Huskers Release 2005 Baseball Schedule

Lincoln ? A total of 21 games against NCAA qualifiers and a season-opening trip to Hawaii highlight the 2005 Nebraska baseball schedule released by Head Coach Mike Anderson on Wednesday.

The 60-game schedule includes a pair of match-ups with perennial power Rice, a showdown with USC in Round Rock, Texas and 33 games at Hawks Field, including conference series against CWS runner-up Texas and NCAA qualifiers Oklahoma State and Missouri.

According to Anderson, the 2005 schedule was designed to help prepare the Huskers for conference play, as Nebraska will have 23 games under its belt before opening Big 12 play against Kansas on March 25. In past years, the Huskers have played as few as nine games before opening league play.

"Every year, our primary goal is to win the Big 12, and in order to do that, we believe that we have to use our schedule to prepare us for conference play," Anderson said. "With the high number of newcomers on our roster, we wanted to use the early part of our schedule to get games under our belt so we can experiment with different lineup combinations that will be successful down the road."

The schedule begins in Hawaii on Feb. 17, as Nebraska takes on Hawaii-Hilo in a five-game series in the Huskers’ first trip to Hawaii since 1998. The Huskers, who play their first nine games on the road, continue an annual tradition the following weekend by playing in the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational against the host Owls, New Mexico and Western Carolina. The Huskers and Rice will meet for the second time in as many weeks on March 4, as Nebraska l will join national power USC and Texas State at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. The match-up between Nebraska and USC will be the first since 1984.

Nebraska opens its 33-game home schedule on Friday, March 11, as the Huskers face South Dakota State to begin a 12-game homestand. The Huskers will spend most of March at Hawks Field, including non-conference series against South Dakota State (March 11-13), Northern Colorado (March 15-17), Seton Hall (March 18-20) and Western Illinois (March 22-23) before beginning Big 12 play that weekend at Kansas.

The month of March closes with the first of three match-ups against intrastate rival Creighton on March 29, before beginning a treacherous month of April that features 12 games against NCAA qualifiers. The month is highlighted by visits from Big 12 champion and 2004 CWS runner-up Texas (April 8-10) and by Big 12 Tournament champion Oklahoma State (April 1-3). The Huskers, who also travel to Texas A&M (April 15-17), Wichita State (April 27) and Oklahoma (April 29-May 1), will also renew an old rivalry on Wednesday, April 6, as Iowa faces Nebraska in baseball for the first time since 1930 and the first time ever in Lincoln.

May’s 13-game schedule is highlighted by a home series against Missouri (May 6-8) and a visit to Texas Tech (May 13-15). In addition, Nebraska’s annual tilt against Creighton at Rosenblatt Stadium is set for Tuesday, May 10. The regular-season concludes with a series against Kansas State at Hawks Field from May 20 to May 22.

The Big 12 Tournament will take place at the SBC Bricktown Ballpark in Okahoma City May 25-29 with NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals taking place the following two weeks. The 2004 College World Series is scheduled for June 17-27 at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium.

Fans can find information on ordering 2005 season tickets by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED or by visiting Huskers.com.

Date Day Opponent Location Time

Feb. 17 Thursday Hawaii-Hilo Hilo, Hawaii 11 p.m.

Feb. 18 Friday Hawaii-Hilo Hilo, Hawaii 8 p.m.

Feb. 19 Saturday Hawaii-Hilo (DH) Kailua Kona, Hawaii 4 p.m.

Feb. 20 Sunday Hawaii-Hilo Kailua Kona, Hawaii 5 p.m.

Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational (Rice, New Mexico, Western Carolina)

Feb. 25 Friday New Mexico Houston, Texas 1 p.m.

Feb. 26 Saturday Rice Houston, Texas 1 p.m.

Feb. 27 Sunday Western Carolina Houston, Texas Noon

Round Rock Tournament (USC, Houston, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Texas State)

March 4 Friday Rice Round Rock, Texas 2:30 p.m.

March 5 Saturday Texas State Round Rock, Texas 11 a.m.

March 6 Sunday USC Round Rock, Texas 10 a.m.

March 11 Friday South Dakota State Hawks Field TBA

March 12 Saturday South Dakota State (DH) Hawks Field 12:05 p.m.

March 13 Sunday South Dakota State Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

March 15 Tuesday Northern Colorado Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

March 16 Wednesday Northern Colorado Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

March 17 Thursday Northern Colorado Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

March 18 Friday Seton Hall Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

March 19 Saturday Seton Hall Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

March 20 Sunday Seton Hall Hawks Field 12:05 p.m.

March 22 Tuesday Western Illinois Hawks Field TBA

March 23 Wednesday Western Illinois Hawks Field TBA

March 25 Friday Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 3 p.m.

March 26 Saturday Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 1 p.m.

March 27 Sunday Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 1 p.m.

March 29 Tuesday Creighton Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

April 1 Friday Oklahoma State Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

April 2 Saturday Oklahoma State Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

April 3 Sunday Oklahoma State Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

April 5 Tuesday Creighton Omaha, Neb. 2:30 p.m.

April 6 Wednesday Iowa Hawks Field 6:05 p.m.

April 8 Friday Texas Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

April 9 Saturday Texas Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

April 10 Sunday Texas Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

April 12 Tuesday North Dakota State Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

April 13 Wednesday North Dakota State Hawks Field TBA

April 15 Friday Texas A&M College Station, Texas 7 p.m.

April 16 Saturday Texas A&M College Station, Texas 7 p.m.

April 17 Sunday Texas A&M College Station, Texas 1 p.m.

April 19 Tuesday Northern Iowa TBA TBA

April 22 Friday Baylor Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

April 23 Saturday Baylor Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

April 24 Sunday Baylor Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

April 27 Wednesday Wichita State Wichita, Kan. 7 p.m.

April 29 Friday Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 6:35 p.m.

April 30 Saturday Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 2 p.m.

May 1 Sunday Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 1 p.m.

May 6 Friday Missouri Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

May 7 Saturday Missouri Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

May 8 Sunday Missouri Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

May 10 Tuesday Creighton Rosenblatt Stadium 7 p.m.

May 13 Friday Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas 6:30 p.m.

May 14 Saturday Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas 2 p.m.

May 15 Sunday Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas Noon

May 17 Tuesday Northern Illinois Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

May 18 Wednesday Northern Illinois Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

May 20 Friday Kansas State Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

May 21 Saturday Kansas State Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

May 22 Sunday Kansas State Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

May 25-29 Wed-Sun Big 12 Tournament Oklahoma City, Okla. TBA

June 3-6 Fri-Mon NCAA Regionals Campus Sites TBA

June 10-13 Fri-Mon NCAA Super Regionals Campus Sites TBA

June 17-27 Fri-Mon College World Series Rosenblatt Stadium TBA

All Dates and Times are subject to change; All times listed are central; 2005 season tickets are available by calling 800-8-BIGRED