Softball | March 24

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University softball team returns to action this weekend for a three-game road series with Mid-American Conference foe Miami.

WHEN AND WHERE
The Huskies and RedHawks will play the series opener Saturday (March 25) with first pitch at 1 p.m. CT. On Sunday (March 26), a doubleheader, with start times of noon CT and 2 p.m. CT, is on deck at the Miami Softball Stadium.

Game one, game two, and game three will be live streamed for free on YouTube. Live stats will also be available come game time.  

THE HISTORY
In its all-time series with the RedHawks - which dates to 1983 - NIU trails 31-33. Miami has won the last seven-straight matchups with NIU. The Huskies last beat the RedHawks on April 6, 2019, 4-3, at Mary M. Bell Field in DeKalb.  

LAST TIME OUT
NIU (10-12, 1-1 MAC) opened MAC play last weekend at home with a doubleheader against Akron (13-9, 1-1 MAC) on its home diamond. In the doubleheader opener, NIU dropped the offensive slugfest 12-9, but rebounded quickly for a 4-2 win in the closer.   

Danielle Stewart (4-5) pitched the first 5.1 innings of the nightcap, allowing just five hits and two runs through the 27 batters she faced en route to her fourth win in the circle.

Kelly Walinski logged a critical insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a groundout RBI, putting NIU out of reach of the Zips. Caitlyn Shumaker led at the plate, going 2-3 in the batter's box, including a massive triple in the bottom of the fourth.

The fastest team in the MAC, the Huskies lead the league in stolen bases. Shumaker has totaled 15 thus far to pace the MAC while Cara Cruthers (11), Courtney James (10), Ally Rodriguez (8), and Fiona Crane (6) follow.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Miami (14-9, 2-1 MAC) is coming off an 11-3 run-rule loss to Notre Dame last Tuesday but won its first conference series of the year against Ohio last weekend.

The RedHawks pace the league on offense with the team batting .318 through 23 games played. Karli Spaid leads the conference in RBI (23) while Allie Cummins has a league-high nine homers.

Brianna Pratt (9-4) headlines Miami in the circle with a team-low 4.29 ERA and 10 complete game pitched. She's tossed two shutouts and fanned 68 batters. Her 22 strikeouts looking paces the conference.    

LOOKING AHEAD
The Huskies will stay on the road for a mid-week three-game series with Ball State (11-12, 1-1 MAC) Tuesday and Wednesday (March 28-29).