Huskers Lose at Tech, Still Qualify for Big 12 Tourney

Lubbock, Texas -- The Nebraska baseball team received good news and bad news on Saturday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas.

The bad news was the Huskers were declared a 10-2 loser of Friday night's game against Texas Tech that was suspended after five innings, and the final two games of the series were cancelled because of one-and-a-half inches of rain that fell in Lubbock since midnight last night. It rained more than an inch last night as the city was under a flood warning for most of the evening.

With the outcome of last night's game, the Huskers fall to 30-15 overall and 13-9 in the Big 12. Texas Tech improves to 37-11 and 17-6 as Coach Larry Hays earned his 500th win as the Red Raiders' coach.

The good news is with the developments in Lubbock on Saturday, the Huskers will be one of eight teams to play in the Big 12 Conference Tournament May 19-23 at the Ballpark in Bricktown in Oklahoma City. This is the first time the Huskers will participate in the Big 12 Tournament. The last time Nebraska was in a conference tournament was in 1995 in the Big Eight.

Nebraska has played 22 conference games which meets one of the league's requirements to qualify for the conference tournament. The top eight teams by winning percentage advance to the tournament.

"It is very disappointing to come all this way and just play five innings," NU Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Our guys were down after the effort on Friday and we were looking forward to playing a doubleheader today.

"There is no way we could have played with the condition of the field and the 25-30 mile per hour winds blowing around. The field was saturated and there was a big danger factor for both teams. That was the main concern of the umpires."

The worse the Huskers can finish in Big 12 play is 13-12 if they lose their final three conference games. Nebraska plays Kansas State the final weekend of the season (May 14-16) at Buck Beltzer Stadium. A 13-12 mark would leave the Huskers with a .520 winning percentage. The best the Wildcats, who have eight conference games remaining and are battling Oklahoma for the final spot in the Big 12 Tournament, can finish is 15-14 for a .517 winning percentage, but only if they win those final eight games.

"Our goals for this team at the start of the season were to make the Big 12 Tournament, win 35 to -40 games and make an NCAA Regional," Van Horn said. "We always felt we would make the tournament from the outset and this is nothing we are jumping up and down about because we expected to be there. We need to finish up these last couple of weeks strong and build some momentum for the postseason. "

Nebraska will have the week off as they take their spring semester final exams. The Huskers will be back in action against Southern Illinois at Buck Beltzer Stadium at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 7. Of NU's final eight regular-season games, all are in Nebraska with seven at home and a May 12 game at Rosenblatt Stadium versus Creighton.

* Big 12 Tournament ticket information is available by calling the Ballpark in Bricktown ticket office at (405) 236-5000.