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DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University Softball team will look to continue its winning ways when the Huskies travel to Carbondale, Ill. for the Coach B Classic Friday afternoon.
 
The Huskies (6-3) will open the tournament against No. 19/21 Kentucky at 1 p.m. Friday. NIU will face in-state foe UIC and Murray State Saturday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. The Huskies close out tournament play Sunday when they face a pair of local rivals in Western Illinois and host Southern Illinois at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. All times listed are Central. Live scoring will be available for every game of the tournament and NIU's game with the Salukis will be shown live on ESPN3.
 
"This will be a good test this weekend," said NIU head coach Christina Sutcliffe. "Similar to last weekend, we have some RPI tests. We're ready for those challenges."
 
NIU enters this weekend's tournament on a high after posting a 4-1 record in the Cardinal Classic last weekend in Beaumont, Texas. The Huskies saw marked improvements in several areas from the opening weekend.
 
"Defensively, we made some plays that got us off the field," Sutcliffe said. "Our pitching beared down with runners in scoring position, which is really nice to see. We also made some better adjustments against the pitching. We didn't always get them in, but we consistently had runners on."
 
While they didn't always get the runners in at every opportunity, the Huskies did score their fair share of runs and scored them in bunches. NIU tallied three three-run innings in the tournament.
 
"We seem to bookend our games," she said. "We either come out really hot and end really hot. It seems like we either get that lead and sit on it and play some defense behind it or we come back in the sixth and seventh inning. It shows the tenacity of this team, that no lead it too big for us and we're going to fight til the end."
 
Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio/North Hoover Canton) helped lead the way for NIU from the pitcher's circle last weekend. The Huskie junior earned Mid-American Conference West Pitcher of the Week honors after posting a 0.48 earned run average in 14.2 innings pitched and earning her first victory of the season.
 
 
-NIU-