April 27, 2009

DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University softball team will look to end its final homestand of the 2009 season on a winning note when the Huskies take on Illinois State Tuesday night at Mary M. Bell Field.

First pitch for the Huskies and Redbirds is slated for 5 p.m. Fans can follow all the action live online via Huskies All-Access with Russell Houghtaling and Joe Summins on the call and Gametracker on www.niuhuskies.com.

The Huskies (14-33) are 3-1 on their current five-game homestand, sweeping Central Michigan Friday afternoon and splitting with Eastern Michigan, winning Saturday's contest, 5-4, in nine innings.

NIU had a solid week at the plate, batting .261 as a team, well above its .218 season batting average. Bailey Ouellette (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton) batted .400, going 6-for-15 from the plate with a double, triple, four runs batted in and three runs scored, while Carly Norton (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) went 3-for-6 on the week, with a double, a home run, a RBI and a run scored.

Northern Illinois welcomes a Redbird (22-23) team that has won four of their last six games. Illinois State took two of three from Northern Iowa over the weekend. Sophomore Abby Olson leads ISU with a .339 batting average, while their top pitcher is Jordan Birch who is 10-9 with a 1.95 earned run average.

The Huskies have a rare back-to-back midweek schedule this week. After the Huskies' game with Illinois State, they will head north to take on Big Ten foe Wisconsin Wednesday night.

-NIU-