Seventh-Ranked Huskers Host OSU this Weekend

Record (22-3, 2-1 Big 12) ? National Rankings: 7 (CB) ? 20 (BA) ? 16 (Sports Weekly) ? 8 (NCBWA)
Day Date Opp. Rank Opponent (Record) Location Time
Tues. March 29 vs. Creighton Hawks Field W, 10-2
Fri. April 1 29/NR/NR Oklahoma State (21-8, 4-2 Big 12) Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.
Sat. April 2 Oklahoma State Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.
Sun. April 2 Oklahoma State Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

Polls are listed in the following order: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly

Pitching Probables
Fri. NU - Joba Chamberlain, So., RHP (4-0, 1.72 ERA) vs. OSU - Thomas Cowley, Jr., LHP (6-1, 1.61 ERA)
Sat. NU - Zach Kroenke, Jr., LHP (3-0, 2.66 ERA) vs. OSU - TBA
Sun. NU - Brian Duensing, Jr., LHP (4-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. OSU - TBA

Media Information
Tickets: $8 (reserved), $6 (adult GA), $4 (children and seniors GA); FREE (UNL students w/valid ID)
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (all 3 games)
TV: None
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Internet Video Streaming: HuskersNside (for more info or how to subscribe, log on to Huskers.com)

Seventh-Ranked Huskers Host OSU this Weekend
Following a victory over in-state rival Creighton on Tuesday, the seventh-ranked Nebraska baseball team returns to action this weekend to host No. 29 Oklahoma State at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

The three-game series between the Huskers and Cowboys begins Friday evening (6:35 p.m.) with afternoon tilts set for both Saturday (2:05) and Sunday (1:05). Tickets are available for all three games by calling the NU Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or at the Hawks Field Box Office 90 minutes before first pitch.

All three games this weekend will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. Live audio and stats (Huskers.com) along with live video (HuskersNside) will also be available.

The Huskers begin April enjoying one of the best starts in school history after going 22-3 in their first 25 contests - the program’s best start since 1983 when NU opened the year with a 26-game winning streak.

While the Huskers have relied on a string of solid pitching perfomances, highlighted by freshman Johnny Dorn’s near no-hitter on Tuesday, Nebraska has been efficient offensively, scoring at least six runs in 14 of the last 15 contests. The Huskers have averaged 8.5 runs per game in its last four contests. Against Creighton on Tuesday, the Huskers broke open the game with a six-run second inning, the 13th time this season NU has scored at least five runs in an inning.

NU’s defense has also been exceptional during the last three weeks, as NU has committed just eight errors over the last 15 contests, while making more than its share of web gems in the process. The Huskers, who enjoyed a stretch of 61 consecutive innings without an errror earlier this month, are second in the Big 12 with a .980 fielding percentage.

Nebraska will face one of its stiffest challenges of the season, as Oklahoma State is 21-8 on the year after a pair of midweek wins over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Cowboys, who won the Big 12 Tournament title in 2004, are 4-2 in the league and are in a four-way tie with the Huskers, Baylor and Oklahoma with .667 winning percentages. OSU’s strength is on the mound, as Thomas Cowley’s 6-1 record and 1.61 ERA anchors a Cowboy staff that won 2-of-3 against No. 10 Baylor last weekend in Stillwater.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska’s .880 winning percentage is the nation’s best entering the weekend, just ahead of Arkansas’ 21-4 mark. In addition to Arkansas, Coastal Carolina and Georgia Tech began the week at 21-4, but suffered mid-week losses.

?-Nebraska has an eight-game winning streak against Oklahoma State in Lincoln dating back to 1999. The Huskers swept the Cowboys in Lincoln in 2003 in OSU’s only other appearance at Hawks Field. Prior to the 2001 sweep at Buck Beltzer Stadium, NU had not swept Oklahoma State since 1975.

?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson will coach his 150th game at Nebraska in Friday’s series opener, becoming only the fourth Husker coach to reach that mark in program history. With a 105-44 record, Anderson’s .705 winning percentage is the best ever by a Husker manager. Here are the totals of the other three Husker skippers at the 150-game plateau.

Husker Coaches at 150-Game Mark
Coach 150-Game Record Pct.
Mike Anderson 105-44 .705
John Sanders 108-42 .720
Dave Van Horn 100-50 .667
Tony Sharpe 92-56-2 .620

?-At 22-3 entering the weekend, the Huskers are enjoying one of their best starts in the program’s 100-plus year history. Nebraska’s 25-game start is the best since the 1983 season, when the Huskers opened the year with 26 straight wins.

Best 25-Game Starts in School History

No. 25-Game Record Final Record
1983 25-0 44-15
2005 22-3 --
1979 21-4 49-15
1988 20-5 48-23

? - The Huskers have also gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning in 15 of 25 games and outscoring its opponents 28-6 in the first inning of games this season.

?-The Huskers’ pitching has been a strength in the early season, as NU ranks second in the Big 12 with a 2.21 ERA. In fact, the Huskers have allowed only two opponents - USC on March 6 and Kansas on March 26 - to score more than four runs in a game this season.

?-After having just one multi-homer game in 2004, Nebraska has six already this season, including two each by Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.) and Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.).

?- Nebraska nearly set a school record last weekend, ending a streak of 61.0 consecutive innings without an error (dating back to March 15) in the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss to the Jayhawks. The streak was just shy of the record mark of 63.1 innings set last season. Since committing eight errors in the season-opening trip to Hawaii-Hilo, NU has committed just 11 errors in its last 20 contests.

Cutting Down on Errors
Games Errrors Fielding Pct.
1-5 8 .959
6-24 11 .985

?-Prior to Johnny Dorn’s 10-strikeout performance against Creighton on Tuesday, the last Husker freshman to strikeout 10 hitters in a game was Shane Komine, who fanned 16 Cyclones in a relief effort on April 18, 1999. The last Husker freshman starter to record the feat was Steve Hale, who fanned 10 against UW-Milwaukee on Feb. 27, 1999.

?-NU has scored at least one run in 414 of the last 415 games dating back to the 1998 season. In 2004, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team not shut out.

? - Nebraska has scored three runs or more in an inning 25 times already this season, including an 11-run inning against South Dakota State on March 13.

?-Nebraska has had two players honored as Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week this season, as Alex Gordon was chosen on March 22, joining Joba Chamberlain (Lincoln, Neb.), who earned the honor after striking out 15 over seven scoreless innings against New Mexico on Feb. 25. Gordon was honored after hitting .560 (14-for-25) with four homers and 10 RBIs in leading the Huskers to a 6-0 mark. He is the first Husker position player honored by the publication since All-American Jed Morris in 2002.

? - Tuesday’s crowd of 7,278 was NU’s highest single-game regular-season total in school history (fifth-largest overall), topping the 6,879 fans who saw a win over Texas on April 18, 2003.

Scouting Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are 21-8 on the season after sweeping Arkansas Little Rock in a two-game series this week. Oklahoma State scored 31 runs in the two games, including a 14-run first inning in the finale. Under the guidence of second-year head coach Frank Anderson (59-32 at Oklahoma State), the Cowboys make their first road tip in nearly a month after completing a 13-game homestand. OSU is hitting .331 as a team, led by Chris Gutierrez’ .371 average. First baseman Adam Carr is close behind with a .370 mark with team highs in both homers (10) and RBIs (46).

On the mound, the Cowboys boast of one of the league’s top 1-2 combinations in Thomas Cowley and Scott Richmond. Cowley is 6-1 with a 1.61 ERA, striking out 47 in 56 innings of work. Richmond is 2-1 with three saves in a team-high 12 appearances. Richmond made his first start in last Sunday’s series finale against Baylor, going the distance in a 3-2 win over the No. 10 Bears.

Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 107-65, after taking 3-of-4 meetings with the Huskers last season. Before to the 2004 season, the Huskers had won 11 of the previous 12 matchups, including sweeps in 2001 and 2003 and their first series win in Stillwater since 1971 in 2002.

Last Time Out:
Tuesday: Nebraska 10, Creighton 2: Johnny Dorn tossed eight innings of two-hit ball, leading seventh-ranked Nebraska to a 10-2 victory over Creighton. The freshman right-hander dazzled a Hawks Field crowd of 7,278 ? the largest regular-season crowd in the ballpark’s history ? by tossing 7.2 innings of no-hit ball. He was four outs away from the first individual no-hitter by a Nebraska pitcher in 51 years before pinch hitter Dave Schultz broke it up with a two-out single past a diving Joe Simokaitis between third and short. Dorn (3-1) scattered two hits and fanned a career-high 10 without allowing a walk. The win, NU’s 14th in the last 15 contests, also snapped Creighton’s 12-game winning streak. Dorn was bolstered by a Nebraska offense that scored six runs to chase Creighton starter Tony Bilek after 1.1 innings. Jesse Boyer paced the Husker attack, going 3-for-5 with career-best three RBIs while Simokaitis and Opitz had two RBIs apiece, as Nebraska improved to 12-0 at home on the season. Jeff Christy also went 1-for-1 with three walks and scored four times.