Fooling the experts

By James Nokes

DeKALB | Nobody wants to play the fool this weekend.

The NIU baseball team thinks of Sunday, April 1 a little different this year.

After a season-opening sweep of Ohio, the Huskies (12-8, 3-0) look to fool the experts that picked them to finish fifth in the MAC West.

Back-to-back weekend road trips, starting with a three-game set with Akron (11-6, 1-2) at Lee Jackson Field will test the strength and spirit of Ed Mathey’s squad.

The Zips dropped two of three to Ball State last weekend and are fresh off a win in their home opener against Cleveland State on Wednesday.

“Akron has played some good ball,” NIU coach Ed Mathey said. “They had a coaching change last year and they look like they’ve started to settle into the new system.”

The NIU offense continues to lead the MAC in batting average, slugging percentage, total bases, home runs and RBIs.

Senior third baseman Jesse Seykora leads the MAC with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. The Minnesota native is 10 RBS from equaling his 2006 output of 27.

Sophomore shortstop Bobby Stevens, who leads the MAC in runs scored with 25 and is second in steals with nine, said NIU has fed off the monster numbers Seykora has posted.

But the key to a successful weekend doesn’t start at the plate; according to the Chicago native, it starts on the mound.

“It all starts with our starting pitchers,” Stevens said. “It’s been real good all year. They throw strikes and work fast, which allows the defense to stay in the game.”

Junior right fielder Danny Reed set an NIU record with a 15-game hitting streak that was snapped in a Game 2 loss to Bradley on Wednesday. The transfer student has a .393 average – third best for NIU.

Does Mathey expect the offensive onslaught to continue?

“We had only one hit in the sixth inning and we needed to adjust our approach to fit the conditions,” the fifth-year coach said. “We still stress our ability to press teams with our team speed. You can’t steal first and we need to execute when we get the chance.”

Junior Trevor Feeney (2-2, 5.45) will take the mound on Friday at 2 p.m. and will be followed by sophomore Brandon Copp (2-0, 3.24) at noon on Saturday. First pitch is set for noon on Sunday, with a starter to be determined.