Preview: Northern Illinois at Akron

AKRON, Ohio (Interstat) — The Northern Illinois Huskies will look to build on their momentum and series-opening victory when they face the Akron Zips in a Mid-American Conference matchup Saturday at InfoCision Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for the evening under cloudy skies with temperatures around 70 degrees.

The Huskies (21-11, 4-3 MAC) won a 10-8 slugfest Friday afternoon behind home runs from Ivan Dahlberg and Cooper Cohn. They will turn to ace right-hander Max Vaisvila, who has been dominant. Vaisvila earned the win in relief Friday, throwing six hitless innings with two earned runs. In his last start, he fired a one-hit, 14-strikeout complete game shutout against Bowling Green on March 28. He is 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last five appearances.

Akron (15-22, 2-8) aims to even the series despite a recent skid, having lost eight of its last ten. The Zips will start right-hander Elijah Griffith, who was effective in a tough-luck loss Friday. Griffith allowed just one hit and one earned run over six innings of relief, striking out eight. His season has been inconsistent, but his recent performance provides a hopeful note.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-3 victory for Northern Illinois.

The Huskies’ offense, which has scored 10 or more runs in three of its last five games, will test an Akron pitching staff that has an 8.10 ERA in conference play. The Zips’ lineup, led by DH Easton Amundson’s home run Friday, seeks more consistent support for its starters.

Following Saturday’s contest, the series concludes Sunday afternoon.