EVANSTON, Ill. - The Milwaukee baseball team rallied late, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but could not complete the comeback in falling to Northwestern University, 6-4, Tuesday afternoon at Rocky Miller Park.
 
"We didn't show up with the type of energy we needed," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "We had a hard time executing on the mound in the middle innings."
 
The Panthers (12-21) started slowly and fell behind the Wildcats (14-22) by a 6-0 count midway through the game before responding late.
 
"We fought in the end, but ran out of innings," Doffek said. "This is a critical weekend coming up for us. We need to find ourselves between now and then and come out and compete the way we are capable."
 
Milwaukee got on the board in the eighth inning on a single by John Boidanis, but left the bases loaded with the score 6-1.
 
The ninth continued the momentum. Matt Quartel had a pinch-hit single, Ian Ross doubled and Chris Kelly followed with another double to chase in a pair of runs.
 
Kelly then scored on an error following a single by Mike Ferri to get within two at 6-4 and get the tying run to the plate, allowing Cooper Wetherbee to come in and get a strikeout to end the game and record the save.
 
Kelly finished with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Mike Jordahl was on base all three times, going 2-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch. Milwaukee finished with nine hits as a team, compared to eight for the Wildcats.
 
Leo Kaplan had two hits, including a home run for Northwestern. Joe Hoscheit was 2-for-3.
 
Jake Sommers (0-2) started and suffered the loss, allowing two runs in 2.0 innings. Six other UWM pitchers saw action, including a pair of strikeouts in 1.1 scoreless frames by Alex Fischer.
 
Josh Davis (3-1) got the win, giving up just two hits in 5.0 innings, walking no one and striking out six.
 
A road trip awaits on the weekend, playing back-to-back Horizon League doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. Up first is at Oakland, with a first pitch of 11 a.m. CST Friday.