Softball | March 17

DeKALB, Ill. – After an exciting slate of non-conference tournaments, the Northern Illinois University softball team opens Mid-American Conference play at "The Bell" this Sunday (March 19) when it hosts Akron in a doubleheader.

WHEN AND WHERE
Game one is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT while game two will start at/around 3 p.m. CT at Mary M. Bell Field. NIU softball home games are free to attend, but if you can't make it in-person, a live stream and live stats will be available come game time!

THE HISTORY
Although Akron has won the previous three meetings, the Huskies hold a 32-23-1 advantage in their all-time series with the Zips, which dates to 1989. Since 1992, NIU is 15-7-1 against Akron when playing on its home diamond. Additionally, in the past 10 years, NIU is 6-3 in its home opener.

LAST TIME OUT
NIU (9-11, 0-0 MAC) is coming off a narrow 6-5 road loss to Lindenwood this past Tuesday. In a game that took extra innings to decide a winner, the Huskies fell short after the Lions secured a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 10^th.

Last weekend, NIU won three-of-four games at the Saint Louis Opening Round-Robin. The Huskies dismantled Bradley and Saint Louis on Saturday with scores of 4-3 and 3-1, respectively. On Sunday, the Huskies beat Bradley 8-7 thanks in part to Caitlyn Shumaker's (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) sixth inning grand slam. NIU however lost the round-robin closer to the Billikens, 4-1.

Kelly Walinski (Worth, Ill./Marist) led at the dish through the five games batting .438 and garnering seven hits. Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) was 1-0 in the circle after three appearances. She allowed just five hits and two runs in 9.1 innings of work.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Akron (10-18, 0-0 MAC) is coming off a 3-2 performance at the Lady Bison Classic in Nashville. The Zips won back-to-back games against Evansville and Lipscomb on day one of the tournament. On day two, Akron fell 1-0 to Lipscomb, but thundered back to beat Evansville 13-6 in the nightcap. On the final day, the Zips were shutout 5-0 to Indiana.

Brooke Sivek leads the Zips in the batter's box batting .391 with 27 hits and 15 runs to her name. Hayley Croyle, Akron's ace, has a league-leading 1.56 ERA and has a 5-1 mark in the circle. She's pitched two complete game shutouts and has fanned 44 batters this year.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following Sunday, NIU hits the road again for a three-game series with Miami. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT on Friday, March 24. Saturday will feature a doubleheader with start times of noon CT and 2 p.m. CT.