The Northern Illinois University baseball team rallied late in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt and Janice Owens Park but ended up short as the visitors swept the twinbill by scores of 11-6 in 11 innings and 8-4.

Central Michigan (9-15, 5-1 MAC) struck first in the opener as an Aaron Piasecki two-run home run put the Chippewas ahead 2-0 in the third. The Chippewas got a Cayden Smith solo home run and a Nathan Ball two-run shot in the fifth extended the lead to 5-0.

NIU (7-13, 1-8 MAC) got on the board in the bottom of the third. Charlie Parcell (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) drove in JP Gauthier (De Pere, Wis./Illinois State) from second on a double for the Huskies’ first run. Logan Gregorio (Naperville, Ill./Benedictine) and Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases for Andrew Smart (Evanston, Ill./Oakton CC), who also drew a walk off of AJ Kostic to score Gregorio and make the score 5-2. Nate Ross came in from the bullpen and walked Ben Loyd (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Kaskaskia College) to bring home Baldwin and put NIU within two at 5-3. Ross got a flyout to end the inning.

Gautier saved a run in the top of the sixth. With one out, the junior right fielder took away a Smith sacrifice fly by throwing out Zach Knowlton at home plate for a double play. The Huskies were down 6-3 in the eighth when Will Couchman (Edina, Minn./NIACC) hit a two-run home run over the left centerfield wall to get NIU within one at 6-5. NIU tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out Loyd double down the right field, scoring pinch runner Jalen House (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South).

CMU momentarily took a 7-6 lead in the top of the tenth as pinch hitter Rees Campanele hit a home run over the left field wall. NIU appealed that Campanele missed first base and it was upheld, taking the run off the board. The Chippewas did load the bases with two outs but NIU reliever Gavin Micklinghoff (McHenry, Ill./McHenry County College) got a strikeout to get out of the jam. The Huskies were retired in order in the bottom of the 10^th to send the game to the 11^th. The Chippewas scored five runs in the 11^th, highlighted by a two-run double by Cole Prout, to take an 11-6 lead and Smith made it hold up to secure the win.

“For a while there it felt like everything was going our way,” said head coach Ryan Copeland. “We got some breaks with the go-ahead home run and the batter missing first base. It felt like it was our game to steal like how they stole game one yesterday, but we had two chances late and put up two zeroes.”

Parcell, Baldwin and Loyd each had two hits in game one. Ty Brachbill (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) went five innings on the mound to start the game, allowing five runs on nine hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Micklinghoff and Parker Schuring (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

Central Michigan scored a run in the second inning of game two, then five in the third with a pair of two-run home runs from Campanale and Murphy to take a 6-0 lead. The Huskies got on the board on a Cooper Cohn home run in the top of the fifth but a Cayden Smith solo shot in the sixth put the Chippewas up 7-1.

NIU (7-13, 1-8 MAC) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 7-4. Baldwin led off by being hit by a pitch. He then got to second base on a Couchman single. A passed ball moved the runners into scoring position as a Ben Loyd sacrifice fly scored Baldwin. With runners at the corners and two outs, Gauthier came on as a pinch-hitter and cleared the bases with a two-run double that got the Huskies within three. That was as close as NIU got as the Chippewas tacked on an insurance run in the ninth for the 8-4 win.

The NIU bullpen did a good job in the nightcap of picking up starter Max Vaisvila (Villa Park, Ill./Wabash Valley College) who allowed six runs on 10 hits in four innings. Carter Cox (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt South), Conner Lutes (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) and Alex Day (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) combined to allow two runs on three hits with five strikeouts over the final five innings.

“It wasn’t looking good after Max only went four innings,” said Copeland. “Carter, Lutes and Day are all guys that haven’t pitched a whole lot this year but they gave us a chance against a hot offense. We have to be better. To finally get on the home field and get swept just can’t happen. We got off to such a good start and we have to find the energy, the magic again because it’s been a tough couple weeks.”

Cohn was 1-for-3 in game two with a walk and two runs scored to go with his home run. Campanale, Murphy and Knowlton each had two hits and drove in two runs for CMU.

NIU heads out to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, March 25 for a 3 p.m. matchup against the Panthers before returning home to take on UIC on Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m.