NIU softball took to California and Nevada for its final games before conference play begins.

The Huskies (10-11 overall) came away with three wins and three losses during the break, while three games were cancelled due to snowy conditions in Reno, Nev.

Play began on Tuesday in Stockton, Calif. with a 7-2 loss to Drake (14-11, 2-0 MVC). In the nightcap against Pacific (14-9), the Huskies trailed 6-4 before a six-run sixth inning propelled NIU to a 10-6 victory.

Driving in three runs for the Huskies was Alex Wulbecker. Andrea Colosimo and Wulbecker each went 2-for-3 to lead the Huskies’ offense.

Long Beach, Calif. native Morgan Bittner got the win after relieving Whitney Owens, who pitched four innings, giving up seven hits and six runs.

“Our offense when we come to hit, there’s no stopping us,” said senior Zoe Sinner.

On Thursday, the Huskies headed to Sacramento, Calif. for a two-game bout against Sacramento State. The Huskies split with the Hornets (7-11), with NIU posting an 8-0 shutout in the first game. Owens’ two-hit, three-strikeout pitching effort helped her improve to 4-3 this season. Offensively, the Huskies were led by Adriana Sanchez’s 3-for-3 effort.

“Whitney [Owens] did a great job of getting ahead and throwing her changeup for a strike, which is something we’ve been working for her,” said NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard.

The defense was stunned in the second game, during a nine-run fourth inning capped by Marissa Navarro’s grand slam to put the Hornets up 11-3. Unable to score in the top of the fifth, the Huskies dropped the game by mercy rule.

Chouinard declined to comment on Bittner’s performance, which included allowing 10 earned runs on 10 hits, with no strikeouts. Sinner said the defense not getting early outs allowed for Sacramento State to take advantage.

“I don’t think Morgan had her best pitching day,” Sinner said. “But when we give them more than three [at-bats] an inning, it opens the game up for them to come back. They took advantage of it.”

Crossing state lines, the Huskies began the Silver and Blue Classic in Reno on Friday. NIU defeated Idaho State (5-17) by a score of 5-2. Going the distance for the Huskies, Bittner picked up her fourth win, while allowing two runs on three hits and striking out seven.

In what would become the final game of the tournament due to weather, NIU’s offense fell flat, scoring once. Sinner said she believes missing three games before conference play begins is not beneficial for the team.

“We ended on a sour note and we wanted to get some more games in before we came back to Illinois,” Sinner said. “So it’s definitely not helping that we [were] stuck in the rain not able to practice or anything.”