Until Friday, the NIU softball record for consecutive games with a hit had held up for 24 years.

It was set in 1987 at 15 by Jill Justin, and it has only been tied once, by Julie Stopka ten years later.

But on Friday, the Huskies had a double-header against Eastern Michigan. Going into the double-header, freshman Stephanie Tofft was on a 14-game hitting streak, with a chance to make history.

Tofft took advantage of the opportunity. In the first game, she tied the streak at 15 with a single to left.

In the second game, Tofft was 0-2 at the plate. It came down to her final at bat in the sixth inning. Tofft came through with a single to right field.

The record for most consecutive games with a hit was now 16, and it belonged to Tofft.

Softball head coach Lindsay Chouinard believes that breaking the record says a lot about Tofft.

“First off, it’s a great honor to break a record…that has stood for so long,” Chouinard said. “It is a hard record to break because you have to remain consistent throughout, and it is very difficult to be consistent in the game of softball. This shows that Stephanie has great ability, talent and potential to be a successful player.”

Tofft feels honored to have broken such a lasting record so early in her career.

“It feels pretty cool to break a record like that,” Tofft said. “Especially being a freshman and already doing something like this. It’s a great feeling.”

Chouinard expected Tofft to be a big part of their team, but she didn’t anticipate this from her right away.

“We knew that Stephanie was going to be important for our team if we wanted to be successful,” Chouinard said. “She has contributed for us and has remained consistent all season long.”

Tofft was able to adjust to college-level pitching and start producing right away.

“With lots of practice, I got used to college-level pitching very quickly,” Tofft said. “We would have scrimmages and do hitting drills all the time during practice. That really helped me and made me feel much more confident at the plate.”

Tofft has remained calm and confident at the plate all year long, and during her hitting streak her approach has remained the same.

“I try not to pay attention to the hitting streak,” Tofft said. “I try to keep the same approach at the plate every time regardless of the situation. I just try to stay calm and relax and have the mindset to hit the ball.”

Tofft’s approach has been successful thus far as she already has 39 hits on the year, and her hitting streak after Wednesday game against Northwestern reached 19 games.

In order for this streak to continue, Tofft believes she has to just keep doing what she has been doing all year.

“As long as I can continue to stay calm and focused at the plate, I should continue to hit,” Tofft said.