Going into the season, I was unsure what baseball’s strength was going to be.

It has been made clear to me over the last couple of weeks the depth of the Huskies’ starting pitching is its most valuable asset.

The Huskies have three very reliable options at the top of their pitching rotation in freshman Jordan Ruckman, junior Eli Anderson and junior Alex Klonowksi.

Even though Ruckman (0-4) has not picked up a win in his career, he keeps the Huskies in ball games. He has pitched 36.2 innings this season, the third-most innings by a Huskies pitcher. He also holds the second-lowest earned run average of all the Huskies pitchers, allowing just 3.44 runs per game.

He gave his best performance of his career on Friday against Kent State, where he gave up one earned run in 7.1 innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters. If Ruckman could get some run support he would have a much better record than he has.

Anderson (2-3) has been the Huskies’ best pitcher so far this season. He has pitched 39.1 innings and has the lowest earned run average on the team, giving up 3.20 runs per game. Anderson also leads the team in strikeouts with 24.

With his 3-0 complete game shutout against Kent State on Saturday, he became the first Huskies pitcher since Jeremy Gonzales in 2011 to throw a complete game shutout. Anderson was rewarded for his strong performance by being named the MAC West pitcher of the Week.

Klonowski (2-4) has been the most durable pitcher for the Huskies this season, as he leads the team in innings pitched with 40. He has a 4.05 earned run average and is second on the team in strikeouts with 21.

Klonowski also threw a complete game earlier this season in a 2-1 win against Minnesota, and he pitched eight innings in an 8-2 victory over Belmont.

These three pitchers all have the ability to pitch a lot of innings for the Huskies, while keeping them in the game.

If NIU’s offense can get it some run support, expect to see these three pitchers as well as the Huskies earn a lot more victories over the course of the season.