DeKALB — The softball team won two out of three games against the Central Michigan University Chippewas Friday and Saturday at Mary M. Bell Field, concluding its 2018 regular season.

The Huskies (21-30, 11-11 Mid-American Conference) clinched their spot in the MAC tournament with the two victories, marking their sixth consecutive appearance in the conference playoffs.

“I just think the weekend in general, they fought really well,” said Head Coach Christina Sutcliffe. “To be able to put out two I think is nice to know that they can play under that pressure because that is going to be the pressure of the MAC tournament every single game.”

Friday — Huskies 4, Chippewas 1

NIU opened the series Friday with a 4-1 win.

The win marked the Huskies’ 20th victory of the campaign. NIU has won at least 20 games every season since Sutcliffe took over the program in 2013.

Junior pitcher Alex Frenz pitched six-and-one-third innings, allowed one run and recorded her team-best ninth win of the season.

The Huskies tallied the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when junior outfielder Jenny Van Geertry scored off an RBI double by junior infielder Dominique Greeno. Central Michigan tied the contest 1-1 with an RBI double in the top of the second.

NIU took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore infielder Kalalaelisa Toomalatai scored off an RBI double by Greeno, who led the team in RBIs with two.

The Huskies extended their lead to two runs later in the inning when Van Geertry scored off an RBI sacrifice fly by junior infielder Sam Schmidt.

NIU tallied the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth when freshman outfielder Katie Wingerter came home off an RBI single by freshman catcher Kira Mickelson.

Saturday game one — Huskies 4, Chippewas 3

The Huskies won the second game of the series 4-3 for their 11th conference victory of the season. The team has won at least 50 percent of their conference games every season since 2015.

Central Michigan scored the first run of the contest in the top of the first inning off a fielding error, but NIU brought the offensive firepower early, scoring all four of its runs in the first inning.

Schmidt smacked a three-run home run to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first.

Senior infielder Alaynie Woollard followed up Schmidt’s homer with her eighth triple of the year, tying the school record for the most triples in a single season. Woollard scored the Huskies’ final run of the game off an RBI groundout by senior infielder and catcher Bekah Harnish.

Central Michigan reduced the deficit to one run by scoring twice in the top of the second inning. Neither team scored for the remainder of the contest.

The Chippewas had runners on second and third base with nobody out in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman pitcher Mackenzie Bryan forced three consecutive groundouts to close out the game.

Bryan pitched two innings, struck out two batters and didn’t allow a run to record her team-high third save of the season.

“I am not going to lie, I was pretty nervous going into it just because it was a tight game anyway, and I knew that there was not much of any leeway,” Bryan said. “I had to go in and get it done, and that’s what I did.”

Saturday game two — Chippewas 6, Huskies 2

NIU closed out the series and their regular season with a 6-2 loss.

Neither team scored a run through the first three innings of the contest. The Chippewas tallied five of their six runs in the top of the fourth inning off a three-run home run and a two RBI triple.

The Huskies tallied their first hit of the game with a single by Greeno in the bottom of the fourth. A two-run home run by Schmidt, her second of the day, in the bottom of the sixth, reduced the Huskies’ deficit to 5-2.

Woollard recorded her ninth triple of the season after Schmidt’s homer, breaking the school’s 37-year record for the most triples in a single season.

“I was super excited I could do it on my senior night in front of all of my family that could be there,” Woollard said. “I had no idea that I was going for the school record. I just knew my numbers were getting up there, so to hear that when I was getting up there was super cool.”

Central Michigan scored the final run of the game in the top of the seventh to take home its lone victory of the series.

The Huskies are the No. 7 seed in the eight team MAC postseason tournament. NIU will face the Ball State University Cardinals 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Akron, Ohio.

“This team’s going to fight until the end,” Sutcliffe said. “Once we get into the tournament we have a tradition of playing pretty well, so hopefully we can keep that up.”