Making their return to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Northern Illinois University Huskies softball team (20-28, 14-13 MAC) will face Central Michigan University in their first game of the tournament on May 7. The 2025 MAC Softball Tournament will run from May 7-10 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.

The Huskies, who have the six-seed in the bracket, and Chippewas, the three-seed, are slated to have first pitch at 1:30 p.m. on May 7.

The 2025 tournament will feature a double elimination bracket. More information on the 2025 tournament can be found at GetSomeMACtion.com. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

NIU’s appearance at the MAC Tournament this week will be their 18th appearance since the 1998 season and first since the 2019 season. The Huskies have posted a 30-36 record during that time. The Huskies have been the 6-seed twice since 2010, holding that spot in the 2010 and 2015 tournaments.

Putting a Bow on the Regular Season

The Huskies posted a 3-0 shutout win over Akron on April 26, which was senior day, before dropping the series to the Zips.  NIU split action against the Broncos on April 29 in their final midweek match.

Jenna Turner (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) and Danielle Stewart (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way) were responsible for all four of NIU’s hits in the first game against Western Michigan. In the home finale, Rylie Hartman (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) scored three of the Huskies nine runs in the second game as Katy Ramage (Germantown Hills, Ill./Metamora Township) went 2-for-3 at the plate.

The Huskies split the regular season finale with Toledo on May 3 with Turner extended her hitting streak to 10 consecutive games with a hit in each of the games. Three was Stewart’s lucky number on the day as she recorded 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the games. Hartman went 3-for-4 at the plate in the last game of the regular season.

Huskie Stat Leaders

Turner leads the Huskies with a .391 batting average with 48 starts this season. Turner has a top-5 batting average in the MAC and leads the MAC in conference-only games with a batting average of .451. Turner is among the best in the league with 66 hits overall games

Madison Mathews (Yuma, Ariz./Cibola) joins Turner in the top-10 of the MAC with a top-10 batting average, sitting at .371. Mathews leads the Huskies’ offense with seven home runs this season, 13 doubles, and 37 RBIs.

In the pitcher’s circle, Stewart has made 20 appearances this season with five complete games, one shutout, and 75 strikeouts, which is in the top-10 in the MAC. Lily Cassell (LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) has made 24 appearances with nine complete games and two shutouts.

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