This Week in Huskie Athletics NIU will have five teams in action. Baseball will play five games this week starting at home on Tuesday against Valparaiso. Baseball will then head to UIC and CMU later in the week. Softball will be on the road for four games, starting with Valparaiso before a weekend series at CMU. Women’s golf is playing at the MAC Championships and has two rounds left to play. NIU is in third place after one round.  Men’s golf will play the MAC Championships this weekend from Friday to Sunday. Track and Field will compete at the Drake Relays and the ONU Outdoor Invitational.

Football

NIU Football Spring Showcase – Saturday, April 27, 2024, Noon (Huskie Stadium)

Fans are invited to come out to Huskie Stadium and get an early look at the 2024 Huskies as they wrap up 2024 spring football practice with an approximately two-hour practice.  Much of the practice will include scrimmage situations. Following the practice, the Huskies will sign autographs for fans and spring football posters will be available.

Prior to the Showcase, come by the Chessick Practice Center for the Victor E. Fest with games for the kids, sponsors, a schedule magnet giveaway, the Huskie inflatables and more. Check out the surplus sale. Food and drink will be available for sale!  More information here.

Baseball

Tuesday, April 23 vs Valparaiso, 1 p.m. –

Wednesday, April 24 at UIC, 6 p.m.  –

Friday, April 26 at CMU, 2 p.m. –

Saturday, April 27 at CMU, 12 p.m. –

Sunday, April 28 at CMU, 11 a.m. –

The NIU Baseball team wraps up its current four-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon against the Valparaiso Beacons before going to Central Michigan this weekend.  The Huskies took one game out of three this past weekend against Kent State, winning 7-3 on Saturday. Redshirt-Sophomore pitcher Adam Brouwer threw a season-high 7.2 innings in the win, allowing one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts. Senior catcher Colin Summerhill had a slugging percentage of 1.000 for the series, hitting two home runs to make him the new NIU single-season home run record holder with 17. He currently leads the MAC in home runs and is tied for 10^th nationally. Jake Nelson extended his hitting streak to 11 games this weekend, the longest for a Huskie this season. NIU also got a good series from freshman outfielder Charlie Parcell, who hit .462 with a double, a triple and three RBI.

Women’s Golf

Sunday, April 21 – Tuesday, April 23 at MAC Championships (Grove City, Ohio)

The Huskie women’s golf team is competing at the 2024 Mid-American Conference championships at the Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, April 21-23.

Three Huskies are inside the top-15 as the Northern Illinois University Huskies women’s golf sits in third place after the first round of the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championship. As a team, the Huskies recorded a score of 310, which is 22 over par and just 14 strokes from the lead held by Kent State.

Softball

Tuesday, April 23 at Valparaiso, 1 p.m. / 3:30 p.m.

Friday, April 26 at Bowling Green, 2 p.m. –

Saturday, April 27 at Bowling Green, 12 p.m. / 2 p.m. –

The Huskies begin their final road trips of the regular season. The Huskies will travel to Valparaiso on April 23 for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The Huskies will conclude the road trips of the 2024 season as they take on Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio on April 26-27 in a three-game series.

Dropping the final game of the series, the Northern Illinois University Huskies softball team fell to the Bulls of the University at Buffalo. The Huskies fell 9-3 after taking an early lead. The Huskies won the first game of the series, 11-3 in six innings, before dropping the second game 4-1.

Men’s Golf

Friday, April 26 – Sunday, April 28 at MAC Championships (Westfield, Ind.)

The NIU men’s golf team begins its defense of it’s MAC title Friday at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind. Last season the Huskies rallied in the second round from sixth place to the lead of the tournament and held off a late charge from Ball State in the final round to win their first MAC title in almost 40 years. NIU played it’s final event before the MAC Championship this weekend at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. The Huskies tied for seventh out of 18 teams with Ben Sluzas leading the way with his fifth top-20 finish of the season. Sluzas tied for 18^th with a 54-hole score of seven-over par 220. A full preview of this weekend’s MAC Championship will be available on NIUHuskies.com later this week.

Track and Field

Thursday-Saturday, April 25-27: at Drake Relays (Des Moines, Iowa)

Saturday, April 27: at ONU Outdoor Invitational (Bourbonnais, Ill.)

With just two weeks left until hosting the MAC Outdoor Championships, the NIU women’s track and field team will send student-athletes to both Drake and Olivet Nazarene this weekend. Beginning on Thursday, the Huskies will compete at one of the most prestigious meets in the country as they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays. On Saturday, NIU will send a group of competitors to the Olivet Nazarene Invitational in Bourbonnais, Ill.

Malia Watkins currently ranks in the top-10 in the MAC in both the 100 and 200 meters, running a season-best time of 24.38 seconds in the 200 this past weekend at the Michael Johnson Invitational. NIU also has top-10 athletes in all three jumps as Arianna Calloway in third in the high jump, Henriette Halwas is seventh and Xiomara Malone is ninth in the long jump while Kendal Only is ninth in the triple jump.