MAC Tournament Game 1: #4 NIU vs #5 Ball State

It's crunch time for the NIU Baseball team

Pregame Articles
http://niuhuskies.cstv.com/sports/m-base...08aab.html

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/...orts03.txt

MAC Tournament Central

Pitching Matchup

RHP Trevor Feeney (5-4, 4.43 ERA) vs RHP Tyler Pritchard (3-6, 5.50 ERA)

-These two pitchers squared off in game 1 of the regular season series. The Huskies won that game 4-1 thanks to Trevor Feeney's gem. The senior righthander went 8 innings giving up only 1 run on 5 hits. Pritchard had a decent yet shaky outing going 5 innings and giving up 3 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks. Jeff Thomas and Danny Reed each collected 2 hits off Pritchard.

Analysis
-NIU went 2-0 against Ball State this season, winning 4-1 and 7-6.

-Jordin Hood was 3-3 in game 2 of the series with 2 homeruns.

-Ball State is struggling coming into the MAC Tournament. They have lost 6 out of their last 7 games. NIU has won 5 of their last 6.

-Game 1 in a double elimination tournament is very crucial. Lose and it's very tough road back to the winners bracket.

NIUtrav Texas State/Texas Tech Series Preview

This is the first of many (hopefully) baseball previews by NIU Dog Pound member and close friend NIUtrav09.

Gametracker: via http://www.niuhuskies.com

Radio: via http://www.txstatebobcats.com

Tonight marks the first game of NIU's spring Texas trip. This trip consists of 10 games in 9 days against top notch competition. There's 4 with Texas St, 2 with Texas - San Antonio, 1 with Oklahoma, and 3 with Dallas Baptist. If NIU can finish this trip at or above .500, it would be a great accomplishment. They will be forced to use several pitchers who have limited collegiate experience so the key will be to get wins early in the trip when the big guns are on the mound.

Texas State Schedule
Vs. SFA W 8-7
Vs. Illinois W 2-1
Vs. Sam Houston St. W 5-4
@ Houston L 1-8
Vs. New Mexico L 1-11
Vs. New Mexico L 10-11
Vs. New Mexico W 8-7
@ TCU L 3-4 in 11 innings

Pitching Matchup
Sr. RHP Trevor Feeney (0-0, 2.45) vs. Jr. RHP Mike Hart (0-1, 7.36)*
-Don't let his numbers fool you. Hart ran into a power hitting New Mexico team that inflated his numbers a bit. Last year he was the #2 pitcher (behind a senior that is now playing professionally) and finished the year 8-5 with a 3.25 ERA.

-Hart has good control and strikes out nearly 9 batters per 9 innings.

*Texas St has not released their pitching matchups for the weekend so this is only speculation on my part.

Analysis
Don't let Texas State's mediocre record fool you. This is a team that won 37 games last year in the tough Southland Conference. Last year they had wins over then ranked #27 Oklahoma and #1 Rice.

Jonathon Farrow and Laurn Randell are their top hitters, batting .400 and .367 repectively. Goldschmidt leads the team in HR's with 3.

Misc.
-For those who missed it, Sr. LHP Adam Holdenrid was named the MAC West Pitcher of the Week for outdueling SIU's ace and projected top 5 round draft pick Cody Adams. Holdenrid is going to be a crucial part of the Huskie rotation this year.

-Jr. Matt Behren was named one of 36 finalists for the Johnny Bench Award, which goes to the nation's top catcher.

-Andy Deain was named one of 36 finalists for the Roger Clemens Award Watch List, which goes to the nation's top pitcher. Earlier in the season he was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, which is for the national player of the year. He was also listed as a MAC "Player to Watch" by scouting magazine Collegiate Baseball.

UPDATED WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Due to University of Illinois having to cancel their trip down to Lubbock, TX to play Texas Tech, we will invite them to play 2 games in San Marcos along with the Texas State games. NICE!

Friday, March 7 at Texas State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 8 vs. Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 9 vs. Texas Tech, Noon
Sunday, March 9 at Texas State, 4 p.m.
All games at Bobcat Field in San Marcos, Texas