Sox honor NIU before exhibition opener vs. Rockies

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The White Sox have been reaching out to Northern Illinois University since the Feb. 14 campus shooting that claimed five students' lives.

The helping hand was extended again Wednesday, as the Sox wore NIU hats in their Cactus League opener against the Colorado Rockies. The caps will be autographed and shipped to DeKalb and auctioned off to benefit the February 14 Student Scholarship Fund.

In addition, the White Sox welcomed Huskies baseball coach Ed Mathey and four of his players at Wednesday's opening spring game. NIU senior Trevor Feeney threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Northern Illinois was scheduled to play four games against Texas Tech in Lubbock last week, but the campus tragedy wiped out the trip. With the help of Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy, the Huskies landed a pair of games today in Surprise, Ariz., the spring home of the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers.

The White Sox are talking with NIU about possible games against Notre Dame and other schools at U.S. Cellular Field that would raise money for the families of the shooting victims.

"It's a great thing to bring awareness to the situation, and the Sox are doing their part to help the families affected by this,'' Mathey said. "The Sox have been outstanding in their efforts to support our university.''

Mathey said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.

"I'm the baseball coach, and my e-mail box has been full,'' Mathey said. "I can only imagine what our president's office is feeling and experiencing. There's been a great deal of support. There were a good 5-6 days where we had some mourning to get through. On Sunday, we had a university-wide memorial and that was the official point that the healing has started.''

White Sox relief pitcher Bobby Jenks is happy to support NIU.

"Even though we are down here, we still care about what's going on at home," Jenks said. "It's very important we are doing this.''