There’s an old baseball adage that pitching and defense wins games.

The Huskies (15-10, 3-1 MAC) hope to follow that philosophy when they face Western Michigan for a four-game series starting at 3 p.m. today in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

NIU’s hurlers are second in the MAC in pitching with an ERA of 4.72 as of April 7.

“Pitching starts it,” coach Ed Mathey said. “All of our pitchers have been able to set the tone and throw strikes. They’ve just done a great job all year.”

Junior Zach Minor is leading the way with a 1.94 ERA in just more than 41 innings to go with his three victories.

While the pitchers are clicking, the Huskie defense has been struggling, committing 19 errors over their last six games. The Huskies fielding woes have put them last in the MAC with a .934 fielding percentage.

Despite winning four of those six contests, Mathey knows the importance of a strong defense.

“Making errors really puts us in a tough situation,” Mathey said. “As we get into the meat of conference play, it really puts added pressure on our pitchers. We just need to focus so we make plays on a consistent level.”

The Huskies will have to try and improve their lackluster defense without junior first baseman Mike Hochhauser who will be out at least two weeks with a torn right index finger incurred on April 2.

The job of replacing him will fall to a pair of freshmen: Scott Simon and Kyle Pettengell. While Simon has appeared in 19 games, many of those have been as a designated hitter.

“Obviously Mike brought a lot to the team,” Mathey said. “He has been hitting real well, and he provides a lot of leadership. It’s a tough break, but it’s a great opportunity for two of our young guys to step up and get some quality playing time.”