer in the seventh inning.

The Huskies and Golden Flashes will continue the series tomorrow afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field, starting at 1:05 p.m. Central. NIU has won two-straight Saturday matchups against Kent State.