BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Northern Illinois University baseball team lost the opening game of its weekend series against the Bowling Green Falcons 21-1 Friday afternoon at Steller Field.
 
NIU (8-39, 4-20 MAC) threatened to get on the board in the top of the first. Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) and Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech) drew back-to-back walks off Bowling Green starting pitcher Gage Schenk. The duo moved up a base each on a wild pitch with one out. Schenk got a popout and a strikeout to get out of the inning.
 
Bowling Green (17-28, 10-15 MAC) put a run on the board in the bottom of the first. DJ Newman led off with a single, later stealing second base with one out. A Kyle Gurney flyout to deep centerfield allowed Newman to advance to third. Tyler Ross then hit a single up the middle to drive home Newman for a 1-0 Falcons lead. Bowling Green extended its lead to 3-0 on a two-run home run off the bat of Nathan Rose in the bottom of the second.
 
The Falcons scored 11 runs in the third to go up 14-0. NIU got its first hit of the game in the top of the fourth on a one-out Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) single to left field. NIU got on the board in the top of the sixth on an Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. San Jacinto CC) solo home run, his fifth of the season, which made the score 16-1.
 
NIU and Bowling Green play the middle game of this weekend's series on Saturday, May 13 at 12 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--