Huskies set to play in Coach B. Classic

By Lacy Searcy

The NIU softball team will visit Carbondale to play in the Coach B Classic this weekend.

The tournament is the second of four the Huskies will play to start off the season. NIU takes the field twice Saturday and once Sunday.

The Huskies start off with a 10 a.m. game against Illinois-Chicago (1-9 overall) followed by a 2 p.m. game against No. 22 ranked Iowa (6-6).

NIU finishes out pool play with a noon game against host Southern Illinois (6-1).

In the last tournament, senior pitcher Lindsey LaChiana had two solid outings in the games which garnered her MAC West Player of the Week. LaChiana was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.50 and 15 strikeouts.

Coach Donna Martin was pleased with the way LaChiana played and hopes the senior can continue to play a large role in the team’s success.

“It’s important to see success in Lindsay,” Martin said. “This could help her establish some momentum and consistency every time she pitches.”

In the Huskies’ two wins they scored nine combined runs, but in the two losses NIU scored only one run and allowed 13.

With the Huskies not playing a home game until April 4, Martin expressed the importance of the preseason.

“The better we can do in the preseason, the more success we can have in the MAC,” Martin said. “We need to work on pitching and hitting. Once we start to do that, we will get a comfort level for the MAC games.”