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Box Score Game One (PDF) | Box Score Game Two (PDF)

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ohio baseball team (16-13, 10-9 MAC) saw its five-game winning streak end with a pair of seven-inning losses to Northern Illinois (7-22, 6-9 MAC) in a Saturday (April 17) doubleheader at Ralph McKinzie Field. The Bobcats fell to the Huskies by scores of 9-1 and 10-9.

Game One: Northern Illinois 9, Ohio 1

Northern Illinois jumped on the board in the first inning, plating two with an RBI double and an RBI single to go up 2-0.  

Ohio answered with a run in the second inning. Redshirt junior left fielder Trevor Lukkes (Tustin, Calif.) lifted sacrifice fly that scored junior catcher Mason Minzey (Grand Blanc, Mich.). Minzey reached on a single and moved to third on a double by senior first baseman Aaron Levy (Cincinnati, Ohio).

NIU added one run in the fourth with a double and one run in the fifth with a home run. The Huskies extended the lead in the sixth with a grand slam and a throwing error for the final, 9-1.  

Junior right-handed pitcher Braxton Kelly (Ulysses, Ky.) took the loss for Ohio after tossing 4.0 innings and allowing four earned runs while striking out two batters.

Game Two: Northern Illinois 10, Ohio 9

Ohio's rally from a three-run deficit going into the top of the seventh came up just short. 

The Bobcats broke a four-all tie in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead, plating runs on an RBI double by graduate student third baseman Harry Witwer-Dukes (Monmouth, Ore.), a sacrifice fly to left by senior left fielder Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) and an RBI single through the left side by Minzey.

Northern Illinois retaliated in the home half of the frame, though, scoring six runs to jump in front, 10-7. The Bobcats made it a one-run affair in the seventh thanks to an RBI single by senior designated hitter Tanner Piechnick (Canonsburg, Pa.) and a sacrifice fly by senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.). Ohio left the tying run stranded on second, however, and the Huskies took both games of the twin bill.

Ohio was led at the plate by Minzey, who went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. Witwer-Dukes collected a pair of doubles, drove in a run and scored two runs. Redshirt junior right fielder Spencer Harbert (Middletown, Del.) finished 2-for-4 with a double while Piechnick and senior shortstop Treyben Funderburg (Beavercreek, Ohio) each collected a pair of singles.

Ohio will look to finish the weekend with a split of the four-game Mid-American Conference against Northern Illinois when the two squads square off again on Sunday (April 18). First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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