Like many college students, the NIU softball team spent its Spring Break in Florida. But instead of lying in the sun, the Huskies played 11 games in 11 days.

The Huskies (11-9) went 5-6 over the break with three of their losses coming against Top 20 teams.

The Huskies started off with the Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., where they split six games.

Long Island jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Huskies in the first game of the Invitational, but the Huskies rallied for a 3-2 victory.

“We struggled a little bit at the plate today,” NIU coach Donna Martin said. “But we still found a way to push a few runs across and used some pitching and defense to pull out a win.”

NIU dropped the next two games against Central Florida and No. 9 Baylor.

The Huskies beat Temple 5-4 and Coastal Carolina 7-2 before losing 6-3 to Tennessee-Chatanooga.

The Huskies had a chance to get an early look at MAC foe Kent State at the Central Florida Invitational

The Huskies beat the Golden Flashes 5-3 and moved to 2-0 against MAC teams this year.

“We forced [Kent State] into hesitating on some decisions,” Martin said. “Our speed made them question some decisions on the infield, and we just did a good job of putting the ball in play.”

The Huskies followed the victory by dropping consecutive games to Central Florida and No. 20 Georgia Tech.

After a 9-0 victory over Charleston Southern, the Huskies got another shot at Georgia Tech.

The Huskies led 3-2 but gave up three runs in the sixth to lose the lead.

“This team showed a lot of heart and battled,” Martin said. “We had some bench players step up and that will be key for us as the season progresses.”