Huskers Head North to Defend DQ Classic Crown

This Week in Husker Baseball
Season Record (5-1, 0-0 Big 12)
National Rankings (15/23/14/16 - as of March 1)

Dairy Queen Baseball Classic
Fri. (March 5) vs. No. 23/-/22/22 Florida State (9-4) Minneapolis, Minn (Metrodome) 12:15 p.m.
Sat. (March 6) at Minnesota (1-3) Minneapolis, Minn (Metrodome) 6:35 p.m.
Sun. (March 7) vs. West Virginia (1-4) Minneapolis, Minn (Metrodome) 11 a.m.
Note: All rankings are listed as follows: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly-ESPN Coaches/NCBWA

Nebraska’s Weekend Rotation
Fri. - NU (Zach Kroenke, So., LHP, 2-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. FSU (Hunter Jones, So, LHP, 1-1, 2.25 ERA)
Sat. - NU (Quinton Robertson, Sr., RHP, 1-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. Minn. (Glen Perkins, LHP, 0-1, 5.79 ERA)
Sun. - NU (Justin Pekarek, Sr., LHP, 1-0, 9.35 ERA) vs. WVU (TBA)

Media Information
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (Sat.-Sun.)
TV: Fox Sports North (Sat.)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Internet Video Streaming: Friday’s and Sunday’s games will be video streamed live on HuskersNside, which is a subscription-based service of the Nebraska Athletic Department. Nearly every 2004 Husker baseball game will be shown live on HuskersNside. For more information on how to subscribe, log on to Huskers.com.

Huskers Head North to Defend DQ Classic Crown|
Lincoln  -- Week three of the Nebraska baseball team’s 12-game road stretch continues this weekend, as the Huskers travel to Minneapolis for the 20th annual Dairy Queen Baseball Classic.

The Huskers, 5-1 on the season and ranked anywhere from 14th (Sports Weekly/ESPN) to 23rd (Baseball America) in this week’s national polls, will square off with No. 22 Florida State on Friday, March 5, before matchups with Minnesota (Sat.) and West Virginia (Sun.).

Saturday’s game against Minnesota will be available on Fox Sports North (Ch. 641 on DirecTV), while Friday and Sunday’s games will be video-streamed live on HuskersNside. Saturday’s game against the Gophers also begins live radio coverage of Husker baseball, as both weekend games will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network - the first of 42 regular-season games carried live this spring.

Dairy Queen Baseball Classic Schedule
March 5 Nebraska vs. Florida State 12:15 p.m.
March 5 Minnesota vs. West Virginia 6:35 p.m.
March 6 Florida State vs. West Virginia Noon
March 6 Nebraska vs. Minnesota 6:35 p.m.
March 7 Nebraska vs. West Virginia 11 a.m.
March 7 Florida State vs. Minnesota 3:05 p.m.

The Huskers enter the weekend on one of the school’s best starts in recent memory, as their 5-1 mark equals the best six-game start in the last decade (also 5-1 in 1997). A win over Florida State on Friday would give the Big Red its best seven-game opening stretch since the 1992 squad opened the year with seven straight wins.

Dairy Queen Classic History
The 2004 campaign marks the Huskers’ third appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic. NU went winless in three games in 1997 before posting a 3-0 mark last spring. This year marks the first time since 1987 that a team other than the host Golden Gophers has returned to defend its tournament title. If Nebraska can repeat its 2003 tournament title, it will be the first team other than the Gophers to bring home consecutive DQ Classic titles.

The Huskers have enjoyed the city of Minneapolis in recent years, going 7-1 over the past four years. NU won its first NCAA Regional title in Minneapolis in 2000 (3-0 mark at Siebert Field) and has gone 4-1 during its visits in the past two seasons (1-1 in 2002 and 3-0 last spring). Before their NCAA regional win in 2000, the Huskers had not won in the state of Minnesota since 1987.

Leading Off
? - With this week’s ranking in the national polls, the Huskers have now been ranked in each of the past 71 polls, dating back to April of 2000.
? - Nebraska has gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning of five of its first six games, capped by a seven-run outburst against No. 15 North Carolina on Sunday.
? - Nebraska has also shown a propensity to score runs in bunches, as the Huskers have scored at least three runs in an inning 12 times through the first six games. Nebraska’s eight-run innings against Northwestern and Kent State in the opening weekend were NU’s highest single-inning totals since April 23, 2002 (9 runs in the fifth inning of an 18-2 victory over Texas Pan-American).
? - The Huskers have enjoyed their biggest advantage with two outs, hitting .321 (25-of-78) with 25 RBIs in those situations. On the other hand, NU’s opponents are batting .177 (11-of-62) with three RBIs with two down.
? - With three wins in the opening weekend, NU Head Coach Mike Anderson became the quickest Husker coach to win 50 games, accomplishing the feat in just 68 games. Only three coaches in school history have ever won 50 games, but that shouldn’t be that surprising since the Huskers have only had four coaches (including Anderson) since 1947.
? - Friday’s game against the Seminoles marks NU’s third straight against a 2003 NCAA Super Regional qualifier. The Huskers fell to Rice, 4-2, on Saturday before bouncing back with a 10-4 win over North Carolina on Sunday. The Huskers are also in the midst of a stretch in which five of seven opponents qualified for regionals last spring (Rice, North Carolina, Florida State, Minnesota and San Diego).
? - This weekend’s trip to Minneapolis marks the second of five visits to professional Minor or Major League ballparks this season. The Huskers opened the year at Isotopes Park (AAA Albuquerque Isotopes) and will visit Petco Park (San Diego Padres), Rosenblatt Stadium (AAA Omaha Royals) and the Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers) during the 2004 season.
? - Nebraska posted winning records in completely different ways through the first two weeks of the season. NU’s offense was the bell weather during the opening weekend, as NU hit .400 and averaged nearly 18 runs per game in New Mexico. Last week, the Huskers hit just .212 as a team, while still averaging seven runs per contest, but the Husker pitchers posted a 3.33 ERA to lead NU to its first winning weekend in four attempts at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational.
? - Nebraska reached double figures in each of the first three games for only the sixth time in school history with its performance in New Mexico and has reached double figures four times in six contests. The Huskers fell two runs shy of equaling the school mark for most consecutive games in double figures to open the season.

Recapping Last Weekend
Nebraska continued its strong start, improving to 5-1 on the season with two wins at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational. While the Huskers rode the bats to 52 runs in the opening weekend, NU relied on strong pitching at Rice, posting a 3.33 ERA to record two wins for the first time in four attempts at Rice’s tournament.

Nebraska 8, Northwestern State 4 -- Alex Gordon went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, leading No. 16 Nebraska to an 8-4 win over Northwestern State. Gordon broke a 2-all tie with a go-ahead, two-run triple in the Huskers’ three-run fifth. He also completed NU’s with a solo homer ? his third of the year ? off the scoreboard in right. Gordon and Simokaitis combined for four of NU’s six hits, while the Huskers converted eight walks and a hit by pitch by three Demon pitchers into six runs. Zach Kroenke, who improved to 2-0, allowed four runs on five hits over the first seven-plus innings, while Dustin Timm earned his first career save with a pair of shutout frames, helping NU escape a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth.

Rice 4, Nebraska 2 ? Wade Townsend struck out 10 in eight innings, as second-ranked Rice downed Nebraska, 4-2, on Saturday. The Owl All-American allowed two unearned runs and combined with Josh Baker for a five-hitter. The effort nearly offset a tremendous performance by NU starter Quinton Robertson, who threw eight strong innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two earned runs in the defeat. Jesse Boyer led the Huskers’ offensive output, going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, as no other starter had more than one hit.

Nebraska 10, North Carolina 4 ? Curtis Ledbetter went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, as the Huskers jumped to a big lead and cruised to a 10-4 win over No. 15 North Carolina. The Huskers jumped over UNC starter Adam Kalkhof, scoring seven runs in the first, including two-run singles by Ledbetter and Joe Simokaitis. Alex Gordon had three hits and scored twice as the Huskers reached double figures for the fourth time in six games. Justin Pekarek allowed one run through the first five innings en route to his first win and four relievers combined for 3.2 innings of shutout ball for NU.

Looking at this Weekend’s Tournament Field
Florida State - While this is the first matchup ever between Florida State and the Huskers, the Seminoles have been regular visitors to Omaha under Head Coach Mike Martin (1,302-433-4 in 25 years), making 11 trips to the CWS in the past 18 years. The Seminoles come into the weekend with a 9-4 record after taking 2-of-3 against UNC Asheville over the weekend. Florida State features one of the nation’s top players in junior shortstop Stephen Drew. A likely first-round draft pick this June, Drew leads the Seminoles with a .386 average, belting three homers and driving in nine runs. He has drawn a team-high 17 walks, while pacing FSU in both runs (15) and stolen bases (five). Sophomore left-hander Hunter Jones has been the ace of a Seminole staff that has a 3.36 ERA and allowed four runs in three games last weekend. Jones is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA, allowing just seven eared runs in 28 innings of work. Opponents are hitting .196 against the southpaw, but he has allowed five of the eight homers that FSU opponents have hit.

Minnesota - The host Gophers got off to a slow start last weekend, opening the season with a 1-3 record in Florida. Minnesota, which was ranked 25th in the preseason and picked to win the Big Ten, lost to top-10 teams Notre Dame and Miami, but will look to rebound Wednesday evening against Minnesota State.

Under Head Coach John Anderson (800-493-3 in 23 years), the Gophers are looking for their fourth Big Ten title in the past five years. Minnesota is led by senior center fielder Sam Steidl, who batted .367 with 45 runs scored in 2003. Steidl is one four returning starters from a Gopher lineup that went 40-22 and qualified for NCAA Regional play a year ago. Sophomore Glen Perkins earned second-team All-America honors in 2003, going 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA. Minnesota leads the all-time series 19-9-1, but the Huskers have won five of the past six meetings over the past four years, including two wins (15-2, 9-2) last season.

West Virginia - The other first-time opponent this weekend, West Virginia is 1-4 and has dropped four straight coming into this weekend. Coach Greg Van Zant’s (266-224-1 in 10 seasons) team went 36-19 last season and finished second in the Big East with a 18-6 conference mark. Offensively, the Mountaineers return six starters and are hitting .302 entering the weekend. Outfielder Lee Fritz earned second-team All-Big East honors with a .403 average and leads WVU with a .471 mark with five runs scored through two weeks of action. West Virginia has been without the services of starter Zac Cline, who went 12-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 2003. Cline, who is listed as day-to-day, led the national with 10 complete games last spring, while fanning 101 in 125.2 innings pitched.

Nebraska Briefly
Under the direction of second-year coach Mike Anderson, the Huskers are seeking the school’s sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance and school’s third trip to the College World Series in the last four years. Nebraska returns a total of 17 letterwinners (eight position players and nine pitchers) from a squad that compiled a 47-18 record and won the school’s second Big 12 regular-season title in three years.

Despite having to replace the Big 12’s Player of the Year (senior Matt Hopper) and Pitcher of the Year (junior Aaron Marsden - a third-round pick of Colorado) from a year ago, the Huskers bring back six position starters, including All-Big 12 designated hitter Curtis Ledbetter, who will move full-time to first base this spring. Ledbetter, who split time with Hopper at first last spring, is the only new face in an infield that returns two-year starting shortstop Joe Simokaitis, senior co-captain Jake Mullinax and third baseman Alex Gordon. All three were honorable-mention All-Big 12 selections in 2002, while Gordon was a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and was named the league’s Freshman of the Year by the Waco Tribune.

The outfield will be anchored by returning starter Daniel Bruce, who has started the past two years in right. Junior college transfer Colin Shockey and junior Jesse Boyer, who redshirted last season, are among several contenders to flank Bruce in the Husker outfield. The Huskers also return the services of senior co-captain John Grose, a two-year starter behind the plate.

On the mound, Nebraska welcomes back a majority of its staff from a year ago, including Quinton Robertson, who went 10-2 and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. In addition to Robertson, a veteran starting rotation returns nearly intact from last year with sophomore Zach Kroenke and junior Phil Shirek. NU also has the services of senior closer Mike Sillman, returning relievers Tim Schoeninger and Jeremy Becker and a host of newcomers, including left-hander Brad Furnish and right-hander Brett Jensen, who could vie for mound time early on.

Husker Health Watch
In addition to pitchers Tony Watson and Mike Harmelink, who are both redshirting because of off-season surgery, three other Huskers are slated to miss the 2004 season because of injuries.

Freshman right-hander Matt Pike had shoulder surgery on Feb. 14, but should be cleared for fall drills in September. Outfielder Brandon Fusilier will also take a redshirt season as he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery. Fusilier batted .289 with six homers and 41 RBIs in 2003, as he ranked among the team leaders in both homers and RBIs.

Earlier this week, Anderson announced that left-hander Brian Duensing will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. Duensing was 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts in 2003, including a complete-game shutout of No. 7 Wake Forest in the 2003 DQ Classic.

DPs by the Dozen
While the infield duo of Joe Simokaitis and Jake Mullinax have enjoyed strong offensive starts, the pair have excelled in the middle infield. Simokaitis, a three-year starter at short, and Mullinax, a converted junior college shortstop, helped Nebraska turn a Big 12-leading 70 double plays in 2003. This spring, NU has continued to rely on double plays, turning 11 in the first six games - an average of nearly two per game.

Timm Makes Remarkable Return from Elbow Injury
One of the highlights for the Husker pitching staff was the return to form by junior Dustin Timm. The right-hander from Yutan, Neb., had Tommy John surgery on his elbow last March, but has returned better than ever. He pitched a career-long 2.2 innings against Northwestern in the opener before picking up his first career save with two shutout innings against Northwestern State.

For Openers
Nebraska’s 19-run outburst against Northwestern in the season opener was among the most prolific openers in school history. The 19 runs against the Wildcats was NU’s fourth-highest season opening total in school history and the second-most against a Division I team.

Next Up for the Huskers
NU closes out its 12-game road trip next week, traveling to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational at Petco Park - the new home of the San Diego Padres. The Huskers will face San Diego, UCLA and San Diego State during the three-day tourney.