DEKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team opened a six-game homestand Wednesday afternoon with a 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Panthers at Ralph McKinzie Field.
 
"Our errors proved costly today," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We didn't play at the level we have been. We need to get better and learn from this, and get ready for Ohio this weekend."
 
Milwaukee (15-10) took advantage of a pair of NIU errors for its first two runs. The Panthers' centerfielder Devin Rybacki led off the game by reaching base on an error. With runners at the corners and two out, Colin Kreiter drove in Rybacki with a double to left field. A solid relay by Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College), Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) and Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) cut down Joe Vyskocil trying to score, keeping the score 1-0.
 
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With Jack Thelen at second base and Matt Quartel at first with two away, Milwaukee attempted a double steal. Dunham attempted to pick off Quartel who faked going to second, and his errant throw went into right field. As Thelen came around to score, Dunham threw Nick Drobushevich's relay from the outfield to Jordan Larson (Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) at first who tagged out Quartel as he was dancing between first and second base to end the inning.
 
NIU (7-21) put a run on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Larson drew a walk with one out and got to third on a two-out single by Paddy McKermitt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central). The Huskies then pulled off a double steal as Larson scored to make the score 2-1. Milwaukee got that run back in the sixth when Mitchell Buban scored from second base on an NIU two-out error that put the Panthers back up by two 3-1.
 
The Huskies got back within one run in the eighth. Josh Mutter (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) led off the inning with a bunt single. Drobushevich then laced a double down the left field line, scoring Mutter to make the score 3-2. Joyce moved Drobushevich to third with a groundout to Buban at second base. With the tying run 90 feet away, Jake Sommers entered the game for Milwaukee. The closer got Dunham and Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) to ground out to end the threat. The Panthers tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth and Sommers retired NIU in order to lock up the 4-2 win.
 
NIU's six hits came from six different hitters, with Joyce, McKermitt, and Mutter all going 1-for-3. Ryan Anderson (Palatine, Ill./McHenry C.C.) allowed two unearned runs on two hits with two strikeouts to start the game. Freshman Nick Bonk (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) threw three shutout innings in relief, allowing no hits on one walk and one strikeout.
The Huskies host Ohio for a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend, beginning Friday, April 5 at 3 p.m.
 
--NIU--