Home runs have been the trademark of the NIU softball team and first baseman Toni Del Toro this spring.

At 3 p.m. today at Mary Bell Field, the Huskies will need all of the home runs they can get as they start Game 1 of a doubleheader against in-state foe DePaul.

Along with their 21-11 record, the Blue Demons will bring their own West Coast, first base slugger to the ring.

Standing in the blue corner will be DePaul’s Saskia Roberson. The San Leandro, Calif. native is batting .354 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs this season.

The opponent in the red corner for NIU is Las Vegas, Nev. native Del Toro.

Del Toro, who has Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas” bumping out of the stadium sound system every time she strolls to home plate for NIU-hosted games, has collected 24 RBIs and seven home runs to go along with her .330 batting average this season.

“Toni’s really matured as a player,” NIU coach Donna Martin said. “She’s worked hard at hitting because it’s an area she knew she didn’t perform well in the last few seasons. Now she’s reaping the benefits.”

Del Toro is two home runs shy of former Huskie Jill Justin’s 1988 record.

The Huskies (19-14) have 22 homers on the season, which is five short of the team’s 2003 mark. However, the home runs haven’t translated into run consistency for the Huskies this year.

Before NIU topped Eastern Michigan 7-1 on Sunday, the Huskies were in the middle of their first three-game losing streak of the season.

The Huskies scored three combined runs during the slump, but have scored 24 runs in their last three wins.

“That’s part of the game,” Martin said. “But we know we need to be more consistent. You don’t have as much control on offense as you do on defense because offense will come and go. We just want to put ourselves in a position to win in the sixth or seventh inning.”