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This Week in Husker Baseball
Season Record (14-4, 0-0 Big 12)
National Rankings (18/20/17/20 - as of March 22)
Tues. (March 23) at Creighton Omaha, Neb. (CU Sports Complex) W, 7-3
Fri. (March 26) vs. Kansas (21-9-1) Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.
Sat. (March 27) vs. Kansas Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.
Sun. (March 28) vs. Kansas Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.
Note: All rankings are listed as follows: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly-ESPN Coaches/NCBWA
Pitching Matchups
Fri. - NU (Zach Kroenke, So., LHP, 3-0, 2.48 ERA) vs. KU (Ryan Knippschild, Sr., LHP, 5-2, 3.96 ERA)
Sat. - NU (Quinton Robertson, Sr., RHP, 1-3, 4.94 ERA) vs. KU (Clint Schambach, Jr., RHP, 2-0, 3.90 ERA)
Sun. - NU (Phil Shirek, Jr., RHP, 3-0, 1.45 ERA) vs. KU (Mike Zagurski, Jr., LHP, Jr., 3-0, 3.34 ERA)
Media Information
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (all three games)
TV: None
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Internet Video Streaming: All three weekend games vs. Kansas 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 Open Big 12 Play vs. Kansas this Weekend
Two of the hottest teams in the Big 12 meet up this weekend, as Nebraska hosts Kansas for a three- game series at Hawks Field. The series, which opens conference play for both squads, begins with Friday’s 2:05 p.m. lidlifter before afternoon tilts on both Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.). All three games will be carried live on the Pinnacle Sports Network and on Huskers.com, while the games will also be video-streamed live on HuskersNside.
Nebraska heads into the weekend riding a seven-game winning streak after outlasting Creighton, 7-3, on Tuesday afternoon in Omaha. The Huskers who are 14-4 on the year and winners of nine of their last 10 games, have climbed to as high as 17th in this week’s national polls. The Jayhawks are 21-9-1 on the year after a sweep of Western Illinois last weekend and have won 14 of their last 16 since being swept at No. 1 Stanford in mid-February.
The Huskers have been riding on the strength of their pitching staff which has posted a 2.13 ERA over the past 10 games, as opponents have hit just .222 in that span. NU has also played sterling defense, committing one error during the current seven-game winning streak and enters the weekend with on a streak of 49.2 innings of error-free ball. The Husker staff will be challenged by a Jayhawk squad that leads the Big 12 in hitting (.346), homers (37) and runs scored (288).
Despite two league titles and two runner-up finishes in the league over the last four seasons, Nebraska has only won one opening series since 1999, when the Huskers swept a series at Texas Tech in 2001. This weekend also marks the first time in Big 12 play (since 1997) that Nebraska opened at home and the first time since 1992 that NU opened conference play at home. The March 26 conference opener is also NU’s latest since the 1993 season.
Leading Off
? - Nebraska has been nearly flawless in the field, committing one error over the last seven games for a .996 fielding percentage. NU currently has a streak of 49.2 innings without an error, lifting its season fielding total to a season-high .974.The last time NU went five straight games without an error was last May 16-22, and NU has not played six straight error-free games in at least 15 seasons.
? - Nebraska has gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning of 12 of its first 18 games. In fact, NU is outscoring opponents 27-5 in the opening frame and 74-19 over the first three innings. The Huskers have also been able to close games out, outscoring opponents 46-20 from the seventh inning on.
? - Another key to the Husker attack has been getting the leadoff hitter on base every inning. NU has had its leadoff hitter reach safely nearly 50 percent of the time (77-of-160) this season. Jesse Boyer, who is riding a 10-game hitting streak, has opened an innning by reaching base in 19-of-28 chances (68 percent).
? - Nebraska’s bullpen has been exceptional over the last week, tossing 18.1 straight innings of scoreless relief dating back to March 17. Against Boston College last weekend, six relievers combined for 11.1 innings of shutout ball and held the Eagles to a .139 average, while NU relievers combined for 2.2 innings of shutout ball in Tuesday’s win over Creighton.
? - Nebraska is 63-11 (.851) since moving into Hawks Field at the start of the 2002 season and has won five straight home games to open the season.
? - With this week’s ranking in the national polls, the Huskers have now been ranked in each of the past 74 polls, dating back to April of 2000.
? - With last Wednesday’s win over Western Illinois, Nebraska has now won 26 straight home openers, dating back to the 1979 season.
? - Nebraska has scored three or more runs in an inning 20 times in 18 games.
? - Nebraska has been able to successfully manufacture runs during the early part of the season. The Huskers are third in the Big 12 with 30 sacrifice bunts, trailing Texas’ total of 39 (through 29 games). NU’s total in 18 games is more than half the entire season totals for both 2001 (48) and 2002 (49).
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks visit Lincoln for their Big 12 opener this weekend with a 21-9-1 record and the best hitting attack in the Big 12. Second-year Jayhawk Head Coach Ritch Price (56-37-1 at KU) has his team on a roll, as the Jayhawks have won 14 of their last 16 games. Offensively, Kansas leads the Big 12 in hitting with a .346 average, as eight of their nine starters are above .300. Sophomore Matt Baty paces the Jayhawk lineup with a .432 average while he leads the Big 12 in both solten bases (20) and runs scored (25). Senior third baseman Travis Metcalf is leading the Big 12 with 11 homers, as KU has a league-best 39 round trippers.
One of the Huskers’ oldest rivals, NU leads the all-time series, 133-89-2, that dates back to 1892. Nebraska won 3-of-4 meetings last season. NU won 2-of-3 in Lawrence and took a 9-4 win in the Big 12 Tournament opener in Oklahoma City last May. The Huskers have won the regular-season series in each of the past five years, including series sweeps in both 1999 and 2000.