DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team wraps up its 31-game road swing with a trip to Athens, Ohio for a weekend series with the Bobcats starting Friday.
The Huskies (14-15, 1-1) are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday and a single game Saturday with Ohio (22-10, 3-0). First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is set for 12 p.m., while Saturday's single game will begin in 10 a.m. All times listed are Central. Inclement weather is expected in the Athens area this weekend so be sure to check NIUHuskies.com and @NIUSoftball on Twitter for any schedule changes.
NIU bats have remained hot since the Billiken Spring Tournament as NIU tallied 14 runs in two games at Buffalo last weekend. The Huskies batted .364 in their doubleheader with the Bulls, with
Kira Mickelson leading the way with a .714 average and four RBIs.
"Obviously, the front half of spring break, we struggled a little bit at the plate," said NIU head coach
Christina Sutcliffe. "When we got to St. Louis we kind of got that back on track and were able to carry that into Buffalo."
The Huskies face a tough challenge this weekend, as Ohio is tied for the league lead with Ball State. Playing a complete seven innings is going to be key for NIU to be successful this weekend. The Huskies have given up three or more runs in nine games this season, and are 1-8 in those games.
"We have struggled playing seven full innings," Sutcliffe said. "We usually have six great innings and one rather large inning that doesn't go in our favor. If we can figure out how to get off the field, when that starts to happen, we'll give ourselves a chance."
"You usually have to have two pieces of the game going for you. Either your pitching, you're your offense, or you're defense. Two of those three usually have to play top notch in order to come off with wins. Ohio's the top of the MAC right now. We know we have a hefty feat ahead of us. We're just going to have to play some clean ball."
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