DeKALB | After losing five games in a row for the first time since May of last year, the NIU baseball team will look to get back on track this week as it plays three games against teams from the Horizon League.

The Huskies will travel to Chicago for a game against the UIC Flames (20-14) tonight at 7:30 p.m. before they return home for a double-header versus UW-Milwaukee (9-22) tomorrow starting at 2 p.m.

UIC has won five straight regular season Horizon League titles and made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2005 after winning its post-season conference tournament.

“To me, this game is huge,” said coach Ed Mathey . “We’ve been able to hold off losing streaks and all of a sudden it got us and we want to right the ship.”

Some of the fifth-year seniors on the Huskies squad will see a familiar face patrolling center field for UIC. Larry Gempp Jr. was a red-shirt freshman for NIU (20-16) during the 2003 season before transferring to the College of Lake County the following season and ultimately ended up at UIC.

And go figure: Gempp leads the Flames with a .383 batting average and was named to the All-Horizon League First Team the past two seasons.

Brandon Copp will look to slow down Gempp and the Flames after a rough Saturday outing in which he lasted only an inning and a third.

“They’re used to winning,” Mathey said. “They are going to attack with a lot of bunting and will use the hit and run.”

Adam Holdenrid will get the start in the first game against the Panthers on Wednesday and freshman Cody Beck will make his second career start in the nightcap.

Brandon Mangia is a sports reporter for the