DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team plays host to the Buffalo Bulls for an Easter weekend Mid-American Conference series at Mary M. Bell Field on Friday.

Due to inclement weather expected in the DeKalb area, the series has been shifted to a doubleheader Friday and a single game Saturday. The Huskies (10-20, 1-2) will face the Bulls at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All times listed are Central.

Buffalo (11-14, 3-0) comes to town for the first time since 2014 and NIU is playing Buffalo for the first time since 2015.

"They are riding momentum from the last week with Eastern [Michigan]," said NIU head softball coach Christina Sutcliffe. "They have two pitchers that are doing well and he [Mike Roberts] consistently rotates those two players out.

"They are going to be a different team. They have got a different coaching staff and we have not played them in two or three years so we are just not as familiar with them as some other teams in the MAC are."

NIU has won five out of their last eight games, including winning three via run rule. In that stretch of games, the Huskie hitters have batted .271 with 34 RBIs, took 23 walks, and had an on-base percentage of .350.

"We are playing really well right now," said Sutcliffe. "We got two run-rule games out of our last three games and when you are doing that, you are doing something right, offensively. We are being aggressively patient at the plate so we are swinging and doing what we need to. The top of our order is hard to get out right now."

In Tuesday's win over UIC, the Huskies were lead by sophomore Anne Allen (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) and junior Jenny Van Geertry (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East). Combined, Allen and Van Geertry went five-for-five with three RBIs. Senior Alaynie Woollard (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) added four walks to her team-high total of 21.

Since the Hoosier Classic, Huskie pitching has produced a 5-3 record with a 1.96 ERA and struck out 39 batters. Junior Alex Frenz (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) leads the Huskies with a 3.62 ERA in 20 appearances this season. Senior Tara Thacker (Uniontown, Ohio./North Canton Hoover) has started 16 games recording a 4.07 ERA in 75.2 innings. In Tuesday's win against UIC, senior Keegan Hayes (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) started her third game of the season and went two innings giving up two runs on four hits.

"I think they are settling into their roles and I think they are understanding that it is get through the inning and let's see what happens in the next one," said Sutcliffe. "Alex [Frenz] has done a fantastic job in relief and she is starting to own that role of being able to come in and being the middle person.

"We are kind of using a baseball mentality right now, we have got our starter, reliever, and a closer if we need it. They work together in that role, but set each other up in a way because they are so different as pitchers so it is tough when you are the opposing team when you are hitting a different pitcher each time."

Live stats and live streaming will be available for the three games against Buffalo via niuhuskies.com. Fans can follow the action with live score updates on Twitter @NIUscores. Fans can also follow the Huskies throughout their 60th season of softball on Twitter @NIUSoftball, Facebook NIU.Softball, and Instagram niu_softball.

–NIU–