Softball is coming off four losses on the road in MAC play where it was outscored by more than double the amount of runs it scored.

With losses to a very talented Ball State squad and Miami of Ohio team that are red-hot in conference, the Huskies were not losing games that were designed for them to win.

The issue will become their standing in the MAC. Last season, the team dropped 11 of their last 12 games of the season, with only one game coming at home against a non-MAC opponent in that stretch.

This season, the schedule is almost reversed, with 16 of NIU’s last 22 games being played at home, including 12 of the last 16 MAC games.

It seems obvious that they would be well served to win games, but the fortune may be flipped with the inclusion of being able to stay in the area. It also helps that practices are at a stable location, and NIU can take advantage of that long-held belief of home field advantage.

It really will be key for them to be able to do this. The home sample size thus far in the season is only two games in which NIU split a series against Western Michigan. In those two games, the Huskies scored the highest total of two back-to-back games all season long when they posted 12 runs and seven runs.

Of the seven conference teams NIU has yet to play, just two have a winning record. Kent State and Central Michigan have had a strong start to the conference, going 6-2 and 4-2, respectively, in MAC play.

There is still much room for shaking out divisions, but NIU sits on the bottom of the west along with Eastern Michigan. Leading the West is a team NIU just played in Ball State, which has not lost a game yet. Ball State has a perfect 8-0 mark in the MAC.

The Huskies will have to not only take advantage of being at home, but also their upcoming competition. Luckily, the upcoming teams may be a notch below the previous two opponents in Ball State and Miami Ohio, which both have the two highest win percentages in conference play. Miami Ohio is currently tied with Kent State, which the Huskies will be playing on April 19 in Ohio.

While it’s easy to channel the inner John Madden and say that to find success the team should win, I believe the stability and continuity of staying at home for long stretches can only benefit the team.

If the team can display the patience and approach that led to 19 runs over two games at home against Western Michigan, it has plenty of time to catch up in the MAC.