Baseball will continue its conference play this weekend when it travels to Ohio for a three-game series against Akron.

In the Huskies’ (5-17, 1-2 MAC) previous series against Kent State, they lost two out of three games. The Huskies won game two in a 3-0 shutout before being blown out 13-1 in game three.

In game one of the series, senior Jamison Wells recorded his 71st career stolen base which tied him with NIU record-holder Alvin Maynard. In the upcoming series with the Zips (4-14, 2-1 MAC), Wells will have an opportunity to claim the record for his own.

“Anytime you’re going to be No. 1 on a record list it speaks highly about your ability to do that particular thing,” said coach Ed Mathey.

What has been key for the Huskies of late has been the play of their starting pitchers, freshman Jordan Ruckman, junior Eli Anderson and junior Alex Klonowski.

“Our Friday, Saturday and Sunday guys, Jordan, Eli and Klonowski have been throwing the ball very, very well and going deep into games,” Wells said. “That’s what’s helping us. They’re getting to the seventh and eighth inning, and sometimes even the ninth inning. They’re definitely a big part of what we’re doing.”

If the Huskies are to be successful this weekend, they will need to do a better job of capitalizing when runners in scoring position. In their recent games, the Huskies have been leaving too many runners on base.

“I think from a hitting standpoint, we’re starting to come to the realization that our goal is to go up there and have a good approach,” Mathey said. “You know, put a good swing on a ball in the strike zone and then see what happens.”

Meanwhile, the Zips won their series against Ball State last weekend, winning two out of the three games.

“They played such a tremendously challenging schedule against some great teams,” Mathey said. “… They’re going to be a fundamentally sound team. They’re going to throw strikes and rely on their defense, not necessarily strike out pitchers. They’re going to pitch to contact… They’re going to try to put themselves into as good a position to win a baseball game as they can offensively.”