If the Huskies want to get into the Mid-American Conference baseball tournament, they have to start turning things around.

But with a recent two-game slide, they have not been playing to coach Dave Schrage’s liking. The last two games lacked in hitting and left men on base, and the Huskies were held to a combined 13 hits. In a 4-2 loss to Chicago State, they left 13 men stranded. Schrage said the team is not motivated.

Well, the team needs to get motivated really quickly because it has to face Toledo in what could be its most important weekend. After the four-game series against the Rockets, the Huskies have just eight more conference games to play.

Only six teams reach the MAC tournament, and the top team from each division automatically goes. That narrows the odds to four spots.

Ball State out of the West and Bowling Green from the East look to be locks for their respective divisions. If the tournament started today, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Kent State and Miami all would make the cut.

Meanwhile, the Huskies, currently in last place in the West Division with a 3-12 conference record, could be playing golf in May instead of fighting for a MAC Championship like they want.

Luckily, NIU is no stranger to turning things around at the end of the season. Last season, in their third-to-last conference series, the Huskies faced Western Michigan in a do-or-die situation. With a 6-9 MAC record heading into the series, they were on the brink of elimination, but came out and won three of the four games, built up momentum and went to their first conference tournament since 1997.

The fact that Schrage came in his first year and went to the MAC tournament with a team that two seasons ago went 4-51-1 was unheard of. Not many people expect Schrage to lead NIU to do the same thing this season.

Thus, if Schrage and company look to return, they are going to have to repeat last season’s events in the crucial series against Western Michigan. If the Huskies take three of the four games from the Toledo series, there’s a good chance they will get to the tourney.

With Buffalo next weekend and Ohio the following weekend, the Huskies have the chance to take six of their last eight games. Beyond that, they have a chance to prove all their doubters wrong and head back to the MAC tournament for the second year in a row.

It all starts this weekend.