EDINBURG, TX – The Northern Illinois University baseball team lost its second straight game to the UTRGV Vaqueros Saturday afternoon by a score of 15-2 in seven innings at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
 
"It was a second tough day in a row," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "These last two games won't define who we are as a team. What will define us is how we'll bounce back tomorrow, next week and the week after that. Baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. Tomorrow is another opportunity for us to get better as a team and as a program."
 
NIU (1-4) got off to a good start in the top of the first. Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland C.C.) led off the game with an infield single. Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) then reached on a throwing error by UTRGV third baseman DeAndre Shelton. A wild pitch from Colten Davis advanced Barnes and Lonteen to third and second respectively, with a passed ball allowing Barnes to score the game's first run. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) put the Huskies ahead 2-0 with a two-out RBI single down the right field line, bringing home Lonteen.
 
The Huskies' starting pitcher Nate Thomas (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) fed off the momentum of an early lead by striking out Spencer Serven and getting Andy Atwood to ground out to Smith at third base. Conrado Diaz then laced a triple with two outs and scored on a Coleman Grubbs base hit, making the score 2-1. Thomas limited the damage to one run when he got Diego Ramirez to ground out to Lonteen at shortstop.
 
UTRGV (5-4) took the lead in the bottom of the second. The Vaqueros had runners at second and third with one out when Shelton hit a double to centerfield, driving home Christian Sepulveda to tie the game 2-2. Serven then made the score 3-2 on a groundout to third base that brought in Freddy Rojas Jr. The Vaqueros had runners at the corners with two out but Thomas got out of the inning when Diaz flew out to Barnes in right field.
 
The Vaqueros built on their lead in the third, sending 15 batters to the plate in scoring nine runs to take a 12-2 lead. NIU was held to two hits over the last three innings as Wade Rankin (Columbus, Ind./Kankakee C.C.) had a single in the sixth and Jacob Schroeder (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) hit a double in the seventh.
 
NIU and UTRGV wrap up their four-game series on Sunday with a doubleheader. Game one will be a seven-inning game with first pitch at 12 p.m., followed by a nine-inning game.
 
--NIU--