It may be April, but someone must have forgotten to tell that to the wind.

For the lion winds of March have continued to rip through DeKalb and across the NIU softball team’s field.

The whirling mass of air won’t be slowing anytime soon, as it will reach speeds of 15 to 25 miles per hour from the north-west today.

“On our field, it’s blowing left to right,” NIU coach Donna Martin said. “As a pitcher you just have to pitch your game.”

Armed with that mentality, the Huskies (10-13 overall, 0-4 MAC) will get their first chance to play at 4 p.m. today on the dirt and grass of Mary M. Bell Field in DeKalb.

But the homecoming will be anything but relaxing.

NIU is coming off a four-game losing streak against Eastern and Central Michigan this weekend. NIU will have to play its season opener against the No. 16 team in the nation, Northwestern (22-8, 4-0 Big Ten).

“We’re going to need to be sharp and resilient to bounce back [from the losses],” Martin said.

One area the Huskies will need to sharpen is their pitching, as NIU surrendered 24 runs in its four losses last weekend.

“It’s kind of a simple game, we don’t need to complicate it,” the 12th-year coach said. “I just think we were trying too hard … we’re just out of sync a bit.”

Getting back into sync is something senior pitcher Lindsey LaChiana has had to face.

The Oak Lawn native was out for 21 days due to an illness in her family, before returning to start against CMU.

LaChiana pitched 3.1 innings and gave up seven earned runs in her return to the Huskies’ rotation.

The senior pitched another 5.1 innings through the weekend in which she yielded five earned runs.

“Lindsey’s working her way back in,” Martin said. “She’s getting better each time on the mound.”