May 1, 2008

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

Games 42-44: May 2-4
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (20-21, 11-7) vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN (22-20, 9-8)
Friday: 3 p.m. CT; Saturday: 1 p.m. CT; Sunday: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Ralph McKinzie Field, DeKalb, Ill.
Live Coverage: CSTV GameTracker on NIUHuskies.com
Series History: Central Michigan leads 36-16
Ed Mathey vs. Central Michigan: 7-9
Last Meeting: April 20-22, 2007 at Mt. Pleasant, CMU 7-2, CMU 15-8, CMU 7-4 Notes: The Huskies won the last series played in DeKalb (2006) ... NIU has won three of the five season series under Ed Mathey ... The teams have split the last 14 games played at McKinzie Field since 2001 ... The Chippewas have won four of the last five meetings.

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday: NIU RHP Trevor Feeney (3-4, 4.30) vs. CMU RHP Eric Lawrence (2-5, 3.79)
Saturday: NIU LHP Brandon Copp (1-5, 6.20) vs. CMU LHP Dan Taylor (3-3, 4.13)
Sunday: NIU LHP Adam Holdenrid (4-3, 4.07) or LHP Matt Jernstad (2-4, 6.06) vs. CMU LHP Steve Teno (6-3, 3.47)

SHORT HOPS
-Northern Illinois owns the MAC's second-best record at 11-7 (.611) and won two of three from each division leader this season. The Huskies are one game ahead of their 2007 pace through 18 games, a season which produced a 16-11 mark and a school-record for MAC victories.

-Bobby Stevens ranks fourth nationally with 0.48 HBP per game. His school-record total of 19 HBPs ranks fifth nationally.

-Pitcher Trevor Feeney leads the MAC in four categories (overall IP and CG and conference IP and CG) and is joined by Bobby Stevens (conference SB) atop the league's statistical rankings.

-The Huskies lead the MAC with 67 stolen bases (1.6 per game) and rank 53rd nationall. NIU also has a MAC-best 33 stolen bases (1.83 per game) in league games.

-Joe Etcheverry tied the school-record with five hits April 23 vs. Illinois State, a feat achieved six times previously. The freshman surpassed his season hit total (four) entering the contest.

-The Huskies feature two players on three different national award watch lists: C Matt Behren (Johnny Bench Award) and P Andy Deain (Brooks Wallace Award and Roger Clemens Award). This season marks the second consecutive season that NIU has had multiple players on national watch lists.

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.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
The Huskies have swept four of their five doubleheaders this season, including all three in the MAC, most recently on April 26 over conference leader Eastern Michigan. Two weeks earlier in a April 12 sweep of Akron, NIU scored 28 runs in the twinbill, marking the highest doubleheader run total against a Division I foe since 2001. The other two Huskie doubleheader sweeps this season have come on the road, at MAC foe Buffalo and at intrastate rival Southern Illinois.

WALK (OFF) THIS WAY
The Huskies have four walk-off wins in April, including three within a six-game stretch over a 10-day span, April 2-11. A ninth-inning single by Jeff Thomas lifted NIU to a 5-4 win over MAC leader Eastern Michigan on April 26. Thomas also had the walk-off winner on a ninth-inning infield single April 5 against Kent State. Jordin Hood posted the other two walk-off hits this season, a 10th-inning single April 2 vs. Milwaukee and a April 11 ninth-inning single against Akron.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Shortstop Bobby Stevens has been hit by pitch a school-record 19 times this season, a total that ranks fifth nationally and fourth in average per game (0.48). He compiled a statistical anomaly by being hit in eight consecutive games (April 6-19). Stevens' career HBP total is 37, ranking second on the NIU all-time list.

THOU SHALT STEAL
Northern Illinois leads the MAC with 67 stolen bases in 41 games and 33 steals in 18 league contests. 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 eight or more stolen bases and three have double digit totals, led by Bobby Stevens' 18.

FIRST AND FOREMOST
Northern Illinois has scored 52 runs in the first inning this season (1.27 per game), nine more tallies than any other frame, which accounts for 21 percent of its runs. The Huskies have struck in their initial at-bat in 14 of the last 17 outings. NIU is 13-12 when it scores in the first inning and 14-12 when scoring the first run(s) of a game.

OFFENSIVE AT THE RALPH
The Huskies are hitting .336 as a team and averaging 11.4 hits and 7.3 runs per game at Ralph McKinzie Field this season. NIU has hit 14 home runs in 13 home games (1.1 per game) compared to 32 in 40 contests overall (0.80 per game). The offensive output has helped the Huskies to a 9-4 (.692) home record and a 7-2 (.778) home mark in MAC games.

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."

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.

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.

STREAKERS
Jordin Hood enters the weekend with a career-long 15-game hitting streak while Justin Behm has a career-best 13-game hit streak. Hood's mark is tied for the third-longest on record at NIU. Earlier this season, Danny Reed put together a career-best 17-game streak, the school's second-longest total, and Jeff Thomas began the 2008 season by hitting safely in a career-best 12 games, the only other two 10-plus game streaks by Huskies this season.

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.