NIU baseball will play host to Northwestern at a neutral, but familiar setting. The game will take place at Elfstrom field, the home of the Kane County Cougars.

NIU (13-30, 7-11 MAC) will square off against Northwestern (14-26) for the only time this season, and although it’s not a MAC game, Huskies coach Ed Mathey said it’s still important.

“Winning is a great habit to be in,” Mathey said. “We have the excitement of playing at the minor league park and playing against a Big Ten opponent. We’ve played some pretty big schools this year, so that’s helped to settle our nerves.”

NIU has played at Elfstrom in the past, and Mathey said it has been a positive experience for all players, and has typically yielded positive results for NIU.

This game will also be staff appreciation day for NIU faculty, and Mathey has also stated many of the neighboring high schools have been invited to the game.

Northwestern comes in losing four of its last five, and most recently are coming off getting swept by Illinois in three.

NIU, on the other hand, comes in winners of its last series with Eastern Michigan, but only winning two of its last five.

Mathey said while the offense still remains important, he knows that the Huskies have shown they can win with their pitching and defense.

Pitching has been the key in many of the Huskies victories this season, as in their last two victories, the starting pitchers combined for over 15 innings of work out of the possible 18.

“In baseball, if you pitch and play defense you always have a chance to win a ball game,” Mathey said. “We’re going to continue to strive to do that. Tom Barry takes the mound for us in this game. It’ll be about what we can do around him.”