There are no plans to construct a Huskiedome at NIU, but softball coach Dee Abrahamson might petition for one soon.

With last Tuesday’s doubleheader home opener having been canceled due to inclement weather, the 11-5 Huskie softball squad has been scrambling to get in Saturday’s twinbill with Central Michigan. Abrahamson has had her team pull double duty this week, practicing and groundskeeping at Huskie Field.

With another storm system expected to arrive in DeKalb by Saturday, the Huskies’ scheduled noon start is in doubt. CMU (16-5) travels to Illinois State for a Friday doubleheader and will stay in DeKalb Friday night. Abrahamson said a decision on whether to cancel Saturday’s games will be delayed as long as possible.

After calling the weather her biggest concern about this weekend, Abrahamson said the talents of CMU and Northwestern—which visits NIU Tuesday—were also on her mind.

“I guess our other concern is that the teams we have coming up have both been (ranked) in the top 20,” she said. “We need to stay close and get a key play either offensively or defensively.”

Ranked 10th going into this weekend’s action, CMU brings a strong, offensive-minded team to face the Huskies. Though NIU has not received national recognition in the polls, Abrahamson sees similarities between the two teams.

“Central Michigan has always been a team of big hitters,” she said. “This is the first time in a while we’ve considered ourselves a hitting team.”

On the mound, CMU is led by senior Heidi McLane (7-4, 1.73 ERA) who beat NIU 4-1 in last year’s Michigan State Invitational. Abrahamson likened McLane to her own pitching staff.

“She’s very competitive,” the NIU coach said. “She’s not what I’d call dominating, but she moves the ball very well. She’s not really a strikeout pitcher.”

Neither are the Huskie pitchers, who average just three K’s a game. But lack of strikeouts has not been the reason for NIU’s 14 unearned runs surrendered this year. Two errors last Friday led to two innings of five unearned runs apiece.

NIU has suffered from poorly-timed fielding miscues this season, not an overabundance of mistakes. The Huskies have comitted 17 errors in 16 games, led by Amy Veld’s six.

“Amy just hasn’t gotten off to a good start,” Abrahamson said of her senior shortstop. “She’s been around long enough not to let it bother her. She’s come up with some big plays too. Those just don’t happen to appear in the stats.”

Veld has not let her defensive woes affect her at the plate. Her .265 batting average and .306 slugging percentage both rank fifth on the team charts. Junior outfielder Jill Justin leads NIU in batting (.370) and slugging (.652).

Abrahamson said Justin’s drop in batting average from last year’s .503 mark was to be expected, and the ankle injury Justin suffered last October has slowed her on the bases.

“Having a .500 year comes along once in a great while,” Abrahamson said. “Sometimes, when hitting the ball to shortstop (last season), she could beat it out. This year she’s not beating them out.”