Feb. 11, 2008

With practice underway and opening day less than two weeks away and quickly approaching, NIUHuskies.com offers the first of a two-part preview of the 2008 Northern Illinois baseball season beginning with a look at the schedule and an analysis of the pitchers and catchers. Coming Tuesday: A look at the offense and an analysis of the infielders and outfielders.

HUSKIES "MAKE PITCH" TO IMPROVE ON RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN

If the baseball adage of "pitching and defense wins championships" holds true, Northern Illinois should be in the thick of the race for the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2008. The Huskies return a veteran cast of 16 letterwinners from a record-setting squad that established school marks for Division I victories and MAC wins and finished third at the conference tournament, one win from playing for the championship. Leading the way this season is a pitching staff stocked with weekend-caliber starters that helped NIU record its best team ERA in three decades.

Ultimately to equal or better the success of 2007, the Huskies will need to find replacements for four key members of that squad. All-American closer and NIU career saves leader Matt German, swingman pitcher and MAC career appearances leader Mark Badgley, four-year starter and MAC career hit king Scott Simon, and team MVP and All-MAC selection Jesse Seykora all have graduated. It will be up to the returning veterans and a group of talented and eager young players to fill the void.

"One of the cornerstone goals of our program is to get into the top tier of the MAC on a consistent basis and last year's success and MAC Tournament finish helped us get back toward that level," said head coach Ed Mathey, now in his sixth season.

SCHEDULE
Northern Illinois will face a challenging slate that features 29 games against 13 teams who reached the postseason in 2007, including three conference champions and a pair of NCAA qualifiers. Among the early non-conference highlights are the season-opening series at Texas Tech, the annual intrastate series with Southern Illinois and a spring trip to Texas that includes a neutral site game against Oklahoma.

Back north, the Huskies will host Horizon League champion and NCAA participant UIC at Kane County, play a Big Ten foe (at Iowa) and total eight games against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.

In the always competitive and unpredictable MAC, NIU gets the benefit of having three of its five West Division series at home and hosts defending tournament champion and NCAA qualifier Kent State from the East Division.

"The MAC will be a dogfight, especially in our division," said Mathey. "Eastern Michigan won the regular season title last year, returns several very good players and has a new coach who is very familiar with the league. Central Michigan is loaded again. Toledo has been building the last couple of years and has a veteran team. Ball State's 2007 season was an anomaly and I expect them to bounce back. Western Michigan has solid pitching and a nucleus of young position players back from last year."

PITCHING ROTATION
Three of Northern Illinois' four conference starters return from a year ago, led by senior Trevor Feeney, a 39th-round selection in the 2007 Major League Draft who returned to complete his college eligibility. The righthander was the Huskies No. 1 starter last season and totaled six wins in 14 starts while matching up against the opponent's top hurlers.

A pair of lefthanders who started during conference play will fight for weekend positions this season - senior Matt Jernstad won four of his six decisions and pitched well down the stretch and junior Brandon Copp won five games and pitched in the Cape Cod League during the past two summers.

Matt Jernstad finished strong in 2007 and the Huskies went 9-4 in his 13 starts.

The Huskies welcome back Brian Smith, perhaps the team's best starter during his first two seasons, after missing the 2007 campaign because of surgery to remove bone spurs from his throwing elbow. Smith, a team captain, owns 10 career victories and has logged over 150 career innings in two years.

"The injury Brian had was not structural and we decided to shut him down because we wanted to make sure that he was fine," said Mathey. "He bounced back with a great summer and a strong fall for us."

Also in the mix is senior Adam Holdenrid, who is two years removed from Tommy John surgery and was a weekend starter before his injury.

Those five pitchers will compete for three weekend rotation spots leaving the Huskies with an abundance of quality to fill in midweek starts and shore up the bullpen.

"I am confident in our starting pitchers," said Mathey. "We have a very healthy competition that will be wide open and someone will have to come out of the bullpen. Feeney is a very polished pitcher, Jernstad is a workhorse who wants the ball, Smith has an increased fastball and hunger to return and will be a big boost, Copp has the ability to dominate with his stuff, and Holdenrid is regaining confidence and can win some games for us."

BULLPEN
Experienced hurlers Andy Deain and Dave Nykiel anchor the Huskie bullpen. Deain enters the season on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for national player of the year and is coming off a season in which he tied for the team-lead with six victories while racking up 33 relief appearances. Nykiel is a senior who pitched in 27 games last season and 66 for his career.

"Deain and Nykiel are two veterans who have pitched big innings in big situations for us," said Mathey. "We would love to see Deain take the closer role after doing an outstanding job last season as the set-up man and we feel that Nykiel shores up our bullpen quite well."

Andy Deain won six games out of the bullpen a year ago and enters 2008 on the Wallace Award Watch List.

The loss of German, one of the nation's premier closers and Badgley, an all-situation pitcher who could start, close and do everything in between, sets up a number of open and undefined roles that will be sorted out as the season goes along. Returnees Cody Beck, who pitched in six games as a freshman last season, and senior Dan Atkenson are the most experienced middle relievers. Sophomore lefthander Dave Reynolds appeared in only two games a year ago but may see additional duty this season after a strong showing as a closer during the summer.

Three newcomers will also be in the mix for `pen duty. Junior college transfer Nick Badgley (brother of Mark) will likely see mound duty in addition to playing in the outfield. Freshmen Tom Zelasko and Brad Allen, who may also see time in the infield, figure to get work as well.

"We lost an All-American closer and someone of that caliber doesn't come around everyday," said Mathey. "We'll assume a lot of new roles, but I like what our pitchers are capable of doing."

CATCHERS
Northern Illinois will have depth, experience and versatility behind the plate. Junior Matt Behren made 36 starts last season and led the Huskies in hitting with a .352 average. In addition to providing a solid bat from the left side, Behren was named a team captain and is a steadying influence on the team's pitching staff. Justin Behm provides a powerful bat from the right side and will split time between catcher and designated hitter. The junior belted five home runs and had strong showing with seven RBI in four MAC Tournament games, including a grand slam.

Catcher Matt Behren, a 2008 team captain, led the Huskies with a .352 batting average last season.

"Behren has been a solid staple in our lineup," said Mathey. "In addition to being a good hitter, he calls a great game and is a solid receiver. He understands what is going on behind the plate and has worked on his throwing. Behm is one of the guys who could be a consistent run producer for us and when he is going well, is as good a power hitter as we have."

Backing up Behren and Behm will be a pair of newcomers. Sam Kapacinskas transferred from the junior college ranks and possesses a strong arm and outstanding defensive skills. Freshman Kevin Smith provides depth and may see time.

To view the 2008 Northern Illinois Baseball media guide, click here.

Northern Illinois University Baseball

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