A pair of in-state rivalry games looms for the NIU baseball team this week.

The Huskies (11-17) head downstate to take on Illinois State (13-9) today at 6 p.m. in Normal. NIU looks to bounce back this week as it comes off a three-game sweep suffered at the hands of conference opponent Kent State last weekend.

“We want to get out as quickly as possible and erase our memories of last weekend,” said NIU head coach Ed Mathey. “These are important games for us. We just hope the weather cooperates.”

The Redbirds lead the all-time series over the Huskies 32-28 and took last year’s matchup 14-10. But bragging rights aren’t the only thing that strengthens this rivalry.

“Illinois State is off to a decent start this year,” Mathey said. “We have a little in-state rivalry going as we recruit heavily against them.”

Freshman Tom Barry gets his third start of the year for NIU against an ISU team that hits .274. First baseman Evan Kohli paces the Redbird offense with a .338 average and 16 RBI.

Jordin Hood continues to lead the NIU offense with a .416 batting average and 26 RBI. The junior also leads the team with a .516 on-base percentage and nine stolen bases in 16 attempts.

Junior Dave Reynolds is second on the team with a .354 average with 11 RBI.

But hitting has not been the problem for the Huskies in 2008. Their biggest concerns continue to center around pitching and defense.

NIU has committed 57 errors to their opponent’s 30 in 28 games this season.

“We swung the bats pretty well against a team with pretty good pitching last weekend,” Mathey said. “But if we continue to give teams more than three outs an inning, it’s going to be pretty difficult for us.”