May 7, 2008

Friday Game Postponed, Doubleheader Set for Saturday

Complete Release in PDF Format

Games 45-47: May 9-11
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (21-23, 12-9) at BALL STATE (26-18, 11-7)
Friday: 2 p.m. CT; Saturday: Noon CT; Sunday: Noon CT
Location: Ball Diamond, Muncie, Ind.
Live Coverage: BSU Live Stats via NIUHuskies.com
Series History: Ball State leads 28-19-1
Ed Mathey vs. Ball State: 3-9
Last Meeting: May 11-13, 2007 at Muncie, NIU 7-3, NIU 4-3, BSU 2-1 (10) Notes: The Huskies won two of three last season for their first series win over Ball State since 1980 ... NIU is 2-4 at Ball State under Ed Mathey ... Last season's win by the Huskies on May 11 snapped a 10-game Ball State winning streak in games at Muncie ... Until the 2007 series, NIU had not played at Ball Diamond since the 2004 season.

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday: NIU RHP Trevor Feeney (4-4, 3.94) vs. BSU RHP Tyler Pritchard (3-5, 5.29)
Saturday: NIU LHP Adam Holdenrid (4-3, 3.92) vs. BSU RHP Brad Piatt (-2, 7.33)
Sunday: NIU LHP Matt Jernstad (2-4, 6.12) vs. BSU RHP Kolbrin Vitek (6-1, 5.08)

SHORT HOPS - This weekend's series begins a stretch of seven games in nine days to close out the regular season for the Huskies. Entering the Ball State series, NIU has the MAC's fourth-highest winning percentage (.571) and is the equivalent of a half-game behind Ball State and 1.5 games behind Eastern Michigan in the chase for the West Division lead.
- Bobby Stevens ranks second nationally with a school-record 23 HBPs. His average of 0.52 HBP/per game ranks fourth in the nation. Stevens has been hit by pitch 41 times during his career, a total that has him four away from becoming NIU's all-time leader.
- Pitcher Trevor Feeney leads the MAC in four categories (overall CG and conference CG, IP, W) and is joined by pitcher Andy Deain (overall and conference appearances) and outfielder Jeff Thomas (conference SB) atop the league's statistical rankings.
- The Huskies lead the MAC with 69 stolen bases (1.6 per game) and rank 53rd nationally. NIU also has a MAC-best 35 stolen bases (1.67 per game) in league games. Four Huskies (Bobby Stevens, Jeff Thomas, Jordin Hood and Pat Minogue) rank among the MAC's top-10 basestealers this season.
- Danny Reed has 18 doubles, twice his 2007 total, which is tied for the fourth-highest single season mark in Northern Illinois history.
- Trevor Feeney has gone at least 6.0 innings in each of his seven MAC starts this season and 15 of his last 16 league starts. He is averaging a league-best 8.0 innings per conference start.

IN MEMORIUM
As a tribute to the victims of the Feb. 14 campus tragedy, Northern Illinois is wearing ribbon logo decals on the back of its batting helmets along with patches on its jerseys that feature the ribbon logo and the words "Forward, Together Forward."

RECORD ATTENDANCE AT THE CELL
Northern Illinois baseball set a new single-game attendance record of 4,600 April 16 vs. Notre Dame at U.S. Cellular Field. The predominantly Huskie crowd topped the previous mark of 4,304 at Nebraska in 2005. All proceeds from the game at "The Cell" went to the NIU February 14 Scholarship Fund.

HOMEGROWN TALENT
Northern Illinois has 24 Chicagoland natives on its 2008 roster, the highest concentration of Chicago-area players (83 percent) of any Division I school in Illinois. The Huskies have 26 players (90 percent) who hail from the Land of Lincoln and three non-Illinois natives who all originate from different states, including Minnesota and representation from the "sunshine states" of California and Florida.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Shortstop Bobby Stevens has been hit by pitch a school-record 23 times this season, a total that ranks second nationally and fourth in average per game (0.52). He compiled a statistical anomaly by being hit in eight consecutive games (April 6-19). Stevens' career HBP total is 41, ranking second on the NIU all-time list, four away from being the school's leader.

DOUBLING UP
With 18 doubles this season, Danny Reed ranks among the Northern Illinois single season leaders. The rightfielder is currently tied for the fourth-highest total and is within striking distance of the school-record, 24, set by Scott Simon in 2004. Reed has doubled his doubles total from a year ago, when he hit nine in 56 games. He is just four two-baggers away from reaching the school's career top-10 list.

THOU SHALT STEAL
Northern Illinois leads the MAC with 69 stolen bases in 44 games and 35 steals in 21 league contests. NIU ranks 57th nationally with 1.57 steals per game and its season total of 69 is 66th in the country. The Huskies compiled a streak of 12 consecutive games with a stolen a base (March 28-April 18) and 10 straight games with multiple steals (April 2-April 18). Five different NIU players have nine or more stolen bases and three have double digit totals, led by Bobby Stevens' 18.

INNINGS EATER
Trevor Feeney leads the MAC with 8.0 innings per conference start and is tied for first with three complete games. The senior righthander has gone 6.0 innings or more in all seven MAC starts this season and 15 of his last 16 league starts. In addition, he ranks sixth on the Northern Illinois career innings list with 250.2. Overall, Feeney ranks second in the MAC with 7.53 innings per start in all games played.

STREAKERS
Four Northern Illinois players have compiled five hitting streaks of 10-plus games this season, led by Danny Reed's 17-game streak, the second-longest on record at NIU. Jordin Hood and Justin Behm each put together career-best 15-game streaks, nearly simultaneously, that ended during the the May 2-4 series vs. Central Michigan. Jeff Thomas has an active 11-game streak entering the weekend after opening the seasons by hitting safely in his first 12 games. Thomas is the only Huskie with two streaks of 10 or more games in 2008.

LAND OF LINCOLN LEADERS
Northern Illinois is one of just three Division I Illinois schools to post three 30-plus win seasons in the past five years (with Southern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago). Along the way, the Huskies have made a habit of winning their games against intrastate opposition under Ed Mathey, compiling a sparkling 46-22 (.676) record since 2003 for the highest victory total of any Illinois team versus in-state opponents during that span. Over the past two seasons, NIU has a 24-8 (.750) record against Division I intrastate foes, including an 11-2 mark in 2006 when they notched wins over all seven Land of Lincoln opponents to claim the Illinois "state championship."

OFFENSIVE AT THE RALPH
The Huskies are hitting .324 as a team and averaging 10.9 hits and 6.8 runs per game at Ralph McKinzie Field this season. NIU has hit 15 home runs in 16 home games (0.94 per game), compared to 33 in 44 contests overall (0.75 per game), and has topped 10 hits on eight occasions. The offensive output has helped the Huskies to a 10-6 (.625) home record and a 8-4 (.667) home mark in MAC games.

FIRST AND FOREMOST
Northern Illinois has scored 52 runs in the first inning this season (1.18 per game), eight more tallies than any other frame, which accounts for 20 percent of its runs. NIU is 13-12 when it scores in the first inning and 14-12 when scoring first.

ON A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
Northern Illinois will play games at five different professional ballparks during the regular season with "tour stops" at Surprise (Ariz.) Stadium (Royals/Rangers Spring Training), Rent One Ballpark (Southern Illinois Miners/Marion, Ill.), Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco Roughriders/Frisco, Texas), U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) and Elfstrom Stadium (Kane County Cougars). Should the Huskies reach the MAC Tournament held at VA Memorial Stadium (Chillicothe Paints/Chillicothe, Ohio), that number will grow to six pro venues.

LEFTIST REBELS
Northern Illinois is hitting .326 against lefthanded pitching this season, nearly 40 points higher than its .267 average against righties. Two Huskies are hitting over .400 against southpaws, Bobby Stevens with a team-best .453 average and Danny Reed at a .423 clip.

THE RACE TO SIX
The Huskies are 12-4 (.667) this season when they score six or more runs in a game. Conversely, NIU is 9-19 (.321) when failing to reach six on the scoreboard.

NO ORDINARY JOE
Joe Etcheverry tied the school record with five hits, a mark achieved only six times prior, April 23 vs. Illinois State. The freshman entered the game with four hits on the year and increased his batting average 174 points with his 5-for-5 performance.

HEAD OF THE CLASS
According to the Perfect Game Crosschecker recruiting rankings, Northern Illinois' early signees are ranked No. 63 nationally, highest among MAC and Illinois schools. NIU's class is headlined by P Kyle Stroup (Ingleside, Ill.) and also includes P Zach Badgley (McHenry, Ill.), IF Alex Beckmann (Batavia, Ill.), C Brett Frantini (Minooka, Ill.), OF/P Jake Hermsen (New London, Wisc.), P Chuck Lukanen (Elgin, Ill.) and P Chris Wakefield (Cherokee, Ga.). During the spring, the Huskies signed P Kyle Glancy (Oak Park, Ill.), IF Alex Jones (Kansas City, Kan.) and IF/OF/C Nick Morreale (Vernon Hills, Ill.).

ALL IN THE FAMILY
The surname Badgley is synonymous with Northern Illinois baseball as outfielder/pitcher Nick becomes the third member of the family to don the Cardinal and Black. The latest Badgley was a junior college All-American last season and succeeds brothers Dan (1997-2001) and Mark (2003-07), who both pitched for the Huskies. Younger brother Zach signed a National Letter of Intent with Northern Illinois in November and will be a freshman on the 2009 team. All told, NIU has had a Badgley on the roster every season except one (2002) since 1997, a trend that could eventually span 16 seasons when the youngster brother, Zach, is scheduled to be a senior on the 2012 squad.

BATTLE TESTED
Northern Illinois has been anything but shy when it comes to scheduling the top programs in college baseball. This season the Huskies faced No. 25 Oklahoma, No. 29 Notre Dame and two teams receiving votes in the NCBWA poll (Texas-San Antonio and Dallas Baptist). During Ed Mathey's tenure, the Huskies have made trips to take on nationally-ranked foes Arizona State, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic and future opponents include Mississippi State, Arizona State, Oregon State, Missouri, and USC in the next two seasons.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Ed Mathey has had 17 players sign professional contracts during his five seasons at Northern Illinois, including an active streak of five years with at least Major League affiliate signee. Most recently, pitchers Mark Badgley and Matt German signed with Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies following the completion of their eligibility in 2007. Also signing professionally after his senior season a year ago was Scott Simon, who inked a contract in the independent Frontier League.

GENTLEMEN AND SCHOLARS
Northern Illinois baseball continued its success in the classroom with a total of 13 players posting cumulative grade point averages of 3.0 or better through the fall. Junior Pat Minogue and freshmen Zach Oates and Tom Zelasko led that group by earning Victory Scholar (3.5-4.0 GPA) recognition.

WHITE SOX, ROYALS REACH OUT
As part of the Huskies season-opening trip to Arizona, the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals each honored the team prior to their Feb. 27 Cactus League openers. Head coach Ed Mathey and pitcher Trevor Feeney threw out the first pitch prior to the White Sox-Rockies game in Tucson as the Sox donned NIU baseball hats during the contest. In Surprise, senior outfielders Jeff Thomas and Danny Reed threw out the first pitch prior to the Royals-Rangers game and afterwards KC manager Trey Hillman and former star Frank White spoke to the team.

ETC.
A collection of random facts about Huskie personnel ... Head coach Ed Mathey is a member of the 2008 College Baseball Hall of Fame Voting Committee as the Midwest's "active coaches" regional representative ... Matt Behren, Pat Minogue, Brian Smith and Bobby Stevens were selected as 2008 team captains ... Dan Atkenson was recently named an All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete ... Joe Buonavolanto's parents own the popular "Buona Beef" restaurants in the Chicagoland area ... Brandon Copp, whose mother is a police officer (but does not have the last name Copp), wears the number "five-oh" ... Joe Etcheverry is the first Californian to play for the Huskies ... At 6'7" Zach Oates is the tallest Huskie player to take the field since 1980 ... Jeff Thomas is writing a blog titled "Out in Left Field" throughout the season on NIUHuskies.com.