DePaul Blue Demons (28-12) will play the Huskies (9-20) at Mary M. Bell Field at 4 p.m. today.

Coach’s take

NIU: NIU softball coach Lindsay Chouinard is facing her alma mater for the first time. Knowing how good DePaul’s program is, Chouinard says NIU needs to be at the top of its game to win.

“We need timely hitting, good pitching and good defense,” the coach said. “It’s about our defense doing our job every time.”

DePaul: Coach Eugene Lenti was unable to be reached. Lenti will square off with former player Chouinard. In his 27th season at DePaul, Lenti has a record of 932-466-6.

Last game

NIU: The Huskies were held to four hits in a 5-0 loss in the second game of a doubleheader against Kent State.

DePaul: The Blue Demons defeated Rutgers 4-3 in nine innings. Senior first basemen Marcy Wilus hit a walk-off single in the DePaul win.

Key player

NIU: Krista McPherson, NIU’s leadoff hitter, will need to spark the offense from the very beginning.

“We need to come out strong and aggressive against their pitchers early,” McPherson said. “We need to get in their heads.”

If the third baseman can reach base, she could be a threat. The senior is leading the team with 11 stolen bases and could get NIU ahead of DePaul early.

DePaul: Amber Patton, DePaul’s third baseman, is the catalyst at the top of the order for the Blue Demons. The junior leads the Blue Demons in batting average at .388 and on-base percentage with .444.

Key stats

NIU: The Huskies pitching staff’s ERA is 4.02. They are going against a tested Blue Demons offense that is batting .270 as a team.

DePaul: The Blue Demons’ pitching staff ERA is 1.72. They face a struggling NIU offense, which is batting only .206 as a team.