While most students will be baking in the Florida sun during Spring Break, NIU’s baseball club will be playing games in the Florida sun during their “spring training.”

“We’ll play teams like Tennessee State, Ohio Wesleyan and Northeast Illinois,” co-president Mark Suhanek said. “It’s a good trip for the team. We’ll get to see some real pitching. We’ll also have a real edge when the season starts.”

The season is tentatively scheduled to start on March 30 at North Central College. The club has scheduled home games on April 15 against DePaul and April 16 against Loyola.

“A lot of people around campus played either in high school or junior college but don’t have the time to play anymore,” Suhanek said. “We’re not a bunch of guys who get together on Saturday afternoons and play. If players come out for the club, they’ll find a challenge with the teams we play. Their minds will be changed.

“We’re getting a better reputation around school,” Suhanek said. “It’s important for people to come out and see us play. That way they’ll be able to voice their opinions as to whether or not the school should bring the team back. (Baseball was dropped as a team sport in 1983).

“We’ve gotten more support from the athletic department and from the school itself. The student senate has been doing all they can for us, too. If everybody helps, we can be a winner.”

The club has had a good turnout of players, but is always looking for new talent. Anyone interested should contact either Mark Suhanek at 748-4252 or Russ Booker at 748-3750 by the end of this week.

The club is holding a “Bottomless Cup” fundraiser tonight from 7-10 at McCabes.

The University of Illinois has not had much success against the Huskie lacrosse club of late. And the trend continues.

NIU won its fourth consecutive meeting against Illinois with a 19-10 indoor triumph Saturday at Champaign.

John Hughes led the way for the Huskies with five goals. Jim Marvin and Bob White each had three goals. In all, nine Huskies entered the scoring column.

The club begins playing outdoors after Spring Break.