Untimely hitting has led to the poor run production the NIU softball team has experienced this season, NIU coach Donna Martin said.

The Huskies (12-32 overall, 4-10 MAC) are hitting .204 as a team this year. Last season, they hit .265 with seven players batting over .257. To put that in perspective, left fielder Kelly Drozd is leading this year’s squad with a .262 batting average.

This drop in team batting average has given NIU a problem getting runs across the plate this season. The Huskies are averaging 2.4 runs per game this season as opposed to nearly four runs a game last season.

“We started off in an offensive slump,” Martin said. “With the youth we have, the inexperience, it takes a little bit to get all that turned around. We didn’t have [timely hitting] in the beginning, and it got a little out of hand.”

The Huskies currently have their longest winning streak of the year, two games, after their sweep of Ball State. The streak, which ended a 14-game losing streak, is one of two two-game winning streaks the Huskies have had this season.

One bright spot for the NIU lineup is freshman Lauren von Holst. Von Holst was in a slump at the beginning of the year starting 0-for-18. Since the slow start, she is batting .273 with four home runs and 10 RBIs.

“This particular group of freshmen and sophomores have gained a lot of experience this year,” Martin said. “We’ve had some tough times, and I think a lot of teams would have given up, but we are in every game we play, and that will help our experience.”

Some of the other top underclassmen Martin included were freshman Kelly Park and sophomore Drozd.

Pitching also has been an area for concern as Martin has watched her pitching staff gain an ERA of 3.44. Last season the team ERA was 2.56.

Senior Amy Krahula was 13-8 last season and had an ERA under 2.00. This season, she has had shoulder problems that has led to her 5-10 record and 3.93 ERA.

Kathy Dearborn has been carrying most of the workload as of late as she had two complete games this past weekend.

Dearborn is expected to see significant action this weekend during a doubleheader at Bowling Green. The two teams will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.