In its last two games, the NIU baseball team has committed half the errors it did Sunday.

After Sunday’s loss to Ball State, the Huskies won against Illinois State and Eastern Illinois during the week, making a combined three errors in both games.

For Huskies coach Ed Mathey, those numbers have a direct correlation to wins.

“We started off a bit rough defensively,” he said of the week’s first game against ISU, “but after the first, we settled in.”

Mathey hopes his team will stay settled as the team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face Western Michigan for a three-game set, beginning at 2 p.m. today.

The weekend will mark the second MAC series. The Huskies hope to bounce back from last weekend’s three-game sweep at the hands of Ball State.

The Huskies (8-16, 0-3 MAC) swept the Broncos at home last season and hope to repeat last year’s performance on the road.

“On the road, MAC play is a difficult thing,” Mathey said. “We had success with them at our place last season, but they have a lot of veteran players, so we’ll have to go out and execute.”

NIU will face a different Bronco team this season with new WMU coach Randy Ford at the helm. After starting the season 1-6, the Broncos (11-11, 3-0) are on a six-game winning streak.

“I’m not absolutely sure what to expect because of their new coach,” Mathey said. “So there will be a bit of a feeling-out period in the first game.”

Nick Hall, who pitched a complete-game loss against Ball State Saturday, will take the mound today for NIU.

“Nick’s established himself as our number one pitcher,” Mathey said of the 6-5 junior who carries a 5.26 ERA. “But the downside to that is that we’ll be facing their number one pitcher.”

Mathey stressed the importance of getting a conference win under the team’s belt.

“Our goal is to be MAC champion, and in order to do that, we need to start winning games,” he said.