Huskers Host Northern Colorado

Following a series win over Kansas, the No. 3-ranked Nebraska baseball team concludes its homestand this week with a pair of mid-week contests against Northern Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Huskers and Bears will open up Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. in the first night game of the season at Hawks Field, with an afternoon matinee set for 1:05 p.m. on Wednesday.

Both games will be available on selected Pinnacle Sports Network stations and on the Internet at Huskers.com. In addition, live video streaming is also available on HuskersNside. General admission tickets, priced at $7 (adults) and $5 (youth and seniors) are also available for both games.

The Huskers are 17-3 on the season after seeing their 13-game winning streak snapped in a 7-6 loss to Kansas on Sunday. The setback also ended NU’s 21-game home winning streak that dated back to last May.   NU, which clinched the series win with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, had been brilliant on the mound during its win streak, posting a 1.49 ERA in that stretch, holding eight of its 13 opponents to one run or less. The Huskers dipped to third in Collegiate Baseball while remaining eighth in the Baseball America poll.

Northern Colorado is 8-16 on the year after dropping 2-of-3 games at BYU over the weekend. In that series, the Bears dropped a pair of one-run games before rebounding with an 11-run outburst in Saturday’s finale. UNC, which has played 22 of its 24 games on the road, allowed only a combined eight runs in a two-game series at Creighton. The Bears also played well in a series loss at Texas A&M, allowing just 13 runs in a three-game sweep. The Huskers lead the series 19-2 and have won all five meetings since the Bears returned to the Division I ranks three years ago.

The Huskers will start redshirt freshman Charlie Shirek on Tuesday. The right-hander from Minot, N.D., is 1-0 on the season and ranks third in the Big 12 with a 1.23 ERA. In his last start, Shirek tossed a three-hit shutout of South Dakota State on March 17, becoming the first Husker freshman since 2000 to toss a complete-game shutout. Redshirt freshman Tim Radmacher will make his second start of the year on Wednesday.

NU’s roster features seven players from Colorado, and many of them have played key roles. Brandon Buckman (Monument) hit .615 (8-for-13) with four RBIs to key NU’s sweep of Kansas, lifting his season average to a season-high .365. Luke Gorsett (Denver) tops the Big 12 with nine homers and is among the league leaders with a .373 average, while Jake Opitz (Littleton) and Nick Sullivan (Arvada) have earned starting roles at second base and at designated hitter. Sullivan was 3-for-6 in two starts vs. KU, while Opitz has been solid both offensively and defensively in his first full year as a starter

Who’s Hot
?-Buckman has continued his early-season tear, as the senior is hitting .513 (20-for-39) with five homers and 14 RBIs in his last 10 games, raising his average 165 points since March 6. Buckman has seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI contests in that stretch. The Monument, Colo., native hit .385 with a homer and six RBIs in last season’s three-game series with the Bears.
?-Redshirt freshman Nick Sullivan made the most of his first Big 12 weekend. Sullivan, who started the final two games at DH, went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday’s nightcap before going 1-for-2 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch on Sunday. Sullivan is hitting .421 win 11 games this season.
?-One of NU’s keys to its win streak was a prolific effort on the base paths. After stealing just two bases in its first six games, NU has swiped 34 in the last 14 contests, including 26-of-28 in one seven-game stretch before going 0-for-2 in Sunday’s loss to Kansas.
?-NU has won its last 33 straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2004 campaign and are 43-1 in home non-conference games at Hawks Field since the start of the 2004 campaign.
?-Since allowing three runs in the ninth inning of his 2006 debut against NC State on Feb. 17, senior closer Brett Jensen has been nothing short of spectacular, going 3-0 with four saves and a 0.00 ERA in his last nine appearances. He has allowed just five singles over his last 18 innings and opponents are hitting .093 in that stretch.
?-Ryan Wehrle hit .417 (5-for-12) and scored five times in the series win over the Jayhawks.
?-Freshman Erik Bird has continued to impress, as he allowed one hit in 1.2 shutout innings of relief. Bird has not allowed a run in six outings and is holding hitters to a .200 average.
?-Nebraska is hitting .349 with runners in scoring position, including .393 (11-for-28) in bases loaded situations, highlighted by Luke Gorsett’s homer against Kansas on Saturday. In 2005, the Huskers hit just .207 with the bases loaded.
?-NU Head Coach Mike Anderson played three seasons at Northern Colorado (1984-86) before graduating from the school in 1990. He ranks ninth on UNC’s career hitting list with a .386 average and is second on the Bears’ all-time chart with 70 stolen bases.
?-Nebraska has had four home win streaks of at least 10 games since moving into Hawks Field at the start of the 2002 season.
?-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 held 16 of its first 20 opponents to four runs or less this season and its 2.80 runs allowed per game leads the nation.
?-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 1.51 ERA over its last 16 games.