DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University baseball team had the tying runs on base with no outs in the ninth but could not come back to force extra innings in a 9-7 loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Sunday at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt & Janice Owens Park.
 
Senior catcher Ivan Dahlberg (Minooka, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) had a season-high three hits on Sunday, scoring two runs. Wyatt Wawro (Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South) and Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) were both 2-for-5 at the plate and combined to score three runs. Wawro also had two runs batted in.
 
NIU (25-13, 16-8 MAC) was down 7-4 going into the bottom of the eighth. Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) and Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) drew back-to-back walks leading off the inning. After a fielder's choice put runners on the corners, Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Smith and get NIU within two at 7-5.
 
Eastern Michigan (13-28, 7-17 MAC) extended its lead in the top of the ninth. An error and a hit by pitch gave the Eagles runners at first and second with two outs. Nathan Borchardt then laced a double to right centerfield, bringing home both runners to put the Eagles ahead 9-5. The Huskies quickly cut the lead in half in the bottom of the ninth. Romero led off with an infield single, getting to third on a Dahlberg double. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch. Wawro drove in two runs with a single through the left side of the infield, getting NIU within two at 9-7.
 
The Eagles went to John Carmichael out of the bullpen, who struck out Smith for the first out of the inning. NIU then pulled off a double steal to put Parcell and Wawro in scoring position. Robertson smashed a line drive that went right to the shortstop Tristan Crane, who threw to second base to double off Wawro and end the game.
 
"Today just was not a good performance with a chance to sweep," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "We need to find a way to finish these series. We had every opportunity to win the game. We were playing catch up all day and its hard to win when all three phases of the game are not performing."
 
The Huskies led 1-0 in the bottom of the first after a balk scored Wawro. Carter Cox (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South) had a good start to the game on the mound, retiring the first nine EMU batters he faced. The Eagles got their first hit in the top of the fourth on a John Hale infield single. Crane followed with a bunt single as a Devin Zirwas double scored Hale to tie the game. Borchardt gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead with a two-run single as a Keegan Knupp two-out RBI single extended the advantage to 4-1.
 
NIU had the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts put a zero on the board. The Eagles went up 5-1 in the fifth before the Huskies put three runs on the board in the sixth. NIU scored on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk to get within a run at 5-4. EMU went back up by three in top of the seventh on a two-out, two-run home run from Ty Stecko that gave the Eagles a 7-4 advantage.
 
The Huskies wrap up their current four-game homestand on Tuesday, April 28 against Valparaiso. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
 
--NIU--