Northern Star

Having all the baseball tools

By Frank Rusnak | June 17, 2003

Ask former NIU shortstop Joe Mazzuca why he was picked by the Marlins in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft and he’s not quite sure. I "I don’t have one tool that stands out," said Mazzuca, selected No. 353 on June 3. "I’m kind of average...

NIU preps for end of season

By Adam Zolmierski | May 5, 2003

Six teams make the MAC Tournament for baseball. With 11 games remaining, NIU is barely in, if the season ended today.

The Huskies stand at 26-18 overall and 9-7 in the MAC, which is a half game ahead of Akron, who is on the outside looking in with a 10-9 MAC record.

A home series with Buffalo and Central Michigan before the end of the regular season in two weeks could help the Huskies as both teams are under the .500 mark.

The Huskies will make a trip to Ypsilanti, Mich., next weekend to take on Eastern Michigan (11-7 MAC) for four games.

All three teams left on the conference schedule for NIU have an ERA of 5.39 or higher and have a lower batting average than the Huskies.

"It’s going to come down to how the rest of the league plays out," NIU coach Ed Mathey said. "The last road trip we were on didn’t work out how we would’ve wanted to, but Eastern is going to be big for us this coming weekend."

NIU will depend on its pitching to clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament as the team’s 4.47 earned run average is second in conference.

The Huskies haven’t had a problem hitting the baseball this season hitting .307, which is fourth in the league.

Right fielder Mike Santoro has provided the power for the Huskies as he is now the single-season record holder with 13 home runs. Santoro blasted his record-breaking 13th homer in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader with IUPU-Fort Wayne.

"Mike’s done a great job for us this year," Mathey said. "He’s settled in to the fifth spot quite nicely and his quality of at-bats has started to improve."

However, the one downfall for NIU to make the tournament is that they have committed a MAC-worst 87 errors and have just a .941 fielding percentage.

Baseball loses two, two canceled

By Adam Zolmierski | February 24, 2003

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and it proved so this weekend as the NIU men’s baseball team lost a pair of 3-2 games to Louisville Saturday. NIU (0-2) was unable to pick up its first win of the season on Sunday as inclement weather...

Baseball starts season

By Adam Zolmierski | February 21, 2003

First-year NIU skipper Ed Mathey will begin his reign as Huskie baseball coach this weekend on the road versus Louisville, which set a school record with 39 wins a year ago. Friday and Saturday both will be doubleheaders, with the first game starting...

Huskie pitcher arrested while ‘promoting band’

By Frank Rusnak | February 12, 2003

The NIU baseball team’s junior pitcher, Zach Minor, was arrested by DeKalb police just after 1 a.m. Sunday for entering and remaining in a tavern as a minor, according to DeKalb police reports. Minor, 20, had a 6.44 ERA for the Huskies this past season,...

Baseball getting ready for season

By Frank Rusnak | February 12, 2003

Today marks the second day the NIU baseball team will go to the White Sox Training Academy in Lisle in preparation for its first game of the season on Feb. 21 against Louisville. This marks the second of four times NIU will be at the west suburban complex....

Mathey takes over Huskie baseball

By Adam Zolmierski | October 15, 2002

Baseball is a game. This is a fact that people sometimes find it hard to remember. Now that first year head coach Ed Mathey has restored life in the players, the NIU baseball team is remembering this. "Baseball is supposed to be a fun game," senior Dan...

Ezell leaves for eligibility

By Frank Rusnak | September 5, 2002

It is a reunion of sorts, but this get together won’t be finished at the end of the night. Former NIU basketball assistant coach Ryan Marks has opened the doors at Southern Vermont College to former Huskie Sean Ezell. Ezell, who would be a rising senior...

Huskies conclude fall season

By Adam Zolmierski | October 18, 2001

Even though the collegiate baseball season ended four months ago for the NIU baseball team, it hasn't stopped playing. The fall season ended on Monday, concluding six weeks of intrasquad play. NIU coach Dave Schrage said a lot was discovered about the...

Sights set high

By Allison Deitch | September 7, 2001

Jeff George was Illinois' first No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. But he didn't win the Heisman. Dick Butkus might be football's best-ever linebacker. But he finished third in Heisman voting in 1964. Neither had a promotional billboard in New York, like Oregon's...

Championship run starts Thursday

By Nick Gerts | August 29, 2001

NIU football coach Joe Novak has been looking forward to this day since Nov. 19, 2000. In one day, the NIU football team will finally take the field against South Florida at Huskie Stadium. No more hitting pads against their teammates. No more what-ifs....

Coach Novak speaks about the season

By Nick Gerts | August 29, 2001

The NIU football team is tired of looking at each other — coach Joe Novak cannot wait to get the season started. Novak, who has been coaching at NIU since 1996, sat down with the Northern Star to talk about the upcoming season. Northern Star: As the...

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