NIU baseball coach Dave Schrage believes that in order for his Huskies to contend in the Mid-American Conference, they’ll need to improve their game, starting with Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Huskies (10-14 overall, 0-7 in the MAC) have been struggling recently, losing their last four games and last seven out of nine. Since their win over then-No. 16 ranked Stetson, NIU has gone 4-10.

Hitting, pitching and defense lapses have contributed to the recent slump. In Game 1 on Sunday against Eastern Michigan, the pitching was respectable, but the defense committed four errors, while the offense managed to score two runs. In Game 2, the pitching was dismal as Huskie hurlers allowed 18 runs on 18 EMU hits.

“We aren’t hitting consistently,” Schrage said. “We need to put this together in key games.”

One bright spot for the Huskies this season has been the play of centerfielder Noel Danielson. The Huskie outfielder has been the most consistent player thus far, and Schrage said he has also been the most complete player.

While today’s 3 p.m. home matchup against Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a non-conference game, it is nonetheless crucial.

“We need to start getting things together,” Schrage said. “We haven’t been playing well in any of our conference games, so we have to take a look at our program and make some adjustments. This isn’t something that can be fixed in one day, but we need to play better on a more consistent basis.”