After breaking a four-game losing streak Tuesday against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, NIU baseball coach Dave Schrage noticed how confident his Huskies were.

The new-found confidence carried to the next game on Wednesday, and the Huskies walked away with a win against the University of Illinois-Chicago. In this weekend’s games against Trinity International and St. Xavier, the Huskies hope to build on the confidence and take that into conference play.

“We expected a lot going into conference,” said third baseman Kyle Kimme. “Realistically, there are a ton of games left. These non-conference games are huge in terms of getting that boost going into conference play. If we win these games, it will give us a lot of momentum going into conference play.”

To continue to build the momentum, the Huskies have kept their bats alive. The Huskies had problems hitting against Eastern Michigan, scoring only seven runs in four games.

The Huskies (12-14) play three games against two teams this weekend and in the middle of a six-game home stand. Trinity International (0-12) comes to NIU for a single game today. St. Xavier (10-14) will play a double-header against the Huskies on Saturday.

“We need to get some momentum,” said Schrage. “The kids are loose and confident. That is how we are supposed to play. When we play tight, we aren’t very good. When we play nice, loose and confident like we did [Wednesday], we are a pretty good team.