Senior shortstop Shelby Miller is willing to do whatever her team needs, even if that means moving to a new position in her final season with softball.

Miller, of Ottawa, Kan., emerged from a group of three players to become the Huskies’ main starting shortstop this season. The position had been held down by former player Amanda Sheppard during her four seasons with NIU.

“We needed that hole filled at shortstop,” Miller said. “Coming in, I was ready to play wherever [head coach Christina Sutcliffe] needed me, and that just happened to be the spot.”

Miller moved across the diamond after playing the majority of the last two seasons at second base. Through 27 games, she’s started six games at second base and 21 games at shortstop, including the last 18 games.

In the field, Miller has rebounded well from a shaky start. She hasn’t committed an error in the last 10 games after she was tabbed for three errors in the first five games and a total of six errors through 17 games.

“I think I’ve come a long way, for sure,” Miller said. “It doesn’t seem like a huge change from second [base] to shortstop, but it actually kind of is; it’s a big step up. … Being able to control the field was a big part that I wanted to do well at. It was a lot of adjusting, but I think it’s gone pretty well.”

Miller, elected a captain by her peers, said the confidence her teammates have in her as a leader is “huge” and “makes the job pretty easy.”

One leadership area Miller excels in is controlling the field, said junior pitcher Jessica Sturm. If NIU gets into a defensive slump, Miller usually huddles the team together to try to calm things down.

“The way she talks, how she talks to us and her attitude, she just controls [the field],” Sturm said. “This being her last year, she’s really stepping up and playing her A-game.”

At the plate, Miller has excelled over the last two-plus weeks after getting off to a slow start. She’s batted 15-36 (.417) with three home runs, eight runs scored and seven RBIs in the last 11 games.

“The biggest thing [that’s been working lately] is just going up there relaxed, not having anything on my mind, not overthinking it too much and just trusting the work I’ve put in,” Miller said.

With the new approach Miller has taken to improve her offense and defense, she garnered MAC West Division Player of the Week honors for her play during the week of March 17 to 23.

“She’s a student of the game,” Sutcliffe said. “What she’s doing for this program and all those around her is just great. She puts in a lot of work outside of practice, and it’s nice to see that it’s paying off.”