DEKALB, Ill. – Six home games for Huskie softball and four home contests for NIU baseball highlight this week in Huskie Athletics. Men's and women's tennis also compete at home this week while the NIU men's and women's golf team, as well as women's track and field, will be in action away from home. 

Baseball
Tuesday, April 7: vs. Eastern Illinois, 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Friday, April 10: vs. Kent State, 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, April 11: vs. Kent State, 2 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, April 12: vs. Kent State, 1 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats

NIU Baseball opens a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Eastern Illinois, followed by a weekend series against Kent State. The Huskies are 8-2 in their last 10 games after winning two out of three at UMass this past weekend. Sophomore Carter Cox threw a career-high eight shutout innings on Saturday in the Huskies' 6-0 win with a career-high 12 strikeouts. It was his second game this season with double-digit punch outs. NIU won at Eastern Illinois 5-4 in 10 innings back on March 24. The Huskies enter this weekend's series against Kent State at 10-5, tied for third with Miami, Western Michigan and Ball State. The Golden Flashes lead the MAC at 12-3 after sweeping a road series at Ohio. NIU last won a series against Kent State in 2021. 

Softball
Tuesday, April 7: vs. Ball State, 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Wednesday, April 8: vs. Ball State, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, April 11: vs. Kent State, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
Sunday, April 12: vs. Kent State, 12 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats

NIU softball opens an eight game home stand at Mary M. Bell Field this week with back to back three game series against Ball State and Kent State. The Huskies and Cardinals will start their series on April 7 with a 3 p.m. first pitch before completing the series on April 8 with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. On Saturday, the Huskies welcome Kent State with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. with action concluding Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
The Huskies are coming from a week where they went 1-1 in conference play against Central Michigan. With a home run from Alana Powell in the fourth to put the Huskies ahead, Kayla Estrada hit a 3 RBI double to secure the win in the seventh inning. Madison Carlson, who was named Pitcher of the Week on March 31, pitched her fourth complete game of the season as she improved to 6-0.

Men's Golf
Saturday-Sunday, April 11-12: at Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (Columbus, Ohio) – Live Scoring

The NIU men's golf team heads to Columbus, Ohio this week for Ohio State's Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. The Huskies are coming off a 13th place finish at Vanderbilt's Mason Rudolph Championship, taking on a field that included five of the top 20 teams in the nation. Sophomore Conner McCall was NIU's top finisher for the third time in the last four events. He tied for 44th with a 54-hole score of eight-over par 221. McCall had the Huskies' two lowest rounds of the weekend with an opening round of even par 71 and a two-under 69 in the final round. He is one of three NIU golfers, along with Craig Long and Devin Swoyer, to have a stroke average under 73 this season.

Women's Golf
Sunday-Monday, April 12-13: at Spring Boilermaker Invitational (West Lafayette, Ind.) – Live Scoring

NIU women's golf will head to their final regular season tournament as they are set to compete at Purdue's Spring Boilermaker Invitational on April 12-13.
 
The Huskies are coming off a sixth place finish at the Lipscomb Invitational, led by Alexa Ouellet. Ouellet was the only Huskie to card a round under par, shooting 71 in the final round with four birdies in the round as she landed in the top-10. Mia Raines, who has led the Huskies on the course five times this season, captured a top-20 finish.

Men's Tennis
Thursday, April 9: vs. Western Michigan, 1 p.m. 
Saturday, April 11: vs. Ball State, 11 a.m.

The Huskies split road matches against Buffalo and Toledo last weekend and clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament following the win against Toledo. NIU will close out its regular season at home with matches against Western Michigan and Ball State. 

Both Iker Gaztambide Arrastia and Nikola Puntaric went 2-0 in singles over the weekend. The duo has put together a strong campaign this season, combining for a 33-4 singles record and 12-5 doubles record. 

NIU will honor its seniors on Saturday, April 11 against Ball State. 

Women's Tennis
Sunday, April 12: vs. Bowling Green, 12 p.m.

NIU women's tennis has two more matches this season, both at home, beginning with Bowling Green this Sunday. The Huskies came up just short in Friday's road test at Miami, falling 4-3. 

Irmak Budak and Lucia Yecora each recorded their first conference singles wins of the season with victories over the RedHawks. 

The Huskies have won their last three matches over Bowling Green, each ending by a score of 6-1. The Falcons will host Buffalo on Friday before traveling to DeKalb for Sunday's match.  

Track and Field
Saturday, April 11: at Illini Deca-Jam (Champaign, Ill.) 

Following a successful trip to the State of Texas last weekend that saw Precious Umukoro (long jump), G'Nea Pitt (javelin), Amelie Ojeda (5,000 meters) and Sarah Maggio (3,000 steeplechase) move into top-10 positions in program history, the Huskies head to Illinois on Saturday to compete in the Illini Deca-Jam. 

Umukoro's long jump mark of 6.02 meters last week at the Bobcat Invitational is the best mark in the MAC this season, Maggio's 11:01.47 time in the steeplechase in currently fifth-best in the conference while Jasmijn Raes won the college/university section of the high jump at the Texas Relays last week, clearing 1.72 meters, the third-best height in the MAC this spring.