The softball team is getting ready to play in its first midweek game of the season as it is scheduled to take on the Illinois State redbirds.

The Huskies (11-18, 1-1 MAC) took on ISU in their first game of the season in Texas, where they defeated the Redbirds (14-14, 1-2 Big Ten) 3-1.

“It’s tough because we played Illinois State the first weekend out,” said NIU coach Christina Sutcliffe. “I think we’re both completely different teams so it will be interesting to see how we still match up to them this late in the season.”

Illinois State will come into the game having only played three games since March 10. In its last five games, it has won two and lost three, including a 9-3 loss to a No. 13-ranked Louisville squad.

While the Redbirds’ record may not speak to them being a big time team, the caliber of their opponents does, as they have played nine opponents that were nationally ranked. In those games, they managed to go 3-7 overall.

Sutcliffe believes the game is important despite it only being a non-conference, one-game affair in the middle of the week.

“We’ve had a goal this year to be the best team in Illinois, and we take those games pretty seriously from a recruiting standpoint but also from a competition standpoint.” Sutcliffe said.

While the benefit of playing a larger program bodes well for getting prepared for conference play during the weekend, Sutcliffe believes the travel issues may have a bit of a hampering effect.

“If it was home I would say it would benefit us a ton,” Sutcliffe said. “This week it creates a lot of travel for us. I’m a little nervous with coming back, going to school that morning, and then getting back on the road the next day. No excuses–we’re used to playing on the road. I think we’ll be alright.”

Going into the second of two meetings between the teams, junior outfielder Nicole Gremillion believes her team is well prepared for its opponent come gametime.

“I think we have played some really big teams prior to now,” Gremillion said. “During the fall we played a couple big teams and I think we hung in there pretty well. I think we’re more prepared now then we were then.”