Western Michigan has 22 players on its roster, but it only took two of them to defeat the NIU softball team in Kalamazoo over the weekend.

WMU pitcher Krysten Shumaker tossed a no-hitter Saturday and struck out 10 in a 4-0 defeat of the Huskies (15-18 overall, 3-7 MAC).

One day later WMU’s Amanda Heckaman tagged NIU pitching for seven RBIs while going 3 for 3 and scoring two runs in an 8-2 Huskies loss.

The weekend started as poor as it ended for NIU. Huskies hurler Lindsey LaChiana gave up a single and a home run in WMU’s first two at-bats Saturday.

Heckaman added insurance for WMU (21-10, 9-1) by belting her first home run of the weekend in the bottom of the third inning. LaChiana gave up the four runs on six hits while striking out as many over six innings. The senior has allowed five home runs in her last four starts.

The victory marked the fifth-straight season WMU has recorded 20 wins and continues to hold on to first place in the MAC.

“Today we went deep into count most of the time and fouled off a lot of pitches with two strikes,” said NIU coach Donna Martin. “We just didn’t get the little hops that can sometimes make a big difference.”

Unfortunately for NIU, Sunday’s game began similarly as WMU scored two runs in each of the first and third innings.

The Huskies did manage six hits in the second game. Center fielder Kelly Park recorded half of them by going 3 for 3 and scoring a run.

With NIU down 4-0 in the top of the fifth, Huskies catcher Elyse Jamrozy scored off a fielder’s choice hit by Krista McPherson. But with runners on first and second and no outs, the Huskies threat ended when right fielder Jenna Mitchell hit into a double play and senior Kelly Drozd grounded out to end the inning.

On defense, Martin used all three of her regular starters to complete the game.

Senior Paige Granath began the game on the mound for NIU. After allowing four runs and two hits over 2.1 innings, Granath was relieved by sophomore Taryn Hagemann.