Huskers Host Boston College This Weekend

This Week in Husker Baseball
Season Record (10-4, 0-0 Big 12)
National Rankings (23/25/21/23 - as of March 15)
Note: All rankings are listed as follows: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly-ESPN Coaches/NCBWA

Pitching Matchups
Fri. - NU (Zach Kroenke, So., LHP, 2-0, 2.84 ERA) vs. BC (Kevin Shepard, LHP, 1-2, 2.50 ERA)
Sat. - NU (Quinton Robertson, Sr., RHP, 1-3, 4.88 ERA) vs. BC (Chris Lambert, RHP, 0-2, 2.74 ERA)
Sun. - NU (Phil Shirek, Jr., RHP, 2-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. BC (Matt O’Donnell, RHP, 1-1, 4.50 ERA)

Media Information
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (Sat.-Sun.)
TV: None
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Internet Video Streaming: All three games this week 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 Host Boston College This Weekend
Lincoln -- After sweeping Western Illinois in a doubleheader on Wednesday, the Huskers now turn their attention toward a weekend series with Boston College at Hawks Field.

The Huskers, who are 10-4 and winners of five of their last six games, will play host to the Eagles beginning Friday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. with matchups also set for Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.) afternoon. Both weekend games will be carriied on the Pinnacle Sports Network (check local stations for broadcast availability) while all three games will be video streamed live on HuskersNside for subscribers.

The Huskers have used strong starting pitching to key their 10-4 start, posting a team ERA of 3.00 over the last 11 games. NU starters have gone five or more innings in 12 of 14 games in 2004, including each of the last five games. In the last five games, the Husker starters have been spectacular, posting a 1.53 ERA in 29.1 innings. In Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep of Western Illinois, Brad Furnish and Justin Pekarek did not allow a run in 10 innings of work, as each tossed five scoreless innings against the Leathernecks

While Boston College staggers into Lincoln with a 3-10 mark and a five-game losing streak, the Eagles are much better than their record indicates. BC dropped 2-of-3 at No. 10 Auburn last month, losing both games by one run to an Auburn squad that is currently 17-3 on the year. Like Nebraska, Boston College, which was picked second in the Big East, also relies on a strong pitching staff, headed by junior right-hander Chris Lambert. A preseason All-American and a likely first-round pick in June’s Major League Baseball draft, Lambert will go against Quinton Robertson Saturday afternoon.

Following this weekend, the Huskers will travel to Omaha for a showdown with Creighton next Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Ticket Availability
For fans that don’t have season tickets, single-game tickets are available for purchase at the Hawks Field Ticket Office 90 minutes before first pitch. Reserved seats, if available, are $8 apiece, while general admission seats are $6 (adults), $4 (youth and senior citizens) and free to UNL students with a valid ID. Over 4,300 season tickets have been sold for the 2004 campaign, marking the third straight year that NU has presold over 4,000 season tickets.

Leading Off
? - This weekend’s meeting between the Huskers and Boston College is the first in school history.

? -Nebraska has won the last six meetings against Big East opponents since a 5-3 loss to Notre Dame during the 1995 season. Since then, NU has wins over St. John’s (twice, 1996), Rutgers (twice, 2001), Notre Dame (2003) and West Virginia (2004) with only the Rutgers matchups in the 2001 Regional taking place in Lincoln.

? - Nebraska is 10-12 all-time against the current members of the Big East, with 10 of those losses coming to Notre Dame in a series that dates back to 1897.

? - Nebraska is 60-11 (.845) since moving into Hawks Field at the start of the 2002 season.

? - With this week’s ranking in the national polls, the Huskers have now been ranked in each of the past 73 polls, dating back to April of 2000.

? - With Wednesday’s win, Nebraska has now won 26 straight home openers, dating back to the 1979 season.

? - Nebraska has gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning of 10 of its first 14 games. In fact, NU is outscoring opponents 23-5 in the opening frame and 57-15 over the first three innings.

? - Nebraska had gone 11 straight games without grounding into a double play before hitting into a pair on Wednesday.

? - Freshman catcher Johnny Bowden’s sixth-inning RBI single in Wednesday’s nightcap was his first career hit.

? - Nebraska is in the middle of a stretch where it plays 16 of 20 games at Hawks Field.

? - While the Huskers have never faced the Eagles, one Husker is somewhat familiar with several Boston College players, as junior right-hander Phil Shirek pitched in the Cape Cod League last summer, joining five BC players (Chris Lambert, Jason Delaney, Ryan Morgan Kevin Shepard and Drew Locke) who were also in the league

? - Nebraska has been able to successfully manufacture runs during the early part of the season. The Huskers are second in the Big 12 with 26 sacrifice bunts, trailing Texas’ total of 34 (through 26 games). NU’s total in 16 games is more than half the entire season total of the 2001 (48) and 2002 (49) team totals.

Second baseman Jake Mullinax has been one of NU’s main catalysts, with a team-high nine sacrifices. Mullinax, who is also among the Big 12 leaders with a .393 average, is only eight sacrifice hits behind the school mark of 17 set by Joe Simokaitis last season.

NU’s five sacrifices against New Mexico on Feb. 20, marked the first time any NCAA team had at least five sacrifices in a game since the 2001 season. Last weekend, both Nebraska and Texas accomplished the feat in a three-day span. Only two teams have ever recorded 100 sacrifice hits in a season, with the last being Texas’ NCAA record of 126 set in 2000.

Last Time Out
After waiting one day for the weather to cooperate, Nebraska opened the home schedule with a sweep of Western Illinois, 5-3 and 8-0, Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field.

Nebraska 5, Western Illinois 3 (G-1) - Freshman Brad Furnish tossed five shutout innings in his first career start, as Nebraska scored four runs in the second inning and held on for a 5-3 victory. Furnish struck out one and allowed two hits for his first career win, while Jon Klausing pitched the final four innings for his first save. NU broke the game open with four runs in the second, highlighted by a two-run single by Jesse Boyer and a run-scoring single by Colin Shockey. Chad Steele, who had two hits, drove in the Huskers’ final run, while Shockey and Jake Mullinax each had two hits.

Nebraska 8, Western Illinois 0 (G-2) - Justin Pekarek and four relievers combined on a seven-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over the Leathernecks. Pekarek improved to 2-0, as he struck out four and scattered three hits over five innings. In all, NU struck out 10 Western Illinois hitters, the Huskers’ highest total since opening day, and allowed only three runners into scoring position. NU spotted Pekarek all the runs he would need early, scoring once in the first on a two-out RBI double by Alex Gordon and two more in the third, capitalizing on an error on a double steal and a run-scoring single by freshman Braden Keith. In all, the Huskers pounded out 11 hits, including two each by Gordon and Beau Sullivan, who doubled, tripled and scored twice, while nine players had at least one hit in the nightcap.

Scouting Boston College
Boston College makes its first trip to Lincoln looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The Eagles are 3-10 on the year after getting swept by Central Connecticut (8-7, 14-7) last Sunday. Boston College, which was picked second in the Big East by Baseball America and ranked 38th in its preseason issue, has lost five of its 10 games by one run, including a pair of 1-0 shutouts. Under Coach Pete Hughes (156-119-1 in six seasons at BC) the Eagles return a total of 19 letterwinners, including seven position starters, from a team finished 33-21 a year ago. The Eagles are led by junior right-hander Chris Lambert, a second-team preseason All-American after going 8-2 with a 2.71 ERA a year ago. Lambert is winless in four starts in 2004, but has 23 strikeouts in 23 innings and is holding opponents to a .167 average. Offensively, Jason Delaney (.333-2-9) and Drew Locke (.327-0-7) pace the Eagle offense, which is hitting just 244 on the year.