NIU’s hitters have their work cut out for them this weekend.

The Huskies welcome Kent State to town for their MAC home opener, with the series starting at 3 p.m. today. Saturday and Sunday’s games each have a 1 p.m. start time.

The Golden Flashes (10-13 overall, 0-3 MAC) feature a talented pitching rotation, but the numbers haven’t shown.

KSU junior Chris Carpenter, who will take the mound Saturday against Adam Holdenrid, was Baseball America’s preseason MAC pitcher of the year.

Carpenter throws in the mid-90s and hit 98 mph in a game against Washington State.

However, talent hasn’t led to results just yet. Carpenter is currently 1-2 with a 6.59 ERA.

In addition to Carpenter, Kent State features two other talented arms in Brad Stillings and Kyle Smith. The pitchers were rated as the top three MAC prospects for the 2008 MLB draft by Baseball America.

“We’re gonna see some pretty good arms this weekend,” NIU head coach Ed Mathey said. “Our hitters are gonna have to be sharp.”

The NIU offense has struggled recently. The Huskies have averaged just more than two runs per game over the last week, going 1-3 in four contests.

“We have to have a better approach than we did last week,” NIU shortstop Bobby Stevens said. “We got a little pull-happy.”

NIU will send out the same rotation used in its first two MAC series. Trevor Feeney will start Friday, followed by Adam Holdenrid and Matt Jernstad.

NIU pitching has allowed four runs or fewer in its last 11 games, going 7-4 in that stretch.

“Our guys have been throwing real well,” Stevens said. “It’s nice to play behind them.”