April 9, 2007

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NORTHERN ILLINOIS (17-10) AT ILLINOIS STATE (14-15)
Tuesday, April 10: 6 p.m. CDT
Location: Redbird Field, Normal, Ill.
Live Coverage: GameTracker
SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Record: ISU leads 31-27
Last Meeting: April 3, NIU 8-6 at DeKalb
Ed Mathey against ISU: 4-2

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (17-10) VS. VALPARAISO (8-16)
Wednesday, April 11: 3 p.m. CDT
Location: Ralph McKinzie Field, DeKalb
Live Coverage: GameTracker
SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Record: NIU leads 12-7-1
Last Meeting: 2006, NIU 8-3 at Valparaiso
Ed Mathey against Valpo: 3-0

SHORT HOPS

-The Huskies are off to their best MAC start (7-2) in history and their best overall start since 2003. NIU has won 11 of its last 14 contests.

-NIU trails only Southern Illinois (22-9, .710) for the best record among Division I programs in the Land of Lincoln this season.

-Trevor Feeney matched the second-highest NIU strikeout total with 12 in his last start, April 6 at Kent State. Feeney and closer Matt German combined to strikeout 14 Golden Flashes, tying for the third-highest team total in history.

-Freshman Jordin Hood is the reigning MAC West Player of the Week. He hit .412, slugged .882 and tied the NIU record with two triples April 7 at Kent State.

-Danny Reed recently completed a 15-game hit streak that ran from March 2 through game one of the March 28 doubleheader at Bradley. The streak equaled the longest such mark on record at NIU.

-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.

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday: Adam Holdenrid (0-1)
Wednesday: Cody Beck (0-0)

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

RED HOT: At 7-2, the Huskies are off to their best MAC start in history and their best start since an identical 17-10 mark in 2003. NIU opened MAC play with four consecutive wins for the first time in its history and have won all three league series to date. NIU has won 11 of its last 14 games, including a six consecutive wins from from March 17-28, the longest win streak under Ed Mathey.

PITCHING PLAUDITS: NIU owns a 2.85 MAC team ERA, third-best in the league in conference games. In 13 games since returning from their spring trip, Huskie pitchers have made dramatic statistical improvement. During that stretch, NIU hurlers have allowed just 94 hits and 37 earned runs in 113.0 innings. As a result, the Huskies' team ERA has dropped over a full run and a half.

Gms W-L ERA H/9 IP WHIP K/BB BA
1-14 7-7 6.07 10.8 1.7 1.80 .301
15-27 10-3 2.95 7.5 1.1 2.74 .221
MAC 7-2 2.85 7.6 1.1 3.09 .222

HEAVY METAL BASEBALL: NIU leads the MAC with a .301 team batting average, an increase of 26 points over last season, and has put up 10+ hits in 16 of 27 games this season. The Huskies have topped the 10-run plateau on six 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 42 of 53 attempts (79 percent) in 27 games this season. NIU's total of 42 thefts ranks second in the MAC and the Huskies have swiped a base in eight of nine league contests, including a high of three at Kent State on April 7. The team's overall high is five stolen bases, set in games against New Jersey Tech on March 15 and Chicago State on March 20. Bobby Stevens leads the team (and is second in the MAC) with 13 stolen bases and has yet to be thrown out in 2007 while four other Huskies have five or more steals.

FORMIDABLE FEENEY: Trevor Feeney came within two outs from a third consecutive complete game victory on April 6 at Kent State, setting a career-high with 12 strikeouts while matching the second-highest NIU game output. The righthander tossed 8.1 shutout innings while yielding just six hits and did not issuing a walk until the ninth. The MAC's co-leader in wins and complete games, Feeney owns a 20:2 strikeout to walk ratio in MAC games and league opponents are hitting just .186 against.

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 is one save from tying the NIU career record (19) and has a career high three wins with five saves this season. Of the past 41 NIU victories, German has factored into 21 of them (51%) either by win or save. During the 11-inning win at Akron on April 1, German batted after a substitution eliminated the DH spot for the Huskies and delivered a RBI single in his first collegiate plate appearance. Last year, German 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 (279), RBI (181), doubles (62) and at-bats (793) while ranking fifth in runs (133) 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.

MATHEY MILESTONES: Head coach Ed Mathey is within striking distance of second place on the NIU career victory list this season. In 2006, 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 list during the year.

NIU Career Coaching Victories
1. Spanky McFarland 143
2. Walt Owens 133
3. George Evans 126
4. Ed Mathey 120

SEYKORA STUFF: Listed as one of the "Top Players to Watch" in the MAC by Collegiate Baseball, Jesse Seykora has taken his game up a level. The senior currently leads the MAC in RBI and put up video game-like numbers during NIU's eight-game spring trip, 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 and is five RBI from equaling his total from a year ago (37).

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). During his 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. The 2006 Junior College All-American currently tops the team with a .381 average, which ranks fourth in the MAC.

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. In his most recent start April 3 vs. Illinois State, Badgley set a new career-high with nine strikeouts while yielding just one walk in a six-inning victory. Further proving his versatility as a swingman between the starting rotation and bullpen, Badgley earned the win by tossing 6.2 innings of relief at Kent State on April 7. He is NIU's career leader in appearances (109) 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 leads the MAC with 31 runs scored and ranks second with 13 stolen bases.

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 35-17 (.673) 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 4-3 so far in 2007 against Illinois schools with wins against SIU, Chicago State, Bradley and ISU.

DOWNING THE VALLEY: The Huskies are 11-5 in their last 16 games, a .688 clip, against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. In 2006, NIU went 7-2 (.778) while winning at least one game against all five Valley opponents faced. This season, the Huskies are 4-3 after facing Southern Illinois and Bradley on the road and hosting Illinois State.