NIU Baseball Team Will Play in Geneva April 27

The April 27 contest between Northern Illinois and UW-Milwaukee has been changed from an NIU home game at Ralph McKinzie Field to a professional experience at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva, the Huskie baseball program announced Friday.

The change in venue presents NIU its third opportunity to play in a professional stadium in the 2011 season. The first will be on March 4 against Arizona State at Surprise Stadium, Spring Training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, located in Surprise, Ariz. The second will be on March 17 versus Illinois in Marion, at the Southern Illinois Miners' Rent One Park. With 13 contests in pro stadiums since his arrival in 2003, head coach Ed Mathey has made professional experience a standard component of the NIU schedule, creating valuable learning opportunities for the Huskie baseball program in multiple aspects.

"It's exciting for the players to be on the same field that professional players play on," said Mathey. "Being in a stadium atmosphere is something the kids enjoy. From a coaching perspective, the fields are manicured greatly ... and things that create havoc, like a bad hop, don't change the game. It's a true test of skill and competition, and that's what you want. From a recruiting perspective, it separates us from the competition. Players will have a first-class experience if they choose Northern Illinois University."

The game, which is scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. start, will mark the sixth time in seven seasons that Northern Illinois will appear at the home of the Kane County Cougars, who are an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Huskies are 5-0 at the friendly confines of "The Elf," and Mathey looks forward to keeping that streak alive against an opponent that the Huskies have faced 14 times since 2004, including a tussle at the Milwaukee Brewers' Miller Park last season.

"The folks at Elfstrom Stadium have been outstanding to us every year," said Mathey. "They asked us to come out there again and worked it into their schedule as well as ours. From the standpoint of having UW-Milwaukee come in, it's nice for us to return the favor after they hosted us at Miller Park last year. Late April is a good time to do the game, with school still in session, and hopefully it will be a really neat experience for all of those involved."

With the university's winter break ending this weekend, the Huskies will be back on campus and begin preparation for the upcoming campaign that starts Feb. 18 at Southern Utah.