Feb. 16, 2012
BSB_Week_1_Notes 
DeKALB, Ill. - Geographically it may be under the constant threat of snow and frost, but Friday marks the beginning of Northern Illinois’ 102nd baseball season, as the Huskies head South of the Mason-Dixon Line to face Tennessee. The Huskies will play the Volunteers in a three-game series Friday (3 p.m.), Saturday (noon) and Sunday (noon), marking the first time NIU has met UT on the baseball diamond.
The Huskies return a large portion of its team from a year ago, with 19 letterman, seven starters and nine pitchers to aid in the 2012 campaign. Northern Illinois also welcomes 11 newcomers to this year’s roster. Amongst the seven returning starters are two All-Mideast region selections, a freshman all-american and two other All-Mid American Conference honorees.
LEAD OFFS
- As stated before, the Huskies and the Volunteers have never met on the diamond before. Head Coaches Ed Mathey and Dave Serrano have never met any other previous time in their coaching careers either.
- The last time Northern Illinois and Tennessee met in any sport, it was on the gridiron. The Huskies traveled to Neyland Stadium Oct. 4, 2008, a game that saw NIU’s comeback bid fall short and a 13-9 Vols victory.
- Tennessee is ushering in a new era to its storied baseball program as it hired Dave Serrano, a College World Series qualifying coach with both UC Irvine and Cal-State Fullerton, June 15, 2011.
PROJECTED MATCHUPS
NIU UT
FRIDAY LHP Tom Barry (5-5, 3.79 ERA) RHP Drew Steckenrider (2-0, 6.12 ERA)
SATURDAY LHP Jake Hermsen (2-2, 8.05 ERA) RHP Zack Godley (1-1, 3.38 ERA)
SUNDAY RHP Tony Manville (9-1, 4.73 ERA) RHP Nick Blount (1-5, 6.04 ERA)
FOLLOW FROM HOME
UTSports.com will be providing a live stream of all three contests on Tennessee All-Access. Fans can also follow the action on Northern Illinois’ Twitter feed at @NIUHuskies. Videos and photos from the trip will also be posted for fans.
NIU AND THE SEC
Northern Illinois has a rich history with the Southeastern Conference, having played 21 games and owning a 5-16 record against those teams. The Huskies last win versus an SEC school was at Mississippi State, an 11-10 triumph in 2009. Seniors Alex Beckman and Troy White started that game and Kyle Glancy made a relief appearance. NIU has three wins against LSU. Below is NIU’s records against the SEC.
SCHOOL RECORD LAST
Alabama 0-1 1992
Arkansas 0-3 1993
Auburn 1-0 1993
Florida - -
Georgia 0-2 1993
Kentucky - -
LSU 3-6 1970
Ole Miss 0-1 1970
Mississippi State 1-2 2009
South Carolina - -
Tennessee First meeting
Vanderbilt 0-1 1973
A WICKED TOUGH SCHEDULE
In 14 of its first 20 contests, all of which are on the road, NIU will play three top-25 opponents in No. 11 St. John’s, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 24 Oregon State. The Huskies also take on five opponents who are receiving votes in the polls in Austin Peay, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Winthrop.
MANIAC MANVILLE
Senior pitcher Tony Manville opened 2011 with a 0-1 record, last losing Feb. 26 to BYU (8-5), and went on to register nine-straight wins to tie the NIU record for victories in a season. His nine-consecutive victories is the sixth-longest in Division I baseball. Troy State’s Tyler Ray has recorded 12-straight winning decisions.
WATCH OUT FOR THIS GUY
On Jan. 31 senior pitcher Kyle Glancy was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, joining the nation’s top-45 closers on the list. The Oak Park, Ill. native recorded 12 saves and was 1-0 in 2011. Last season he was named to NCBWA midseason watch list.
LEFT SIDE - THE STRONG SIDE
CollegeBaseballInsider.com released its Mid-American Conference preview Feb. 8 and Northern Illinois received some high accolades, as polled by all 12 MAC coaches. Senior infielders Alex Jones and Troy White split the honors of “Best Defensive Infielder” and “Best Infield Arm.” Jones was first team all-region and All-MAC at shortstop while White was second team All-MAC at third base in 2011.
SMOOTH AS SILK; STRONG LIKE BULL
Sophomore first basemen Jeff Zimmerman also received honor from CollegeBaseballInsider.com being named amongst the top-three “Best Pure Hitters” and “Best Power Hitters” in the Mid-American Conference. Zimmerman was the MAC’s Freshman of the Year in 2011 after batting .326 with 11 homeruns, 13 doubles and 47 RBI.
THE STREAK CARRY OVER
At the end of the last season, then-sophomore Jamison Wells closed the season with a 14-game hitting streak and raised his batting average 50 points from .271-to-.321. The longest of 2011 was 17-games by Troy White. Mike Bersa owns the career hit streak mark at NIU with 27 in 1992-93.
SLOW-AND-STEADY WINS THE RACE
The Huskies had a slow start to 2011, going 0-10 in its first 10 games in trips to Southern Utah, Texas Tech and Arizona State. However, Northern Illinois would persevere and finish the season 30-27 overall and 16-11 in the MAC, nearly claiming the West division championship in the process. It was the fourth 30-win season in school history, all occurring under skipper Ed Mathey.
OUTSCORING THE ENEMY
For the first time since 2008, the Huskies outscored its opponents on the season 350-345.
GOLDEN GLOVES
Northern Illinois carried a .966 fielding percentage in 2011, the highest-percentage since atleast 1959, the year the program began keeping the stat. The Huskies also committed a Mathey-era (2003-present) low of 74 errors. Associate Head Coach Steve Joslyn oversees the NIU defense.
BLANK AS A WHITE SHEET OF PAPER
The pitching staff of Northern Illinois was a strong suit in 2011 as the Huskies recorded five shutouts during the season, the most-under Ed Mathey and the most since 1996. The centerpiece of the shutouts came April 10 when Jeremy Gonzales only allowed three hits and no walks in 2-0 win over Miami (Ohio).
THIEVERY
Normally, stealing from another would be frowned upon. But in baseball, its ok. Junior Jamison Wells racked up 27 stolen bases for the Huskies last season, tying for the third most in a single season in program history. In his career, Wells has accumulated 39, sixth all-time, in 94 career appearances.
BO KNOWS...
OK, Bo Jackson has no affiliation what so ever to Northern Illinois baseball, but, junior centerfielder Jamison Wells, like Jackson was for Auburn, is a multi-sport for NIU. Wells, a native of Combined Locks, Wis., doubles (no pun intended by the 16 he amassed last season) as a wide reciever for the Huskies football team. He made 14 receptions for 112 yards and appeared in 13 games for the Mid-American Conference and GoDaddy.com Bowl Champions.
BROOKS WALLACE HOPEFUL... AGAIN
Senior Alex Jones had a whale of junior season in 2011, leading Northern Illinois in batting average (.352), hits (82), total bases (118) and RBI (47). For his great season, Jones was named a quarterfinalist for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award on May 11. Northern Illinois and the Kansas City, Kan. native are again hoping he recieves the honor for a second-straight season.
SELFLESS BASEBALL
Henry Ford once said “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” Northern Illinois accounted for 40 sacrifice bunts last season, the fourth-most in program history, and 21 sacrifice flies during the 2011 season.
THE POLLSTERS HAVE SPOKEN
Announced Wednesday Feb. 15, the Mid-American Conference released its preseason coaches poll and Northern Illinois was tabbed to finish fourth in the MAC West and tie for seventh overall with Bowling Green. NIU received 36 points in the poll. Kent State his the conference favorite this season with 59 points and seven first place votes, while Central Michigan is the West division favorite with 54 points and one first place votes. Complete poll results are listed below.
2012 MAC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll
MAC East Division
1. Kent State - 59 Points
2. Miami - 48 Points
3. Bowling Green - 36 points
4. Ohio - 34 points
5. Akron – 17 points
6. Buffalo - 16 points
MAC West Division
1. Central Michigan - 54 points
2. Toledo - 45 points
3. Eastern Michigan - 43 points
4. Northern Illinois - 36 points
5. Western Michigan - 21 points
6. Ball State - 11 points
MAC Tournament Champion
Kent State (7), Central Michigan (1), Toledo (1), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)
*Akron coaching staff chose not to vote in the preseason poll due to being new to the league this season
RETURNING 2011 AWARD WINNERS
Kyle Glancy
NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
Alex Jones
Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year quarterfinalist
First team All-MAC
First team ABCA All-Midwest Region
MAC West Player of the Week, March 23
MAC West Player of the Week, April 25
Tony Manville
Second team All-MAC
Jamison Wells
MAC West Player of the Week, May 22
College Baseball Foundation and Diamond Sports National Team of the Week, May 16
Troy White
Second team All-MAC
MAC West Player of the Week, March 1
MAC West Player of the Week, April 18
Jeff Zimmerman
MAC Freshman of the Year
First team All-MAC
Second team ABCA All-Midwest Region
Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team
Second team NCBWA Freshman All-America
