Defense might win championships, but as NIU softball found out last year, you need to score runs to win games.

A season after compiling a .202 team batting average, timely offense has invigorated the Huskies (11-9) as the team enters its MAC season schedule this weekend.

NIU will kick off a three-game series at 1 and 3 p.m. today at Akron (12-8) with the finale at noon on Saturday.

A 14-game losing streak last April, in which the team was shutout six, times, demonstrated the Huskies need for an offensive upgrade.

“Coach [Kevin] Welch has worked with them in the cage a lot this year,” NIU head coach Donna Martin said. “We’ve streamlined our philosophy of moving runners and being unselfish, and our players have bought into it.”

The added emphasis has paid dividends for the Huskies. Besides the .202 team batting average, NIU managed 12 home runs and 117 runs batted in during last year’s 14-41 campaign.

But only 20 games into their schedule, the Huskies bats are hitting .286 to go along with eight home runs and 80 RBIs.

Sophomore infielder Ellen Stoddard has made an immediate impact in her first season with the Huskies after transferring from Harper College. She leads the team with a .381 batting average along with 11 RBIs.

“When we set the team goals, we knew no one wanted to repeat last year,” Stoddard said. “That’s in the past, everyone’s concentrating on this season now.”

Coming off a 20-game road trip, Akron will finally come home to host its first MAC games of the year.

After a 6-18 record against MAC opponents last year, junior outfielder Kelly Drozd said the Huskies realize the importance of scoring runs and winning conference games.

“We put a lot of importance on MAC games,” said Drozd, who is second on the team with a .356 batting average. “It ranks you for the post-season tournament. Conference games are what we practice and play these first games for.”