No. 5 Huskers Travel to Wichita State and Oklahoma

Record (34-8, 10-5 Big 12) ? National Rankings: 5 (CB) ? 8 (BA) ? 6 (Sports Weekly) ? 6 (NCBWA)
Day Date Opp. Rank Opponent (Record) Location Time
Wed. April 27 -/-/RV at Wichita State (34-13) Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium) 7 p.m.
Thurs. April 28 at Oklahoma (22-17, 6-9 Big 12) Norman, Okla. (L.Dale Mitchell Field) 6 p.m.
Fri. April 29 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. (L.Dale Mitchell Field) 6 p.m.
Sat. April 30 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. (L.Dale Mitchell Field) 1 p.m.
Polls are listed in the following order: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly

Pitching Probables
Wed. NU - Tony Watson, Fr., LHP (4-1, 1.75 ERA) vs. WSU - TBA
Thurs. NU - Joba Chamberlain, So, RHP (6-0, 1.84 ERA) vs. OU - Daylon McCutchen, Jr., RHP (1-3, 5.15 ERA)

Media Information
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (Jim Rose and John Bishop) Live Stats: Huskers.com
Television: Wednesday (ESPNU, Ch. 609 on DirecTV); Thursday (ESPN); Friday (ESPNU), Saturday. (ESPNU)
Announcers: Gary Thorne and Kyle Peterson

No. 5 Huskers Travel to Wichita State and Oklahoma
The Nebraska baseball team concludes a stretch of playing eight road games in an 11-game span this week, as the Huskers travel to Wichita State and Oklahoma in their final tests before spring exams.

All four games will be available to a nationwide audience, as the Huskers will play three games on ESPNU (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), while Thursday’s game will be carried on ESPN. ESPNU - the network’s new college sports channel - is available on DirecTV (Ch. 609). The games will also be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network with Jim Rose and John Bishop calling all of the action with live stats available on Huskers.com

The Huskers, who are 34-8 and ranked as high as fifth in the national polls, come off a series win over eighth-ranked Baylor last weekend, overcoming a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Bears. Nebraska has responded well since dropping a series against No. 1 Texas earlier this month, going 7-2, including its first-ever series win in College Station and a win against eighth-ranked Baylor, the Huskers’ first over a top-10 team in two years.

The Shockers are 34-13 on the season after taking 2-of-3 games against No. 28 Creighton over the weekend. The Shockers have been tough at home, going 20-6 at Eck Stadium. Nebraska, which leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally in pitching with a 2.52 ERA, will be tested by Wichita State, which has a .302 team batting average and seven starters hitting above .300.

The Huskers, who are 10-3 in true road games this season, will look to snap an eight-game losing streak in Wichita that dates back to the 1986 season. The Huskers, who posted a 7-4 win in last year’s contest, trail the all-time series 19-17, dating back to 1950.

The Huskers will immediately trek to Norman, Okla., Wednesday night to get ready for a three-game Big 12 series against the Sooners, who travel to Wichita State on Tuesday. OU is in the midst of a stretch of playing 10 of 12 games against nationally ranked foes, as the Sooners dropped 2-of-3 at Missouri last weekend. The series in Norman runs Thursday-Saturday because of final exams.

Nebraska dropped 2-of-3 to the Sooners last season in Lincoln, but has won seven straight contests in Norman dating back to 1999. Prior to 2001, Nebraska has not swept Oklahoma in Norman since 1963.

With the series win last weekend over the Big 12-leading Bears, the Huskers have turned the chase for the Big 12 title into a four-team race. Baylor is in first with a 13-5 mark, while the Huskers (10-5), Missouri (10-5) and Texas (11-6) are all within one game in the loss column. Missouri and Texas begin a three-game set in Austin, while Baylor hosts sixth-place Texas Tech.

Leading Off

?-At 34-8, the Huskers are enjoying one of their best marks in the program’s 100-plus year history. Only the 1979 and 1983 teams have enjoyed better records at this point of the season than the 2005 Huskers, while NU’s first CWS team in 2001 was also 34-8 at that point in the year.

Best 42-Game Starts in School History

No. 42-Game Record Final Record

1983 38-4 44-15

1979 36-6 49-15

2005 34-8 --

2001 34-8 50-16

1999-2005 Records

Game 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

42 30-12 31-11 34-8 28-14 31-11 30-12 34-8

43 30-13 32-11 34-9 29-14 32-11 30-13

44 30-14 33-11 34-10 29-15 33-11 30-14

45 30-15 33-12 35-10 30-15 34-11 30-15

46 31-15 34-12 35-11 30-16 35-11 30-16

?-Nebraska’s No. 5 ranking this week is its highest in any national poll since May of 2003.

?-Nebraska has 13 come-from-behind wins this season, as the three-run deficits overcome on Wednesday (at Northern Iowa) and Sunday (vs. Baylor) equaled the largest deficit overcome in a win this season.

?-Nebraska is now 8-4 against nationally ranked foes, including 5-3 against teams ranked in the top-10 of at least one national poll. NU went 7-11 against ranked teams in 2004.

?-Wednesday’s matchup with the Shockers could feature a matchup of two of the nation’s top prospects in Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon and Wichita State right-hander Mike Pelfrey. Gordon is rated the nation’s top college prospect by Baseball America, while Pelfrey was No. 3. The two were also teammates last summer, helping Team USA to a gold medal at the World University Baseball Games.

?-The Huskers’ pitching has been a strength throughout 2005, as Nebraska leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally in ERA. Nebraska has held 37 of its 42 opponents to four runs or less and its 2.52 ERA is on pace to break the school record of 2.64 set in 1976. Since the aluminum bat was introduced into college baseball in 1974, NU has never posted an ERA below 3.00.

National ERA Team Leaders (as of April 23)
No. Team Team ERA
1. Long Beach State 2.19
2. Nebraska 2.52
3. North Carolina 2.55
4. Missouri 2.64

?-NU is one of only two teams (also Texas) nationally ranked in the top five in both ERA (2.43) and fielding percentage (.978) in the April 19 NCAA rankings.

?-Nebraska is also among the nation’s top fielding clubs, as its .978 fielding percentage would not only rank in the top five nationally, but would break the school mark of .975 set last season. Last week, three Big 12 teams (Texas A&M, Nebraska and Texas) all ranked in the top five nationally.

?-The Huskers have also gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning in 20 of 42 games and outscoring their opponents 35-10 in the first inning of games this season. Nebraska has not scored a run in the first inning of its last five games - its longest drought of the year.

?-The Huskers are 21-3 at Hawks Field this season and 98-22 (.817) since the ballpark opened in 2002.

?-NU has scored at least one run in 429 of the last 430 games dating back to the 1998 season. In 2004, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team not shut out.

?-After having just one multi-homer game in 2004, Nebraska has eight already this season, including four by first baseman/catcher Curtis Ledbetter and two by All-American third baseman Alex Gordon.

2005 Multi-Homer Games
Player Opponent Date
Ledbetter vs. New Mexico 2/25
Fusilier vs. South Dakota State * 3/13
Ledbetter vs. South Dakota State * 3/13
Gordon vs. Northern Colorado 3/15
Nimmo vs. Seton Hall 3/19
Gordon at Kansas-1 3/26
Ledbetter vs. Iowa 4/6
Ledbetter at Texas A&M 4/15

* - Two homers in the same inning (Big 12 and NCAA record)

?-Earlier this month, Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson coached his 150th game at Nebraska, becoming only the fourth Husker coach to reach that mark in program history. His winning percentage is the second-highest among any Husker coach at the 150-game mark. 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.
John Sanders 108-42 .720
Mike Anderson 106-44 .707
Dave Van Horn 100-50 .667
Tony Sharpe 92-56-2 .620

?-Nebraska’s starting pitchers are a combined 23-2 this season and had won their first 19 decisions before Zach Kroenke’s loss to No. 1 Texas on April 9.

?- Six of Nebraska’s eight losses this season have been by one run, as the Huskers are 5-6 in one-run games this year.

?-Nebraska is one of only 11 teams nationally - and one of only two schools in the Big 12 - to have a team ERA under 4.00 in each of the last three seasons.

?-Nebraska has scored three runs or more in an inning 33 times already this season, including an 11-run inning against South Dakota State on March 13.

?-Third baseman Alex Gordon is looking to become the first position player and only the second player in Big 12 history to repeat as conference player of the year. Baylor’s Jason Jennings is the only other player to win multiple Big 12 Player-of-the-Year awards (1998-99).

?-Nebraska has had two players honored as Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week this season. Alex Gordon was chosen on March 22, joining Joba Chamberlain, who earned the honor on Feb. 25.

?-With complete-game shutouts by Zach Kroenke and Brian Duensing, Nebraska became the first team to hand Oklahoma State consecutive shutouts since 1976. It also marked the first time since March of 2002 that Nebraska received back-to-back complete-game shutouts (Jamie Rodrigue and Aaron Marsden).

Scouting Wichita State
The Shockers continue their swing against Big 12 foes this week, as they host Oklahoma on Tuesday before taking on the fifth-ranked Huskers. Under long-time Head Coach Gene Stephenson (1,489-478-3 in 28 seasons), WSU is knocking on the door of the national rankings, receiving votes in the ESPN/Sports Weekly and NCBWA polls released Monday.

At 34-13 on the year, the Shockers use a balanced offense that relies on speed to score runs. WSU has 82 stolen bases in 110 attempts, including Derek Schermerhorn, who is hitting .374 with 24 stolen bases. He is one of three Shockers with at least 10 stolen bases. Catcher Joe Muich is WSU’s biggest power threat, hitting .306 with six homers and 33 RBIs. The Shockers have not determined their starter for Wednesday’s game.

Wichita State leads the series 19-17, as the Huskers snapped the Shockers’ three-game winning streak. NU has not won in Wichita since 1986, going 0-8 in that span.

Last Season (NU 7, Wichita State 4): Alex Gordon went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in a 7-4 Husker win. Gordon jump started Nebraska’s offense with his 12th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the first, before adding a two-run double in the Huskers’ three-run third. The Huskers used homers by Gordon and Curtis Ledbetter to pick up their first win over WSU since 2001. Quinton Robertson earned the win, scattering eight hits over 5.2 innings, while three relievers held WSU to one run over the final 3.1 innings.

Scouting Oklahoma
The Sooners, who travel to Wichita State for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, begin the week with a 22-17 mark after dropping 2-of-3 at No. 17 Missouri last weekend. Under the guidance of head coach Larry Cochell (533-353-1 in 15 seasons at OU), Oklahoma is a completely different team at L. Dale Mitchell Field, going 17-3 at home, with two of the losses coming in extra innings. On the road, the Sooners are just 3-11, including seven of their nine losses in Big 12 play.

Third baseman Ryan Rohlinger is OU’s best offensive threat, hitting .364 with four homers and a team-high 33 RBIs. Outfielder Kody Kaiser is the only other Sooner starter over .300, as he is hitting .323 with a team-best seven homers. On the mound, Garrett Patterson, Steven Guerra and Will Savage have four wins apiece, while right-hander Daniel McCutchen (1-3, 5.15 ERA) is OU’s scheduled starter for Thursday’s opener.

The rivalry with Oklahoma is one of Nebraska’s oldest, as the Sooners have a 131-89-1 edge in a series that dates back to 1919. The Huskers have enjoyed their best success in the series in recent years, winning 19 of the past 24 meetings dating back to 1998. The Huskers swept OU in Norman in 2003, marking the second straight time that has happened before OU won 2-of-3 in Lincoln last season. All three games were decided by two runs or less, including a 1-0 Husker win in 11 innings.