The Northern Illinois softball team shook off the cloud of close losses.
Coming into the Mid-American Conference Tournament having lost five out of their final six games, the Huskies got a strong pitching performance from their ace and a crucial hit from one of their main sluggers to beat Western Michigan 3-1 in the first round on Wednesday morning at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
The No. 4 seeded Huskies (34-18) advance to play top-seeded Kent State, which beat No. 8 Central Michigan 1-0 on Wednesday.
Against the No. 5 Broncos (21-27) on Wednesday, Northern Illinois got a two-run homer by senior catcher Emily Naegele in the third inning.