If history repeats itself, NIU’s softball team can expect a prosperous weekend.

The Huskies have won two consecutive North Star Conference Softball Championship trophies and are aiming for their third straight in this weekend’s tournament at Valparaiso.

NIU (17-18-2) is seeded No. 1 in the tournament. NIU faced new conference member and No. 8-seed Wright State Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Double elimination play continues Friday at 9 a.m. The semi-final and championship games are set for Saturday, 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

“The pressure is clearly on our players this trip to the conference tournament,” said NIU coach Dee Abrahamson. “We’re the team others are going to be aiming for, so I look to see us facing every team’s top pitchers.”

Among those teams in the NSC that have NIU on its hit list are: No. 2-seed Akron, No. 3-seed Wisconsin-Green Bay, DePaul (No. 4), Valparaiso (No. 5), Cleveland State (No. 6) and Illinois-Chicago (No. 7).

“One of our top goals is to win the North Star title in 1990. We’ll have to come to play,” said Abrahamson.

Five Huskies are ranked in the NSC’s Top 20 hitting statistics. Two-time all-conference pick Lisa Gilfoy leads NIU with a .383 batting average and 22 RBIs. Gilfoy’s stats place her sixth in the league. Julie Sexton, an All-NSC selection in 1988, is hitting .382 with 20 RBIs and is the NSC’s No. 8 hitter.

The Huskies will look for their young hurlers to help win the tournament. Freshman Rachel Ortiz (10-7) has a team-best 1.88 ERA. Sophomore Kristen Vandenhouten struck out nine Toledo batters in a 2-1 losing cause in NIU’s Huskie Invitational (April 22). Maria Leake completes the three-pitcher staff and has gone the distance eight of her 11 starts.