About an hour before Tuesday’s game against Illinois State, sophomore second baseman Caleb Fields didn’t know if he would be cleared to play.

After the 9-8 Northwestern loss, Fields just wanted to clear his memory.

After missing 10 straight games because of a concussion he sustained against Iowa on May 1, Fields struck out to end the game with the tying run 90 feet away from home plate. An inning and a half earlier, he made an errant throw to first on a double-play attempt, opening up a four-run inning that ultimately sealed NU’s fate.

“It happens in (this) game,” said Fields, who went 0 for 4 with a walk. “You get the chance to be the hero or the zero, and it didn’t work out today.

“(I was) a little bit uncomfortable, but I felt OK. I felt ready.”

NU coach Paul Stevens said Fields got the start because Stevens wanted him to see action before this weekend’s season-ending series against Michigan State. The second baseman looked solid early, turning a 4-3 double play that ended the Redbirds’ two-run second inning with a runner on third.

But it only got tougher for Fields.

“In some respects (he looked) fine, in other respects, not so fine,” Stevens said. “I’m just glad to see him back. We had to get his feet wet before the weekend.”

The Wildcats (23-27) missed other chances against the Redbirds (25-25). NU made two straight outs with senior third baseman Mike Phelps on first and Fields on third with the game 2-2 in the second inning.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth, junior left fielder Anthony Wycklendt struck out on an unsuccessful check swing with the bases loaded, ending the Cats’ two-out rally.

And in the eighth, with the score still 5-3, the Cats nearly escaped unscathed after allowing Illinois State to load the bases with no outs. But Fields’ double-play throw went wide, allowing two runs to come in.

“I mean, it would have been nice to get the two because that gets us out of the inning,” said senior reliever Chris Hayes, who allowed two unearned runs in two innings. “But after that happened I should have been able to get us out of the inning without too much more damage.”

Sophomore Dan Schwartz made his first-career start, giving up two earned runs on three hits in three innings. Senior Evan Blesoff (4-7), in one of the final appearances of his NU tenure, threw one inning and took the loss.

Junior designated hitter Pat McMahon went 1 for 3, narrowly keeping himself atop the Big Ten hitting list with a .411 average.

McMahon also scored runs in the eighth and ninth innings, as the Cats came back from a 9-3 deficit to make the Redbirds sweat.

“They didn’t quit,” Stevens said. “They could have very easily just rolled over and played dead.

“I can pretty much assure you that they’re not going to lie down and roll over this weekend. They’re going to find a way, and that’s all I’m asking out of them. I can’t ask (for) any more. They’re giving me everything that they have right now.”

Fields said he won’t stop giving and working, hoping to brush off some of the rust that helped cause Tuesday’s miscues.

“Just chalk it up to experience, I guess,” he said. “(I’ll) try to come back better next time.”

Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected].