Huskers Open Home Schedule with No. 25 Alabama

Nebraska Baseball
2006 Record (8-2, 0-0 Big 12)
National Rankings: 6 (CB) ? 14 (BA) ? 6 (Sports Weekly) ? 6 (NCBWA)

Day

Date

Rank

Matchup

Radio

Live Video

Time

Fri.

March 10

30/-/25

vs. Alabama (13-3)

Pinnacle Sports Network

HuskersNside

2:05 p.m.

Sat.

March 11

30/-/25

vs. Alabama (13-3)

Pinnacle Sports Network

HuskersNside

1:05 p.m.

Sun.

March 12

30/-/25

vs. Alabama (13-3)

Pinnacle Sports Network

HuskersNside

1:05 p.m.

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

Pitching Probables

Fri.

Tony Watson, So., LHP (2-0, 2.33 ERA, 19.1 IP)

Alabama

Wade LeBlanc, Jr., LHP (3-0, 1.93 ERA, 28.0 IP)

Sat.

Johnny Dorn, So., RHP (2-1,  5.28 ERA,  15.1 IP)

Alabama

Bernard Robert, Jr., RHP (2-0, 2.45 ERA, 21.0 IP

Sun.

Charlie Shirek, R-Fr., RHP (0-0,  1.80 ERA,  10 IP)

Alabama

Tommy Hunter, Fr., RHP (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 19.2 IP)

 Media Information
Tickets:  Club (sold out); Reserved (sold out); General Admission ($7, $5, UNL Students free with ID)
Live Stats:  Huskers.com 
Radio:  Selected Pinnacle Sports Networks
Live Video:  HuskersNside (subscription package) 
Internet Radio:  Huskers.com

Huskers Open Home Schedule with No. 25 Alabama
After spending the first three weeks on the road, the sixth-ranked Nebraska baseball team opens the home schedule this weekend, as the Huskers take on No. 25 Alabama in a three-game series at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

The Huskers, who are 8-2 on the season and have won six of their last seven games, begin the series with the Crimson Tide Friday at 2:05 p.m. before afternoon matchups on Saturday and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Genreral admission tickets are available for all three games with prices at $7 (adults) and $5 (youth and senior citizens) while UNL students with a valid ID can get into the park for free.

This weekend’s games are part of a school-record 49 regular-season games carried across the state on the Pinnacle Sports Network (check local station for broadcast availability) and also available on the Internet at Huskers.com. In addition, fans can also watch the action live on the Internet on HuskersNside, a subscription video site which will carry nearly 50 regular-season games live in 2006.

The Huskers begin a 16-game homestand, the longest for NU since a 17-game homestand in 1992, against an Alabama team that has gotten off to a quick start. The Crimson Tide is 13-3 following a 7-6 win at South Alabama and has won its last eight contests.

The Huskers have also been on a roll, winning six of its last seven games, including a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Dairy Queen Classic last weekend. NU hit .333 as a team while posting a team ERA of 1.00 in wins over Notre Dame, Arizona and Minnesota.

The Huskers continued to move around in the national polls, jumping nine spots to 14th in the Baseball America poll, while dropping two spots to sixth in Collegiate Baseball. NU is also ranked sixth by the NCBWA and 11th in the latest Sports Weekly poll.

The 2006 home opener holds special significance for the Huskers, as Alabama becomes the first Southeastern Conference team to play in Lincoln. NU is just 8-9 all-time against teams from the SEC, and Friday’s series opener will be the first regular-season matchup since NU swept Arkansas in Fayetteville during the 2000 season. Of the 17 games against the SEC, the contests against Mississippi State (1999), South Carolina (2002) and Florida (2005) all took place in the postseason, including CWS games against the Gamecocks and Gators.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska has won its last 27 home openers, dating back to the 1979 season.
?-The Huskers enter the 2006 season with a 11-game home winning streak dating back to a 4-3 win over Baylor on April 24, 2005.
?-Nebraska is 31-12 against ranked teams since Hawks Field opened in 2002.
?-Nebraska has already sold out all the reserved and club seats at Hawks Field for the 2006 season. NU ranked sixth nationally in average attendance, averaging a school-record 4,984 fans per game in 2005. NU’s number is based on actual game attendance, not tickets sold.
?-Nebraska has posted identical 8-2 records through its first 10 games of the season. While NU’s pitching has been exceptional at times, the Husker bats have also gotten off to a quick start.

Comparing Quick Starts - 2005 and 2006 

No.

2005

2006

Record

8-2

8-2

Avg.

.277

.331

Runs/Gm

6.0

6.7

Hits/Gm

9.1

12.1

HR

8

14

ERA

1.64

2.77

Runs/Gm

2.3

2.9

Opp BA

.197

.204

Fielding

.969

.975

 ?-Nebraska completes a stretch where it plays eight times against 2005 NCAA Tournament qualifiers during a 12-game stretch. So far, NU is 4-1 with the only loss coming against a Rice team that is ranked No. 1 in some of the national polls.
?-Nebraska has held nine of its first 10 opponents to four runs or less, as The Citadel, which scored eight run on Feb. 18, is the only team to score at least five runs off the Huskers this season.

?-While Alabama makes its first trip to Lincoln, one Crimson Tide player is familiar with Hawks Field, as Alabama backup catcher David Ferazza was a member of Nebraska’s 2002 College World Series team. Ferazza redshirted that season before transferring to American River College.
?-Nebraska’s bullpen has made great strides from the season’s opening weekend. After giving up eight runs in 14.1 innings, NU has posted a 1.20 ERA over its last six games.
*-With a youthful roster that features 28 freshmen or sophomores on its 39-man roster, Nebraska has reshaped its roster from a year ago. Of the 30 players who went on the season-opening trip to South Carolina, 21 were freshmen or sophomores and 15 were getting their first taste of Division I baseball. Of Nebraska’s opening-day lineup against Charleston Southern, only one player - senior catcher Jeff Christy - was at the same position he started for the 2005 opener.
?-Nebraska’s three runs allowed at the Dairy Queen Classic was the lowest total NU had allowed in a weekend series since the 2003 DQ Classic. Husker starters Joba Chamberlain, Tony Watson and Johnny Dorn combined to allow one run 19.1 innings of work (0.47 ERA) last weekend. In fact, the only other time in the last six years that NU has allowed three runs or less on a weekend came at the 2000 NCAA Regional in Minneapolis.
 ?-Brandon Buckman’s two-homer game on Sunday, including one blast that reached the upper deck of the Metrodome, matched his entire 2005 home run total.
 ?-Nebraska’s 2006 team has already accomplished one thing that last season’s record-setting team could not do. The 5-4 win over Richmond on Feb. 19 marked the first time since the 2004 season that NU trailed entering the ninth inning, but came back to win. Despite recording 20 come-from-behind wins in 2005, the Huskers were 0-9 when trailing entering the ninth frame last spring.
 ?-Nebraska is one of only three teams in the country that returns two pitchers who won at least 10 games in 2005 (Oregon State and Miami of Ohio are the others). 
?-Nebraska is one of only seven teams in all of Division I baseball to post team ERAs below 4.00 over the last four seasons, joining Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts, Rice, Texas and Wichita State.  The Huskers were second nationally with a 2.69 team ERA in 2005.
 ?-Nebraska is one of only six programs nationally to reach the College World Series in three of the past five seasons, joining Cal State Fullerton, Miami, South Carolina, Stanford and Texas. The Big 12 is the only league with more than one team in that group.
 ? - Nebraska has scored at least one run in each of its last 141 games dating back to the start of the 2005 campaign. The streak is the longest in the Big 12, while NU has scored in 471 of the last 472 games dating back to the 1998 season.
 
Scouting Alabama
Alabama make its first road trip of the season this week, beginning with a mid-week game at South Alabama before visiting Lincoln. Head Coach Jim Wells (491-228 in 12th season at Alabama) has Alabama off to a strong start, as the Crimson Tide have won eight straight games entering the weekend. Alabama  went 40-23 and reached the final of the New Orleans regional in 2005. This season, UA lost 2-of-3 in its opening series against nationally ranked Winthrop, but has responded with 12 wins in its last 13 contests. 
 
Alabama’s strength has been its pitching staff, as the team has an impressive 2.16 ERA through 16 games. Eight of Alabama’s pitchers sport ERAs of less than 3.00, including closer David Robertson, who is 1-0 with four saves and a 0.00 ERA in eight appearances. The Crimson Tide is led by junior left-hander Wade LeBlanc, who is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four appearances. He has 38 strikeouts and five walks in 28 innings of work and is holding opponents to a .255 average
 
Offensively, Alabama has just two everyday starters hitting over .300 in outfielder Emeel Salem (.317 with 14 stolen bases) and catcher Kody Valerde, who leads the Crimson Tide in nearly every offensive category, as he has team bests in average (.370),  homers (five) and RBIs (22).

Huskers

Category

Alabama

10

Games

16

.331

Batting Average

 .263

366

At Bats

524

6.7

Runs/Game

6.2

12.1

Hits/Game

8.6

14

Home Runs

13

9-15

Stolen Bases

21-31

2.77

ERA

2.19

91.0

Innings

144.0

2.9

Runs Allowed/Game

3,0

77

Strikeouts

136

32

Walks

36

6.5

Hits Allowed/Game

7.4

10

Errors

28

.975

Fielding Percentage

 .956

Quick Look at Nebraska
Offense: The Huskers rank third in the Big 12 with a .331 average and are fourth in the league with 14 homers, despite playing a league-low 10 contests. NU features three of the top-20 hitters in the league in right fielder Luke Gorsett (.405, 12th), shortstop Ryan Wehrle (.395, 14th) and left fielder Nick Jaros (.375, 18th). Gorsett is tied for the league league in homers with five (also with Texas Tech’s Tyler Reves) and is second in the Big 12 with an .857 slugging percentage.

Pitching: Nebraska moved from fifth to second in the Big 12 with a team ERA of 2.77 after allowing three runs last weekend in Minnesota. The Huskers have held nine of their first 10 opponents to four runs or less and are second in opponent batting average at .204. NU has three pitchers who rank in the top-20 in pitching (Joba Chamberlain, 1.29, sixth; Charlie Shirek, 1.80 ERA, ninth and Tony Watson, 2.33, 15th). Chamberlain is fourth in the league in strikeouts with 28, as he averages 12.00 strikeouts per nine innings.

Defense: The Huskers climbed from fourth to second in the league and are fielding at a .975 clip. NU did not commit an error in its first two games at Minnesota and has had no miscues in four of its 10 games.  Nebraska had not allowed an unearned run for the first six games of the year and has allowed one unearned run all season.

Chamberlain Picks up 2nd Big 12 Award
Right-hander Joba Chamberlain picked up his second Big 12 honor in three weeks on Wednesday, as he was selected as the Big 12’s co-Pitcher of the Week for the weekend ending March 5. Chamberlain also picked up some additional hardware, as he was picked for the NCBWA Pitcher of the Week for his peformance against Notre Dame.

Chamberlain was dominant against Notre Dame on March 3, holding the Fighting Irish to just three hits over seven shutout innings. He posted his second-straight double-figure strikeout effort with a season-high 11 Ks, including six of the first 11 hitters he retired in order. He needed just 89 pitches to get through the seventh.

This was his second honor of the year, as he was also selected on Feb. 22, after holding No. 19 North Carolina State to just two singles over 7.1 shutout frames. Chamberlain fanned seven and took a no-hitter into the fifth against a team that entered the game hitting .460 as a team and averaging over 17 runs per game.

Chamberlain Reaches Double Figures
With a 2-1 record and a 1.29 ERA, Chamberlain has gotten off to a quick start. He has reached double-figures in strikeouts in two of his three appearances, including 10 strikeouts in a loss to No. 4 Rice on Feb. 25, and 11 strikeouts against Notre Dame on March 4. In his last two starts, Chamberlain has a 21-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Chamberlain’s 10-K Days
Date Opponent Strikeouts
Feb. 25, 2005 New Mexico 15
June 10, 2005 Miami 13
March 18, 2005 Seton Hall 12
March 3, 2006 Notre Dame 11
April 8, 2005 Texas 10
April 22, 2005 Baylor 10
Feb. 24, 2006 Rice 10

Elementry Watson, Elementry
It does not take a detective to figure out that Tony Watson has emerged into one of Nebraska’s top starters. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-hander has performed admirably in his first three starts, going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA. He has pitched at least six innings in all three starts after pitching into the sixth only once in 2005, and is holding opponents to a .214 average.

Watson has a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19.1 innings, and has matched his career high with eight strikeouts against Texas State on Feb. 24 and against Arizona on March 4. He had his best start of the year against Arizona in his last outing, holding the Wildcats to just one run over 6.1 innings of work.

Pen Pals
Nebraska has relied on the work of junior college transfer Jared Cranston and closer Brett Jensen out of the bullpen during the first three weeks of the season.

Jensen, a preseason All-American, is 1-0 with two saves and a 2.89 ERA. The senior allowed three runs in his first outing of the year, but has slammed the door since then, going 1-0 with two saves and has not allowed a run in his last four appearances. Last weekend, Jensen picked up his first two saves of the year, allowing one hit in 3.1 innings of shutout ball.
Jensen, who is on the initial NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List, has converted 18 of 19 save opportunities over the past two years, setting a school single-season record with 16 saves in 2005.

Cranston has developed into NU’s top option from the left side, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in a team-high six appearances. He is holding opponents to a .200 average and earned his first career win against Arizona

Week in Review
Friday (NU 11, Notre Dame 1): Luke Gorsett became the first Husker to hit for the cycle since 1995,  propelling NU to an 11-1 victory in the tournament opener. Gorsett went 4-for-5 with a single in the first, a homer in the third and a double in the fourth before completing the cycle with a triple to left center in the eighth. Gorsett’s performance nearly overshadowed another dominant performance from Joba Chamberlain, who silenced Notre Dame’s offense attack, holding the Fighting Irish to just three singles. NU pounded out 17 hits including three by center fielder Bryce Nimmo, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and two each by Nick Jaros, Andy Gerch and Jeff Christy as NU build a 9-0 cushion after four innings.

Saturday (NU 3, Arizona 1): Ryan Wehrle’s eighth-inning RBI double broke a 1-all tie, while three Husker pitchers limited Arizona to four hits, as No. 4 Nebraska posted a 3-1 victory over Arizona. Wehrle’s one-out double off of Arizona reliever Mark Perry plated Bryce Nimmo for the go-ahead run as NU added an insurance run in the ninth. Nebraska scratched out nine hits, including two each by Nimmo and Andy Gerch. Tony Watson and relievers Jared Cranston and Brett Jensen held the Wildcats off the board over the final seven frames. Watson matched his career high with eight strikeouts over 6.1 innings, while Cranston and Jensen combined for 2.2 innings of no-hit relief. Cranston earned his first collegiate win while Jensen picked up his first save of the year.

Sunday (NU 4, Minnesota 1): Brandon Buckman went 4-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs, powering Nebraska to a 4-1 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. Buckman’s two homers lifted the Husker offense, as he matched his career high with four hits. While Buckman provided the offensive attack, Johnny Dorn and three relievers held the Golden Gophers to one run on the afternoon. Dorn tossed six shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, while Brett Jensen earned his second save in as many days by tossing the final 1.1 innings and getting NU out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.

“No Name Offense” Develops Identity
Hitting coach Andy Sawyers faced an unenviable task this spring, replacing the bulk of an offensive lineup that produced a school-record 57 wins games a year ago. The group included consensus national player of the year Alex Gordon, two-time All-Big 12 first baseman Curtis Ledbetter and four-year starters Daniel Bruce and Joe Simokaitis. In fact, NU returned just 13 homers from last year with no player hitting more than four. In response, Sawyers started referring to NU’s lineup as the “No Name Offense.”

Percentage Back from 2005
Player R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
?O6 Returnees 167 268 38 3 13 165 23
Pct. 34% 36% 30% 20% 19% 39% 23%

Early on, NU has quickly developed an offensive identity, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in both average (.331) and homers (10) and have reached double digits in hits five times in the first 10 games.

Last week at the Dairy Queen Classic, NU placed five offensive players on the all-tournament team: Jeff Christy (C), Brandon Buckman (1B), Andy Gerch (DH), Bryce Nimmo (OF) and Luke Gorsett (OF). Gorsett was named Tournament MVP after hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two homers, four RBIs and five runs scored, while Nimmo batted a tournament-high .545 (6-for-11) to earn the Silver Stick Award.