March 5, 2009

DEKALB, Ill. -The Northern Illinois University softball team travels to California for an 11 game road trip, beginning in Fresno at the Bayer Cropscience Classic hosted by Fresno State Mar. 6-8.

The Huskies (2-5) will face two ranked opponents this weekend. NIU opens up the tournament with No. 10 California at 4 p.m. and BYU at 7 p.m. Friday. Northern Illinois will face the Cougars again at noon and host No. 24 Fresno State Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Huskies' final opponent will be Providence Sunday at noon. All game times are Central.

Northern Illinois will then play doubleheaders with Pacific Mar. 9, Santa Clara Mar. 11, and St. Mary's (Calif.) Mar. 12.

The Huskies will be looking for a better result from this trip than their visit to Birmingham, Ala. for the Magic City Classic. NIU went 0-2 on the weekend and had three game cancelled due to weather.

One of the bright spots for the Huskies last weekend was the play of seniors Bailey Ouellette (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) and Katie Colby (Waukesha, Wis./West). Ouellette went 2-for-5 in two games for NIU, belting out her second home run of the season, a three-run shot against UAB. Colby went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored in the two games.

"Bailey's been pretty consistent so far," NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard said. "She's swinging the bat really well and has a great demeanor in the box right now. She's very confident in her preparation and it's showing in her results. So is Katie Colby for that matter. She's batting .667. It's a true testament to her work ethic and what she's willing to do to see the team win."

Fans can follow all the action of the Bayer Cropscience Classic live via Gametracker at www.niuhuskies.com.