The Huskies are back home to take on in-state rival UIC today at 5 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field.

Coming off a 3-1 weekend of conference play at Buffalo and Kent State, NIU (16-17 overall, 6-2 MAC) is taking a break from MAC action. The Huskies dropped their final game 8-7 on Sunday to the Golden Flashes (16-19, 6-2), after starting the bottom of the seventh with a 7-3 lead.

“We had the lead and felt comfortable the whole game and lost it in the seventh,” said senior Zoe Sinner. “It ended on a sour note, so hopefully that’ll put some fire in front of the girls to come out a little bit harder [today].”

Sinner has seen limited action the past few weeks due to a broken finger. She has pinch-hit, but is hoping to get back into the outfield soon. Being able to play on a “pain tolerance” is the key to her return, she said.

The Flames (15-17, 6-5 Horizon) are coming off 3-3 homestand, after falling 7-3 to Youngstown State on Sunday.

The in-state matchup is not the biggest rivalry for the Huskies, but Sinner said bragging rights will still be fought for.

“It’s not really said, but you always want to be one of the best teams in your area,” Sinner said. “It’s an underlined rivalry, but it’s not really too big.”

Freshman Stephanie Tofft will look to extend her hitting streak to 24 games, after a 2-for-3 effort and an RBI in Sunday’s game to take it to 23.

“To do that as a freshman is a huge accomplishment,” said outfielder Dani Parrish. “We try to stay out of her head; we let her do her thing. For us, that’s a big deal because we can always count on her as a player.”