Softball | March 10
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team plays its final tournament prior to Mid-American Conference action this weekend (March 11-12) at the Saint Louis Opening Round-Robin.
WHEN AND WHERE
The Huskies will square off against Saint Louis and Bradley in back-to-back contests on Saturday and Sunday at the Billiken Sports Center. NIU will open the action at 11 a.m. CT versus Bradley before playing Saint Louis at/around 3 p.m. On Sunday, the Huskies will again start the day at 11 a.m. against the Braves and then wrap up action against Saint Louis at/around 1 p.m.
THE HISTORY
NIU holds a 16-13-1 lead in its all-time series with Bradley which dates to 1984. The most recent matchup went NIU's way 4-2 in 2003. The Huskies and Billikens are knotted 5-5 with the Huskies winning the latest matchup 8-3 in 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
NIU is coming off a 3-2 performance at the Bulls Invitational March 3-5 in Tampa. The Huskies cashed in wins over USC Upstate, URI and South Florida. Senior shortstop
Kelly Walinski led NIU at the dish batting .538 with seven hits, one of which went for extra bases. Junior pitcher
Claire Norred logged a pair of wins, including a complete game shutout over URI.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Saint Louis (4-13) is just two days removed from a narrow 6-5 loss to SIUE (8-11) in Edwardsville. Outfielder Gabbie Kowalik paces the Billikens at the plate batting .383 with 23 hits. Chloe Wendling, Saint Louis' starting pitcher, has an ERA of 3.94 and is 3-7 in the circle.
Bradley (7-11) recently split a pair of games with Wichita State (16-4) and Western Illinois (6-11) last weekend. Lauren DeRolf leads the Braves at the plate batting .413 with 26 hits. Bradley utilizes an array of arms, but Abbott Badgley (4-5) leads the group with 45.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 5.72.
LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend, NIU has a quick turnaround as the squad will stay in Missouri and face Lindenwood (5-11) on Tuesday (March 14) at the Lou Brock Sports Complex. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
