Season Opener February 3rd

Knights will welcome the 4th ranked Chaps from Lubbock Christian to town to open the 2012 campaign on February 3rd. The Knights will enter the contest ranked 24th in the country.

The two last met in the Lubbock regional tournament in may. The Chaps defeated the Knights in a pitching duel 3-0.

Both teams will have a new look as both graduated significant contributors. Northwood will look to replace two All-American performers in Johnny Aldaz(1st team) and Niko Taylor(2nd team). Key returners for the Knights are second sacker Edwin Arroyo and one bagger Adam Humes.

Current Dallas Maverick's and Boston Red Sox's Sport Psychologist Spends The Day With NU Baseball

From 1994-1996, Don Kalkstein served as an assistant coach for the Northwood University Baseball program and today serves as Director of Sports Psychology for the Dallas Mavericks and also works with the Boston Red Sox in the same capacity.

Friday afternoon Coach Kalkstein returned to his old stomping grounds and spent three hours with the team talking about what it takes to succeed at the highest level of professional sports.


Kalkstein, Padroia, Youkillis, Ellsbury

"We are so fortunate to have Don spend some time with our team, there is no way to put a value on the information that he shared with our team. We are so proud to have one of our own succeeding on the biggest stage in sports, and we are appreciative that he would take time out of his life to spend time and share his experiences with us," said Kennedy.

Taylor Tearing Up Rookie Ball

Former NU center fielder, Niko Taylor, is off to a great start in his professional career with the Toronto Blue Jays. Taylor entered today hitting .385 with 4 doubles and a home run in his first 16 games.

The 6'4 215 pounder was selected in the June 2011 Draft after a stellar sophomore campaign with the Knights, earning 2nd Team All-American honors.

You can follow Niko's journey by clicking the link below

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=OF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=605502

Aldaz Gets First Professional Hit

SAUGET, IL – The Florence Freedom took a 10-9 lead in the ninth inning on a Gateway Grizzlies error, their seventh of the game, and held on for a 10-9 win in the finale of the three-game series at GCS Ballpark. A crowd of 6,010 came to the game. It was the second largest crowd of the season and 20^th biggest in franchise history.

After trailing 9-4, the Grizzlies rallied for four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to tie the game at nine, heading into the final inning. The one-run loss was the third of such kind during the six-game home stand for Gateway.

Florence (16-11) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with the help of a familiar face. One night after he gave the Freedom an 8-7 ninth inning lead with a three-run homer, Chris Curley slammed a two-run homer to get the Freedom on the board first.

The Freedom added two more runs in the second as Curley produced again. After two errors, a double and a walk, Curley drove in two more with a double.

Gateway (13-14) got on the board in the second on a Johnny Aldaz two-run single, his first professional hit and RBI.

Gateway tied the game in the fourth with one swing of the bat. After a two-out error on Florence shortstop Junior Arrojo, Australian infielder Jeremy Cresswell notched his first homer in the United States.

Florence wasted no time getting the lead back as they scored four runs on three hits in the fifth inning. Stephen Shults drove in a run on a double and Jimmy Baker knocked home three with his fourth homer of the season.

Aldaz went 2-for-3 and newcomer Evan Button finished 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs in his Gateway debut.

The Grizzlies begin a three-game series on the road with Normal on Sunday. Right-hander Brad Stone will get the start in game one of the series, his first with the Grizzlies. First pitch is set for 6:00.

Aldaz Signs Professional Contract

Knight's All-American catcher, Johnny Aldaz, signed a professional contract with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League on Wednesday.

It didn't take long until he saw his first action as he was a late inning replacement at first base and was called upon to lay down a sac bunt, not something he did very often in 2011 with Northwood. He was more likely to be seen hitting a towering home run, as he hit a Knights single season record 21 home runs.

Humes Gets Another Walk Off Hit

Down by one run, Duluth Huskies generated a 9th inning rally Monday night, and Adam Humes (Northwood) capped it off with a two out walk-off single which scored two runs to complete the Huskies' three game sweep over the Thunder Bay Border Cats. It was the Huskies' third walk-off of 2011 and also increased their home record to 7-1 on the season.

Jacob Rice (Arkansas) made his debut for Duluth and led off the bottom of the 9th with a double down the left field line, and Tyler Palmer (Florida) followed with a walk. After a Kevin Kuntz (Kansas) sacrifice bunt, pinch hitter Jake Wise (Arkansas) was intentionally walked to load the bases. A close force out at home plate tallied the second out of the inning when Humes came to the plate and finished the rally.

Humes finished the game going 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs, and Andrew Dixon (Purdue) was also 2 for 4 on the night. Dylan Thomas (Des Moines Area CC) finished the game strong and picked up the win for the Huskies, allowing no hits and striking out six in three innings of work.

The Huskies will hit the road for a nine game road trip, but be back at Wade Stadium to face off against the Rochester Honkers on Thursday, June 23rd. The game will feature Amp Energy Racing Night presented by Bernicks Pepsi, where lawnmower races will be held during the game. It will also be Thirsty Thursday, where all domestic beer will be half price including Bud and Bud Light 16oz cans in the stands. Game time will be at 7:05pm, with the gates opening at 6:05pm.

Taylor Signs With Blue Jays

After being selected in the 38th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, Niko Taylor will begin his professional career next week after reporting to Florida today.

Taylor transferred to Northwood from Texas State in the fall of 2010. Taylor was a mainstay in center field for the Knights in 2011 but will likely move to left field while in the Blue Jays system.

"I am so happy for Niko, he is a tireless worker and deserves to get a chance to prove himself. He has persevered through some adversity to get to this point and I am happy to see him have so much success this spring" said Jeremy Kennedy.

Taylor's season ranked him nationally in several offensive categories;

4th in runs scored per game

4th in total bases per game

5th in hits per game

9th in total hits

9th in total runs scored

12th in total doubles

12th in doubles per game

12th in total bases

13th in RBI per game

15th in total triples
20th in RBI

Humes Hits Game Winner In Northwoods League

Adam Humes hit the walk-off single to defeat the Mankato MoonDogs 4-3 in the game at Wade Stadium on Monday night. With two outs, Tyler Palmer reached first on a line drive up over the second baseman’s head. Palmer advanced to second and Mike Bisenius reached first on an error by the shortstop. Chris Manship hit an RBI single to score Palmer and advance Bisenius to third. The walk –off single came from Adam Humes which scored Bisenius to win the game.

The Huskies out hit the MoonDogs with 14 hits to the MoonDogs’ four. Tyler King started for the Huskies giving up one unearned run in six innings and striking out seven. Anders Dzurak earned the win, pitching three innings, giving up two runs, one earned. Ethan Opsahl received the loss for the MoonDogs by pitching 2.1 innings. He gave up three runs, one earned, and striking out three.

Andrew Dixon went 4 for 4 and catcher Chris Manship went 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

The Huskies host the MoonDogs one more time tomorrow during the noon game. Huskies pitcher Ryan Gibbard is to take on the MoonDogs’ Matt Mazzoni.

Knights All-American Niko Taylor Drafted By Toronto

Sophomore outfielder, Niko Taylor was selected in the 38th round of the MLB First Year Player Draft today.

Taylor had a breakout year for the Knights, batting .418 with 21 doubles, 6 triples, 9 homeruns, and 66 RBI. For his efforts Taylor was selected as a 2nd Team All-American along with being named to the RRAC 1st Team.

Taylor will now decide if he wants to sign with the Blue Jays or return for his junior year at Northwood.

Taylor is the second outfielder to be drafted in the last two years joining RJ Harris who was selected in the 14th round in 2009 by the NY Mets.

Knights Land 2 On All-American Teams

Knights catcher, Johnny Aldaz was selected to the NAIA All-American First Team on Monday. Aldaz is the first Knight to earn such an honor in the history of the program. Teammate Niko Taylor was also named to the second team as an outfielder.

Aldaz had a record breaking senior season as he matched Ken Guthrie's the single season home run record and broke Carey Crain's single season RBI record. The most impressive aspect of Aldaz's season was that it was done in the first year of the new BBCore bats which have significantly reduced offensive numbers across all of college baseball.

Aldaz completed his senior season and will be closely watching the 2011 MLB draft hopeing to hear his name called.

Taylor, a sophmore transfer from Texas State will also be keeping a close eye on the draft which will determine if he will return for his junior season with the Knights.

Knights Sweep #1 Cumberland

Northwood Knights swept the defending National Champions and current #1 ranked team in the country on Tuesday, 15-7 and 5-4.

The two game sweep moves the Knights to 20-5 on the season and stands as the best start since Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy took over the reins in 2008.

Northwood is back in RRAC action this weekend as they travel to Muskogee, OK for a three game set vs Bacone College. The Knights currently sit atop the RRAC with a 9-0 mark.

Knights Weekend Schedule Changed

The Knights were scheduled to open RRAC play this Friday at Huston Tillotson but the games have been pushed back one day. The schedule is as follows;

Saturday 1:00pm double header
Sunday 1:00pm

Knights Drop Tough One To UCO

The Knights offense struggled to produce on scoring opportunities and came up one run short on Tuesday. In total, the offense left 12 runners on base.

NU made a valiant effort in the final inning. Down 3 runs with 2 runners on base, Knights catcher, Johnny Aldaz hit a screamer down the line the appeared to wrap around the foul pole but was called foul by the home plate umpire. After the let down, the Knights offense still managed to score two runs before Kal Saldana grounded to the pitcher with the tying run on second base to end the game.

"I was very pleased with the way we stayed in the game. We fought to the end but we just didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had earlier in the game. I really thought Johnny's ball was fair but that's not what the umpire saw, it was really a big hit that went for not," said Knights Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy.

The Knights are back in action this weekend as they open up conference play at Huston Tillostson in Austin.

"It is early and we are learning who we are, I really like the make-up of our team, right now we are just trying to get better every time we play," said Kennedy.

Weather Takes Out RRAC/Sooner Challenge

With a blast of winter weather that has shut down the metroplex for several days now, the Red River/Sooner Conference Challenge has been cancelled.

The Knights are scheduled to open conference play next weekend when they travel to Austin to take on Huston Tillotson University.

Knights Opening Weekend A Success

Despite only traveling 14 players to Victoria, TX on Thursday, the Knights were able to pull out 3 victories in the 4 game series with the Jaguars of Houston-Victoria.

The Knights had numerous guys step up with the absence of the entire starting rotation, entire starting outfield and the starting third baseman.

"It was really fun to watch so many guys step up for the team this weekend. We had pitchers in the outfield and guys in the line-up that normally wouldn't be and they did a tremendous job of staying locked into the present, they got the job done. It was a total team effort, everyone on the bus contributed to the successful weekend," said Knights Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy.

The Knights had several pitchers step up with great outings. Game one saw senior, Sean Ayala, give the Knights 4 innings while giving up 5 runs. Relieving Ayala, senior Garret Randle shut the door with 3 innings of work giving up 1 hit while striking out 4.

In Game 2, the Knights were shut down by Jaguars pitcher, Brock Haymon who gave up 3 hits in 6 innings of work. He took a no-hitter into the 7th before it was broke up by Knights shortstop, JP Cazares. Knights pitcher, Edgar Valle worked through 5 2/3 innings while giving up 5 runs, all unearned due to 5 Knight errors.

Game 3 saw Senior pitcher, Josh Matthews, step up and throw a complete game gem for the victory. Matthews gave up 4 earned runs while striking out 5 in 7 innings of work.

The final game of the weekend saw a freshman pitcher, Jaime Paxton, step up big. Paxton went 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 6 without surrendering a single walk. Paxton's fastball was too much for the Jaguars to handle as he consistently through it right by their hitters for 6 innings. JP Cazares came up big once again, as he knocked in the go ahead run in the 5th inning. Garret Randle came in to shut the door in the 7th as he struck out 2 of the 4 hitters he faced.

The Knights are scheduled to be back in action this weekend as they take on Wayland Baptist University in a Saturday double header starting at 12 noon. Sunday Lubbock Christian comes to town for a single 9 inning game starting at 1pm. These game times have changed due to the resent winter storm that has blasted North Texas.

Alvey Transferring From Oklahoma State

The Northwood pitching staff added quality and depth with the signing of semester transfer, Brendan Alvey. Alvey, a left handed pitcher from Oklahoma State is expected to have an immediate impact on the Knights Staff.

"We are really excited to get Brendan into our program, quality lefties are hard to come by and he will be a great addition to our current pitching staff," said Knights Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy.

Alvey was a standout at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Worth, TX. He attended Navarro College in Corsicana before transferring to Oklahoma State earlier this fall.

"Brendan has been a two way guy up to this point, I am really excited to see what he is capable of when he focuses solely on pitching. He is a character guy who has a great work ethic, I am excited to get him in here and get him going with the rest of our guys," said Kennedy.

Alvey has exceptional summer ball experience as well as he spent the summer following his freshman year in the Northwoods League.

Alvey was also recruited by Lubbock Christian University, Oklahoma City University, Embry Riddle University, and Southern Arkansas.

The Knights open their 2011 season on the road as they take on The University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, TX on January 28th.