Tied for second place in the MAC West, the NIU softball team just needs to keep doing what it’s doing according to NIU coach Donna Martin.

The Huskies (16-14, 6-3 MAC) will play their first non-doubleheader in a week at 5 p.m. today at Illinois State (21-17, 14-2 MVC).

“Their stats aren’t there,” Martin said. “But they’re excellent at getting the job done.”

Sophomore pitcher Kathy Dearborn shut down Eastern Michigan’s offense in the Huskies’ last game on Sunday. She effectively changed the speeds of her pitches, and now it will be junior Amy Krahula’s turn to keep the bats of the top team in the Missouri Valley Conference silent.

On the offensive side, NIU’s eight-run outburst Sunday tied for the second-highest run total of the season. They scored 10 runs on Feb. 7 against UW-Green Bay.

However, the Huskies have not provided enough run support for Krahula in her last five outings, going 2-3 against opponents and scoring nine runs.

“We’re showing signs of putting things together,” Martin said. “We need to take advantage of other teams’ mistakes.”