Sunday, February 7, 2010

Northern Illinois University to Play at Miller Park


Baseball in Illinois News

DeKALB, Illinois - The Northern Illinois baseball team will face Milwaukee on Wednesday, May 12th at the Milwaukee Brewers' Miller Park, Huskie head coach Ed Mathey announced Tuesday.


The game was originally set to be played at the Panthers' Henry Aaron Field at 3 p.m. (CT) on May 12, but will now be played at Miller Park with the first pitch tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m., or approximately 30 minutes after completion of Major League Baseball's Brewers-Atlanta Braves game, which starts at 12:10 p.m.

"It's a neat opportunity for our kids to play at a Major League stadium," Mathey said. "We are really looking forward to it because it should be an exciting time. Hopefully, we make a good day of it. A venue like that should bring out some Huskie fans, too, especially because we know the game will be played no matter rain or shine. We are thankful that Scott Doffek [Milwaukee head coach] and Milwaukee were able to put this together."

The game will mark the third contest for the Huskies at a professional stadium in the 2010 season. NIU will take on Northwestern on Wednesday, April 14 in Rockford, Ill. at 6:05 p.m. at Road Ranger Stadium, home of the Frontier League's Rockford RiverHawks. The Huskies will also match-up against Illinois Chicago in Geneva, Ill. at Elfstrom Stadium, home of Oakland Athletics' single-A minor league affiliate Kane County Cougars, on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:05 p.m.

The Huskies have played at least one game in a professional stadium every year since 2005. In that time, NIU has posted a 4-3 record with wins over Eastern Illinois, Illinois Chicago and Northwestern (twice).

NIU begins the 2010 season in Tempe, Ariz. with a four-game set against national powerhouse Arizona State. The series will begin with a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, February 19 at Packard Stadium.