March 8, 2007
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS (2-4) SPRING BREAK TRIP
Northern Illinois will play eight games on its spring break trip, including seven at the Palm Beach Challenge held at the former spring training site of the Montreal Expos. The Huskies will play teams from the northeast in Palm Beach and will play a single game at Florida Atlantic on March 14 in Boca Raton.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 10 vs. Maine (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 1:15 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 11 vs. Long Island (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 2:15 p.m. CT
Tuesday, March 13 vs. New Jersey Tech (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 2 p.m. CT
Wednesday, March 14 at Florida Atlantic (Boca Raton, Fla.), 6 p.m. CT
Thursday, March 15 vs. Fordham (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 10 a.m. CT
Thursday, March 15 vs. New Jersey Tech (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 2 p.m. CT
Friday, March 16 vs. Fordham (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 2:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 17 vs. Manhattan (at Palm Beach, Fla.), 8 a.m. CT
SERIES INFORMATION
NIU owns a 2-0 series lead over Fordham and a 1-0 advantage over Manhattan. The Huskies only game with Maine resulted in a tie. NIU will be meeting Long Island, New Jersey Tech and Florida Atlantic for the first time.
LIVE COVERAGE
The March 10 game vs. Maine, is tentatively scheduled for radio via Maine's website www.goblackbears.com. NIU's contest at Florida Atlantic on March 14 will have live GameTracker coverage via www.niuhuskies.com.
SHORT HOPS
-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.
-German has won or saved 15 of the last 26 Huskie victories in 2006-07.
-Jesse Seykora and Danny Reed each hit over .500 during the Southern Illinois series. Seykora went 7-for-13 (.538) while slugging 1.000 with three doubles, one home run and four RBI. Reed was 5-of-10 with a double, home run and seven RBI, including a career-high five RBI with a bases clearing ninth-inning double that gave NIU its Sunday victory
-Seykora has compiled a trio of three-hit games, including two last weekend at SIU, each equaling his career high that he achieved three times in 2006.
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
SIMMERING SEYKORA: Third baseman Jesse Seykora hit .538 (7-for-13) with three doubles, one home run, and four RBI during the three-game series at Southern Illinois. The senior compiled a pair of three-hit games in Carbondale and has three in six games in 2007, equaling his season total from a year ago. His 29 career extra-base hits, including 21 doubles, account for 46 percent of his 63 hits as a Huskie. On Feb. 24 at Texas Tech, Seykora delivered the game-winning double as part of a three-hit, four-RBI outburst.Prior to the season, Seykora earned mention by Collegiate Baseball as one of the "Top Players to Watch" in the MAC for 2007.
BADGE OF HONOR: Senior Mark Badgley was named MAC West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 following two outings at Texas Tech. The award was the first for the hurler and the league's initial weekly honor for 2007. 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 (99) and saves (19).
A GOOD READ: Junior college transfer Danny Reed busted out last weekend at Southern Illinois, hitting .500 (5-for-10) with a double, a home run and seven RBI in three games. Reed belted the decisive hit in the series finale, a three-run double in the ninth. In the game, Reed had a career-high five RBI and three hits.
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. The NIU career hit king with 252, Simon ranks second on the school's career RBI list with 160, needing to drive in just 12 to surpass all-time leader Rob Marconi. Simon also ranks second on the school's career doubles list (56) and will take over first with four two-baggers. He owns the NIU single-season records for hits (89), doubles (24), and RBI (71), all set in 2004.
SPEAKING GERMAN: Closer Matt German enters 2007 as the "Projected Pitcher of the Year" in the MAC according to Collegiate Baseball. Thus far in 2007, German earned both Huskie wins in relief, Feb. 24 at Texas Tech and March 4 at Southern Illinois. Of the last 26 NIU victories, German saved or won 15 of them. Over the past two seasons, German posted a 0.64 ERA and struck out 53 in 42.1 innings. In 2006, he became the first Huskie to earn ABCA first-team All-Mideast Region honors and was a first-team All-MAC selection. German's 74 career appearances rank second behind only current teammate Mark Badgley's 99 on the all-time Huskie list.
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.
MATHEY MILESTONES: Head coach Ed Mathey reached a pair of milestones during the 2006 season, notching his 100th victory at NIU on April 12 and his 300th career victory on April 23. Mathey became only 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 107
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.
WEARIN OF THE GREEN: NIU will don green jerseys for the St. Patrick's Day game against Manhattan. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the St. Patty's at Fatty's event on March 21.
EVEN STEVENS: Shortstop Bobby Stevens begins his sophomore campaign 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 Huskies with seven runs scored and two stolen bases after beginning the season by hitting safely in the first three games, upping his hit streak to seven straight dating back to last year.
NINE LIVES: Of the 28 runs that NIU has scored in the first six games this season, 10 have come in the ninth inning (36 percent). Both Huskie victories were keyed by big innings in their final at-bat, scoring three in an 8-5 triumph at Texas Tech on Feb. 24 and tallying four in a 9-6 win on March 4 at Southern Illinois.
HEAVY METAL BASEBALL: NIU put up 25 hits in its first two games of the 2007 season on Feb. 23 and 24 at Texas Tech and had 32 in the three-game series. Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Red Raiders was keyed by a 15-hit outburst, the highest total since March 26, 2006 at Ohio, a 36-game span. The Huskies pounded out seven doubles on Feb. 24 in Lubbock, equaling the second-highest game total in school history. In six games this season, NIU has had 10 or more hits in three contests.
FRESH FACES: The Huskies welcomed six new members to the program in 2007, led by junior college All-America Danny Reed, who leads the team with nine RBI after a five-RBI outburst March 4 at Southern Illinois and is hitting .353 on the year. Freshman Jordin Hood has five hits in four starts and scored three runs on March 4 at SIU. Fellow freshman Joe Buonavolanto has a hit and a sacrifice hit in his two late-inning plate appearances. Anthony Maziur and Dave Reynolds have made appearances in reserve roles.
THE BOYS OF SUMMER: A number of Huskies made their mark during the 2006 summer league season, including a heavy NIU representation among the Central Illinois Collegiate League postseason awards. Matt German was named the CICL Fireman of the Year, Scott Simon collected the Mike Schmidt MVP Award, Bobby Stevens was the league's Tournament MVP, and Trevor Feeney claimed the top pitcher award for the second-half of the season. Overall, four NIU players played in their summer league all-star games and four Huskies earned player of the week honors during the season.
HUSKIES IN PRO BASEBALL: A total of 14 Huskies have signed professional baseball contacts since 2003. Joining that group after the 2006 season was the trio of P Nick Hall (Philadelphia Phillies), OF Brian Toner (Frontier League) and P Brandon Hodge (Frontier League). Left-hander Joe Piekarz paced the former NIU contingent last season by posting eight wins and a 3.26 ERA for the Oakland Athletics' Class A Midwest League affiliate Kane County Cougars.
