DeKALB — NIU baseball is less than a week away from the beginning of their 2022 season. As the Huskies prepare for a strong start, head coach Mike Kunigonis and his team are focused on improving from last season.

The Huskies went 16-38 overall in the 2021 season and had a 15-25 record in the Mid-American Conference. Hitters had a team batting average of .267 for the season, while the pitchers held a combined earned run average of 6.43, according to the 2021 NIU baseball season stat sheet.

Kunigonis is entering his seventh year as head coach of the team, and said learning to work with recruits and adapting coaching techniques to a new roster is an important part of the job.

“It’s a new team, it’s a new year,” Kunigonis said. “We have different expectations out of these guys. It’s a different group of guys with different mentalities, so we’re just looking to get out on day one and see how it all shakes out for us.”

The Huskies will look to veteran players on the team to set the tone for the season. Junior middle infielder Paddy McKermitt has welcomed and guided new players on the team by stepping into a leadership role.

“I definitely think that at shortstop, I’ve been commanding the defense, taking control and showing guys the ropes,” McKermitt said. “We got a lot of new guys coming in, so I feel that I’m very much in a leadership role on the field, and then off the field as well, getting our team to mold even when we’re not at practice.”

Another leader on the team in the hitting department is senior outfielder Matt Barnes. He was one of the top five hitters for the Huskies last season with a .264 batting average, and he will continue to play his offensive role for the team this season.

“Barnsey’s been doing a fantastic job,” Kunigonis said. “Expect him to play every day in center field and being at the top of our (batting) order.”

McKermitt and Barnes both received Academic All-MAC recognition in 2021.

A key part of the Huskies’ success this season, in addition to hitting and fielding, will come down to the team’s pitching rotation. Senior right-handed pitcher Michael Lasiewicz had the most starts for NIU last season, pitching in 10 games. Lasiewicz had a 4.88 earned run average for the 2021 season and a record of 3-7.

“We got a few new guys that are definitely going to be contributing on the mound,” Lasiewicz said. “I’m not a huge talker, but I guess I just try to lead by example.”

Last season, the MAC changed from a three-game series schedule for conference matchups to a four-game series schedule. After a year of adapting to the change, NIU’s pitching rotation is now ready to take on conference competitors four times per weekend.

“It was definitely different. We had to use as much pitching as we can,” Lasiewicz said. “Everyone’s going to get an opportunity (to pitch). Obviously it’s a lot more games, so we need everyone.”

Prior to the start of Mid-American Conference games in March, the Huskies will have multiple opportunities to test their skills against non-conference opponents across the country.

NIU travels to Sacramento State University on Friday to face the Hornets in a four-game series through Feb. 20. The following weekend, the team will go to Murray State University for another four game series from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27. Rounding out the non-conference action will be a trip to Lipscomb University from March 4 to March 6 for a three game series.

There will also be three notable non-conference single game matchups for the Huskies during the regular season: March 22 at Purdue University, March 29 at the University of Notre Dame and April 15 at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

“I’m really looking forward to going to Sacramento State. It’s always fun playing in warmer weather,” McKermitt said. “Notre Dame will be my favorite, me being Irish.”

The Huskies’ first MAC matchup will be at Ohio University on March 11 and the regular season will end with a series against Bowling Green State University starting on May 19.

“We’re really excited to get out there and see what these guys can do,” Kunigonis said. “These guys have put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears into working hard every day. I’m excited to see them compete.”

NIU will play their first game of the season against Sacramento State 4 p.m. CT Friday in Sacramento, California. The Huskies’ full schedule and live game stats can be found on the NIU Athletics website.