Feb. 27, 2008

Photo Gallery: NIU Baseball at MLB Spring Training Openers

SURPRISE, Ariz. - The Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals each honored the Northern Illinois baseball team prior to their Cactus League openers on Feb. 27 with members of the Huskie team in attendance at each venue. NIU opened its 2008 baseball season the following day with games against Portland and Hawai'i at Surprise, Ariz.

Head coach Ed Mathey and pitcher Trevor Feeney threw out the first pitch prior to the White Sox-Rockies game in Tucson and were joined by assistant coach Ray Napientek and pitchers Matt Jernstad and Dave Nykiel, who were also introduced prior to the game. Mathey also joined the Sox radio broadcast with Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton for an inning and was interviewed as part of the MLB.TV coverage.

"It was an unbelievable experience to throw out the first pitch," said Feeney. "The White Sox have always been my favorite team and to be out there before the game was special. To represent NIU and the community was truly an honor I never thought I would have."

The White Sox donned NIU baseball hats for the spring training opener and each player will autograph his hat for an auction to benefit the university's February 14th Student Scholarship Fund.

In Surprise, the Huskies were guests of the Royals for their game against the Texas Rangers. Prior to the game senior outfielders Jeff Thomas and Danny Reed threw out the first pitch and after the contest Royals manager Trey Hillman and former Royals standout Frank White spoke to the team.

"It was an honor to throw out the first pitch and a privilege to be recognized," said Reed. "The whole experience was exciting and our team was inspired by Trey Hillman's speech."

Media coverage of the Huskies events spanned the Chicago, Phoenix and Tucson area and even garnered an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter highlights.

"It was a great day of unique experiences for our team," said Mathey. "The way the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers organizations have reached out to us as well as the efforts of Mark Coronado and the City of Surprise and Pat Murphy and Arizona State has been truly outstanding. We deeply appreciate the support we have received from everyone as we move forward."

Northern Illinois also spent the afternoon practicing outdoors for the first time in 2008 as it prepared for the first two games of the season at Surprise Stadium, the main facility at the Royals/Rangers training center, as part of the Coca-Cola Classic.

-NIU-