Softball hopes to make some progress in finding replacements for the three starting seniors who graduated after the 2014 season when the team plays a quartet of home games this weekend.

The Huskies (1-0) will take on the Heartland Community College Hawks 11 a.m. Saturday and the Rock Valley College Golden Eagles 4 p.m. Saturday at Mary M. Bell Field. Sunday, they host the DePaul Blue Demons 11 a.m. and the Valparaiso Crusaders 4 p.m. in DeKalb.

After making it to the final day of the MAC Tournament each of the last two seasons, the Huskies lost four seniors to graduation and two underclassmen. Last season the Huskies had 18 players on their roster, and they have 21 players on their current roster.

“Some of our roster went up, so we have a lot more depth,” said third-year head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “We lost some key players in that senior class, so the freshmen have some big shoes to fill. I think they can, but they need the knowledge of seeing the speed of the game at the college level.”

The Huskies will look to gain some experience during the fall as they’ve added nine players to their roster, including eight freshmen.

“We have nine new players, and we’re trying to look at some different defensive and offensive lineups and get a feel about what we’re going to need to work on,” Sutcliffe said. “We have three new freshmen pitchers, and getting them to see college batters is what you’re trying to get with that.”

The Huskies defeated Kirkwood Community College, 10-2, Saturday in Chicago to open fall ball.

“Last weekend we did a really good job putting up more runs than in the past and did a good job getting off the field,” Sutcliffe said. “We struggled last year with getting off the field and with giving up those big innings. So, that’s one area of our game we have to improve in is we can’t be giving up any big innings.”