April 24, 2012

DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois University softball team plays its final home game of the season when the Huskies welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to Mary M. Bell Field Wednesday.

"It's an opportunity for us to get back on track," said NIU head coach Lindsay Chouinard. "It's an opportunity for us to get back to what NIU softball is all about. "

First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. and fans can follow all the action live via Gametracker at NIUHuskies.com.

The Huskies (18-28, 6-10 MAC) will look to capitalize on a struggling Wildcat pitching staff, which has compiled a team ERA of 4.49. The Huskies have hit the ball well all year with an impressive .289 team batting average.

Shelby Miller (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa) led the way for the Huskies offense last week, batting .462 with six hits, including her ninth home run of the season, and five runs batted in. Senior Dani Parrish (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield), who will be playing her final game at Mary M. Bell Field, was 6-for-14 in five games last week with five RBIs and three runs scored.

Northwestern (18-24, 6-9 Big Ten), which squares off against Loyola tonight, boasts two dangerous players that rank amongst the leaders in several categories in the Big Ten Conference.

Marisa Bast leads the Big Ten in several categories including batting average (.426), slugging percentage (.820), RBI's (51), home runs (12), and total bases (100). Emily Allard leads the Big Ten in steals (26), hits (64), and at bats (164). She also ranks fifth in the conference in hitting with a .390 batting average.

-NIU-