NIU baseball to start 2010 with 19-game trip

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DeKALB – The Northern Illinois baseball program announced its 2010 schedule Wednesday, featuring 20 home games, two contests at professional ball parks Road Ranger Stadium and Elfstrom Stadium, and a season-opening four-game set on the road against national powerhouse Arizona State.

"We are really excited about the schedule this year," NIU coach Ed Mathey said. "We have a lot of games against quality opponents. Obviously, the two that stand out the most are the games against 2009 World Series team Arizona State and 2009 NCAA regional team Cal Poly.

"As it always is, the early part of the season will be an obstacle for us because we are out on the road. The trips to Arizona State, Austin Peay and California will be great challenges."

NIU will end its season-opening, 19-game road trip March 19-21 in a three-game series against Southern Illinois in Carbondale before the Huskies play their home-opener against Milwaukee at 3:05 p.m. on March 24 at Ralph McKinzie Field. NIU also will play the Panthers in Milwaukee on May 12 and at home again on May 18.

"We have been playing Milwaukee consistently for a few years now and they got the better of us last year so we want to get after them and get momentum as we head into the conference season," Mathey said. "It will also be good to finally play a home game after starting with 19 road games."

Following a three-game road series versus Toledo from April 23-25, the Huskies will have their longest homestand of the season with seven games at Ralph McKinzie Field, beginning with another contest against Bradley on April 28. NIU then will matchup with Mid-American Conference opponents Central Michigan from April 30-May 2 and Eastern Michigan from May 7-9.

"The latter part of April is always when the jockeying in the standings begins, so we are definitely hoping to be in the hunt," Mathey said. "Central and Eastern always find their way up to the top of the standings, so it will be a great opportunity to win some games at home with some good weather."

2010 NIU BASEBALL SCHEDULE

Date        Opponent                 Time
Feb. 19    at Arizona State    7 p.m.
Feb. 20    at Arizona State    3, 5 p.m.
Feb. 21    at Arizona State     2 p.m.
Feb. 26    at Austin Peay    3 p.m.
Feb. 27    at Austin Peay    2 p.m.
Feb. 28     at Austin Peay    1 p.m.
March 5    at Cal State Bakersfield    8 p.m.
March 6    at Cal State Bakersfield    8 p.m.
March 7    at Cal State Bakersfield    3 p.m.
March 9    at Cal Poly     8 p.m.
March 10    at Cal Poly    8 p.m.
March 12    at UC Santa Barbara    4 p.m.
March 13    at UC Santa Barbara    2, 4 p.m.
March 14    at UC Santa Barbara     2 p.m.
March 19    at Southern Illinois     3 p.m.
March 20    at Southern Illinois    2 p.m.
March 21    at Southern Illinois    1 p.m.
March 24    vs. Milwaukee    3:05 p.m.
March 26    at Bowling Green*    2 p.m.
March 27    at Bowling Green*    noon
March 28    at Bowling Green*     noon
March 31    at Bradley    4 p.m.
April 2    vs. Buffalo*    3:05 p.m.
April 3    vs. Buffalo*    1:05 p.m.
April 4    vs. Buffalo*    1:05 p.m.
April 6    at Illinois State    6 p.m.
April 9    at Miami (Ohio)*    6 p.m.
April 10    at Miami (Ohio)*    6 p.m.
April 11    at Miami (Ohio)*     noon
April 14    vs. Northwestern#    6:05 p.m.
April 16    vs. Ohio*    3:05 p.m.
April 17    vs. Ohio*    1:05 p.m.
April 18    vs. Ohio*    1:05 p.m.
April 20    vs. Illinois-Chicago^    6:05 p.m.
April 23    at Toledo*    2 p.m.
April 24    at Toledo*    noon
April 25    at Toledo*    noon
April 28    vs. Bradley    3:35 p.m.
April 30    vs. Central Michigan*    3:05 p.m.
May 1    vs. Central Michigan*    1:05 p.m.
May 2    vs. Central Michigan*    1:05 p.m.
May 7    vs. Eastern Michigan*    3:05 p.m.
May 8    vs. Eastern Michigan*    1:05 p.m.
May 9    vs. Eastern Michigan*    1:05 p.m.
May 11    at Valparaiso    2 p.m.
May 12    at Milwaukee    3 p.m.
May 14    at Ball State*    2 p.m.
May 15    at Ball State*    noon
May 16    at Ball State*    noon
May 18    vs. Milwaukee    3:05 p.m.
May 20    vs. Western Michigan*    3:05 p.m.
May 21    vs. Western Michigan*    3:05 p.m.
May 22    vs. Western Michigan*    1:05 p.m.
May 26    MAC tournament (Chillicothe, Ohio)     TBA
May 27    MAC tournament    TBA
May 28    MAC tournament    TBA
May 29    MAC tournament    TBA

Key: * - MAC game; # - at Road Ranger Stadium;
^ - at Elfstrom Stadium