March 29, 2007
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Games 21-23: March 30-April 1
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (12-8, 3-0) AT AKRON (11-6, 1-2)
Friday: 2 p.m. CDT/Saturday: Noon CDT/ Sunday: Noon CDT
Location: Lee Jackson Field, Akron, Ohio
Live Coverage: Live Stats (also linked through niuhuskies.com)
SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Record: NIU leads 9-6
Last Meeting: 2006 (NIU 4-2, UA 6-5, NIU 8-3 at DeKalb)
Ed Mathey against Akron: 5-4
Notes: NIU won two of three games last season in DeKalb ... The Zips were victorious in two of three games when the teams last met in Akron (2005) ... Jesse Seykora and Justin Behm each had three RBI games last season against the Zips ... Trevor Feeney won the final game of last season's series.
SHORT HOPS
-NIU has won six of its last seven games, a stretch that includes a six-game win streak, the longest of the Ed Mathey era.
-Danny Reed recently completed a 15-game hit streak that ran from March 2 through game one of the March 28 doubleheader. The streak equals the longest such mark on record at NIU.
-NIU allowed just six earned runs last weekend against Ohio for a 1.93 ERA. The Huskies completed their first MAC sweep in three seasons.
-It took Jesse Seykora just 17 games to surpass his 2006 season home run total and entering game 21 of 2007, he is just seven RBI shy of equaling his previous season's mark.
-NIU enters 2007 as the only Illinois school represented on both the NCBWA Stopper of the Year (Matt German) and Brooks Wallace Award (Scott Simon) watch lists.
-Not only does closer Matt German's name appear on the preseason Stopper of the Year watch list, but Collegiate Baseball Newspaper listed him as its "Projected MAC Pitcher of the Year" in the preseason preview issue.
PITCHING PROBABLES
Friday: RHP Trevor Feeney (2-2)
Saturday: LHP Brandon Copp (2-0)
Sunday: TBA
LEADING THE LAND OF LINCOLN: With Matt German and Scott Simon entering the season on national watch lists for Stopper of the Year and the Wallace Award (player of the year), NIU now has accumulated three nominees over the past two seasons for those awards. The duo makes NIU the ONLY Illinois school with a player on each of the two preseason lists. During the past two years, the Huskies have combined for the most nominees on the those watch lists of any school in the state.
Northern Illinois 3
Southern Illinois 2
Northwestern 2
Illinois 1
Illinois-Chicago 1
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY: The Huskies total of three Stopper of the Year and Wallace Award Watch List nominees over the past two seasons compares favorably with the "elite" programs in college baseball.
Cal State Fullerton 5
Miami (Fla.) 5
Rice 5
Texas 4
Clemson 4
Northern Illinois 3
Stanford 3
Southern California 3
Florida State 3
South Carolina 2
TAKE SIX: The Huskies reeled off six consecutive victories from March 17-28, marking the longest win streak under Ed Mathey. NIU began the stretch with a win over Manhattan in the final game of its spring break trip and the streak ended with a one-run loss (5-4) in the second game of the March 28 doubleheader at Bradley.
PITCHING PLAUDITS: NIU owns a 1.93 MAC team ERA after yielding just six earned runs in a three-game sweep of Ohio last weekend. In six games since returning from their spring trip, Huskie pitchers have made dramatic statistical improvement. During that stretch, NIU hurlers have allowed just 39 hits and 12 earned runs in 50.0 innings. As a result, the Huskies' team ERA has dropped by over a full run.
MARCH-ING THROUGH THE MAC: NIU owns a six-game MAC winning streak in the month of March. Last weekend, the Huskies opened conference play with a sweep Ohio in DeKalb. In 2006, NIU won its final three conference contests in March, taking the final two games at Ohio and the first game of a series against Akron.
SIMMERING SEYKORA: Jesse Seykora leads the MAC in home runs and RBI and ranks second in batting average for the year. His chase for the league's "triple crown" picked up steam during NIU's eight-game spring break trip when Seykora put up video game-like numbers, hitting .500 (16-for-32), slugging 1.031, and belting five home runs with 15 RBI and 17 runs scored. Those marks earned the third baseman the MAC West Player of the Week award and mention on the College Baseball Foundation's national honor roll. In addition to posting a 12-game hit streak (March 2-20), Seykora surpassed his 2006 home run total (6) in just 17 games this season and has six three-hit games after posting three a year ago. Prior to the season, Seykora earned mention by Collegiate Baseball as one of the "Top Players to Watch" in the MAC for 2007.
SPEAKING GERMAN: Closer Matt German entered 2007 as the "Projected Pitcher of the Year" in the MAC according to Collegiate Baseball and thus far has not disappointed. The lefthander has two wins and two saves with a 0.57 ERA while fanning 23 in 15.2 innings this season. Of the past 36 NIU victories, German has factored into 17 of them (47%) either by win or save. Last year, he became the first Huskie to earn ABCA first-team All-Mideast Region honors and was a first-team All-MAC selection.
SIMON SAYS: Prior to the season, first baseman Scott Simon was named by Collegiate Baseball as one of the "Top Players to Watch" in the MAC and listed as the league's No. 3 Player of the Year candidate by Perfect Game Crosschecker. Simon is NIU's career leader in hits (271), RBI (177), doubles (59) and at-bats (768) while ranking in the sixth in runs (127) and seventh in home runs (19). He owns the NIU single season records for hits (89), doubles (24), and RBI (71), all set in 2004.
TO AIR IS HUMAN: The duo of Scott Simon and Matt German are not only flying high on the field, but both are pursuing pilot's licenses with the hopes of becoming commerical pilots.
A GOOD REED: Danny Reed recently completed a 15-game hit streak that ended in game two on the March 28 doubleheader at Bradley, tying him for the highest NIU mark on record with Chuck Laird (1997), Rob Marconi and Joe Mazzuca (both in 2003). The 2006 Junior College All-American is third on the team with a .393 batting average and entered the week ranked third in the MAC with a .426 average. During his hit streak, Reed had five multi-hit games, including three three-hit outings. The right fielder collected five RBI, including the bases clearing game-winning double, on March 4 at Southern Illinois.
MATHEY MILESTONES: Head coach Ed Mathey is within striking distance of second place on the NIU career victory list. Last season, he reached a pair of milestones, notching his 100th victory at NIU on April 12 and his 300th career victory on April 23. Mathey is the fourth coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau and ascended three places up the victory total list during the year.
NIU Career Coaching Victories
1. Spanky McFarland 143
2. Walt Owens 133
3. George Evans 126
4. Ed Mathey 117
BADGE OF HONOR: Senior Mark Badgley was named MAC West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 following two outings at Texas Tech. Badgley made his second career start on Feb. 25 in Lubbock, 15 hours after pitching an inning in relief, and set career highs with eight strikeouts and 6.1 innings despite taking the loss in a pitching duel. He is NIU's career leader in appearances (106) and saves (19).
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: NIU has four senior captains for the 2007 season: P Mark Badgley, P Matt German, 3B Jesse Seykora, and 1B Scott Simon. The quartet was selected by the coaching staff during fall practice.
SENIOR MOMENTS: The Huskies have 17 upperclassmen on their roster, including eight seniors: P Mark Badgley, 2B Marc Besteman, P Matt German, OF Daniel Jewett, OF/P Brett Kellam, C/OF Tim Ryan, 3B Jesse Seykora, and 1B Scott Simon.
EVEN STEVENS: Shortstop Bobby Stevens began the year with a pair of preseason accolades. Baseball America tabbed the Chicago native as a first-team All-MAC selection and Perfect Game Crosschecker listed him as the MAC's No. 4 projected pick for the 2008 Draft. At the end of the summer season, Stevens earned mention from Baseball America as the No. 3 pro prospect in the Central Illinois Collegiate League. The sophomore currently leads the team with 28 runs scored and entered the week as the MAC leader with 25 runs and in second place in stolen bases with nine.
HEAVY METAL BASEBALL: NIU leads the MAC with a .307 team batting average, an increase of 32 points over last season, and has put up 10+ hits in 13 of 20 games this season. The Huskies have topped the 10-run plateau on five occassions, including outbursts of 17 and 18 runs on March 10 against Maine and March 11 against Long Island, marking the the highest two-game total under Ed Mathey.
GRAND THEFT OF THE BASES: The Huskies have made a habit of successful base stealing by converting 32 of 40 attempts (80 percent) in 20 games this season. NIU has 22 steals in its last 10 games, including a pair of games with five thefts against New Jersey Tech on March 15 and Chicago State on March 20. Bobby Stevens leads the team with nine stolen bases and has yet to be thrown out in 2007.
STREAKERS: Four Huskies have put together hit streaks of at least 10 games this season led by Danny Reed's recent 15-game mark. Jesse Seykora (12) and Daniel Jewett (10) have also posted long hit streaks in 2007. The trio of Reed, Seykora and Jewett were just one game from having double-digit streaks concurrently on March 23. In addition, Scott Simon carried over an eight-game streak from 2006 and raised it to 10 by hitting safely in the first two contests this season.
STATE SUCCESS: Under head coach Ed Mathey, NIU has a 34-17 (.667) record against intrastate opposition. In 2006, the Huskies went 11-2 (.846) while defeating all seven Land of Lincoln opponents for the highest winning percentage of any Illinois school against intrastate foes. NIU is 3-3 so far in 2007, winning one of three at Southern Illinois, the lone meeting against Chicago State and splitting a doubleheader with Bradley.
