Huskers Look for Big 12 Crown

Nebraska 
42-14, 17-10 Big 12
Phillips 66
Big 12 Championship

Sunday- 1 p.m.
vs. Kansas
41-23, 13-14 

Probable Starter
NU - Jon Klausing, So., LHP (4-1, 2.42 ERA, 22.1 IP) or Tim Radmacher, R-Fr., RHP (1-0, 3.60 ERA)
KU - Nick Czyz, Fr., RHP (3-3, 5.32 ERA, 44.0  IP)

Media Information
Television: FSN (Ch. 37 in Lincoln, Ch. 46 in Omaha) - complete clearance list for TV
Live Stats:  Huskers.com 
Radio:  Pinnacle Sports Network
Internet Radio:  Huskers.com 

Huskers Take on Jayhawks for Big 12 Crown
Today’s Preview: Nebraska looks for its fifth Big 12 Tournament title in eight seasons, as the No. 12 Huskers takes on Kansas in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship this afternoon. The Huskers (42-12) advanced to Sunday’s title game with wins over Baylor (3-2), Texas Tech (6-4) and No. 6 Texas (6-5), while Kansas (41-23) finished first in its bracket with a 3-0 record after defeating Missouri, 4-3, late Saturday. The Huskers, who are ranked as high as fourth in the various RPI formulas, will look to add to its Big 12 leading win total of 42. The Huskers took 2-of-3 meetings with Kansas during the regular season back in March.

Title History: Nebraska makes its sixth Big 12 Tournament title game appearance this afternoon. The Huskers are 4-1 all-time in Big 12 title tilts, including a perfect 4-0 at the SBC Bricktown Ballpark. Nebraska now has a league-best 27-7 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament (.794), including 23-4 (.852) here at Bricktown.

Year Opponent Score
1999 vs. Baylor W, 4-3
2000 vs. Baylor W, 11-3
2001 vs. Texas A&M W, 7-4
2002 vs. Texas L, 6-9 (10 inn)
2005 vs. Baylor W, 1-0

Saturday (Nebraska 6, Texas 5): Andrew Brown’s seventh-inning RBI single broke a 5-all tie, as Nebraska rallied for a 6-5 victory over sixth-ranked Texas Saturday afternoon. Brown’s single made a winner of reliever Tony Watson, who tossed 5.1 innings of shutout relief to earn his second win of the tournament and improve to 10-1 on the season. Nick Sullivan’s three-run homer off of Kyle McCulloch highlighted a five-run second inning for the Huskers, while Brandon Buckman had three hits and an RBI. Brett Jensen slammed the door on the Longhorns by retiring the final four hitters he faced for his 13th of the season.

Today’s probable starters:
Jon Klausing, So., LHP: Klausing would make his fourth start of the season this afternoon in the Big 12 title game *- is 4-1 with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings of work this season, but has not pitched since May 12 at Baylor *- Had been one of NU’s top performers down the stretch, going 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in five appearances, spanning 19.1 dating back to April 11 *- Was dominant in a win over Wichita State on April 25, allowing one hit over seven shutout innings, as he retired the first 14 Shockers he faced and took a no-hitter through 6.1 innings *- Picked up his third win in as many appearances, throwing three innings of one-hit ball in a start against Nebraska-Kearney on April 19, retiring the final nine hitters he faced in a pre-determined start *- Earned the victory in NU’s 13-inning win against Iowa on April 11, pitching 4.0 innings of one-hit shutout ball, his longest outing since May 12, 2004

Tim Radmacher, R-Fr., RHP: Radmacher would be making his fourth career start in Sunday’s title game *- Is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA, allowing just four hits and striking out nine in 10 innings *- Has not pitched since firing  an inning of one-hit, scoreless relief against Nebraska-Kearney on April 19 *- Earned his first collegiate victory against Northern Colorado on March 29, tossing five shutout innings while setting a career high with six strikeouts *- Spent the summer pitching for the Rochester (Minn.) Honkers of the Northwoods League *- Posted a 5-0 record with a 2.79 ERA to earn all-star recognition  *- Named the Minnesota State Player of the Year after posting a 10-2 mark with two saves and a 0.98 ERA in 2004

Regional Ticket Update: The NCAA will announce its 16 regional sites today at 2:30 p.m. (central) on ESPNews.
 If Nebraska is selected to host, all-session General Admission Tickets will be available on Huskers.com beginning Sunday evening (May 28) at 5 p.m. Tickets are $56 (adults) and $35 (youth ages 3-18; Seniors 60+ and UNL Students with a vaild NCard). Children ages 2 and under will be admitted free. Because of the Memorial Day holiday, the Ticket Office will not open until 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
 The NCAA will announce the entire 64-team field on Monday morning at 11:30 a.m. (central) on ESPN and NCAAsports.com.

Short Hops:
*- Brett Jensen has already set a Big 12 Tournament record with three saves this week, upping his season total to 13. Jensen now holds the top-two single-season marks in school history, as he saved a school-record 17 games in 2005.
*- Tony Watson matched the Big 12 Tournament record with a pair of wins this week as well. Watson, who started during the season, has not allowed a run in 5.2 innings of work this week, including 5.1 innings of shutout relief vs. No. 6 Texas on Saturday
*- Nebraska is 9-0 in televised games this season, including a 7-5 victory over Texas on April 22 and is also 9-0 in neutral site games this season
*- Nebraska has come from behind in all three Big 12 Tournament wins, upping its season total to 16 this season. The Huskers have 36 come-from-behind wins over the last two seasons
*- Nebraska has a staff ERA of 3.00 over its last seven game and has allowed four runs or less in 38 of its 56 contests. The Huskers 3.8 runs allowed per game ranks fifth nationally.
*- The Husker bullpen has tossed 11.1 shutout innings of relief during this week’s tournament, going 2-0 with three saves in that stretch. On the year, the NU bullpen is 13-2 with 17 saves.
*- NU is 15-6 in games decided by two runs or less this season
*- NU has scored nine of its 15 runs (60 percent) in the Big 12 Tournament in two-out situations this week and is hitting .389 as a team in two-out situations

Probable Lineup:
Nick Jaros, CF, Jr.:
*- Has posted multi-hit games in each of his two contests and in four of his last six contests, as he is hitting .417 (11-for-27) in that stretch
*- Honorable-mention All-Big performer hit .390 in the Big 12, the highest conference average since Matt Hopper hit .396 vs. Big 12 pitching in 2003.

Ryan Wehrle, SS, Soph.
*- First-team All-Big 12 shortstop who is hitting .354 with seven homers and 46 RBIs, as he tops NU in hits (76), runs (47) and doubles, while going 13-for-13 on the basepaths
*- Is the first Husker shortstop to garner first-team honors since Larry Mims in 1985 and only the third Husker shortstop to earn first-team all-league honors dating back to 1958.
*- Leads NU with 27 multi-hit games, while his 21 doubles is one off NU’s single-season top-10 list

Brandon Buckman, 1B, Sr.
*- First-team All-Big 12 first baseman who is hitting .336 with 14 homers and a team-best 50 RBIs
*- Was 3-for-3 with a pair of walks in Saturday’s win over Texas, and went 8-for-13 with four RBIs during the season series with Kansas in March
*- Has drawn a team-high 30 walks and has struck out only 22 times in 217 at-bats
*- Academic All-District selection with a 3.48 GPA in civil engineering

Luke Gorsett, RF, Jr.
*- First-team All-Big 12 outfielder who is hitting .350 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs in 2006
*- Howser and Wallace Award semifinalist who was named to the National Baseball Foundation All-
America honors team earlier Sunday
*- Ranks among the Big 12 leaders in homers, slugging percentage and total bases and has six outfield assists
*- Left Saturday’s game early as he tweaked his back, listed a day-to-day

Andrew Brown, LF, Jr.
*- Second-team All-Big 12 pick who is hitting .292 with nine homers and 29 RBIs
*- Has been on a tear, hitting .353 with five homers and 10 RBIs in his last 12 games dating back to April 30
*- Both of his hits in the Big 12 Tournament have been game-winning RBIs

Jake Opitz, 2B, So.
*- Honorable-mention All-Big 12 performer who is hitting .301 with two homers and 27 RBIs while appearing in all 56 contests
*- NU’s best hitter in the Big 12 Tourney, hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a pair of doubles and two RBIs - the go-ahead runs in NU’s win over Texas Tech on Thursday
*- Is hitting .370 (20-for-54) with a homer and nine RBIs in his last 14 contests, including .563 with runners in scoring position

Jeff Christy, C, Sr.
*- Honorable-mention All-Big 12 performer who has been a workhorse behind the plate for NU, hitting .293 with eight homers and 30 RBIs, along with eight steals
*- Is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with two homers over his last six games, while both homers have come in the Big 12 Tournament - the first time in his career he homered in consecutive games

Nick Sullivan, DH, R-Fr.
*- Redshirt freshman who is hitting .328 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 34 contests
*- Made his first start since May 10 (and first Big 12 start since April 29) against No. 6 Texas on Saturday, driving in a career high three runs with his second-inning homer off of Kyle McCulluch

Jake Mort, 3B, R-Fr.
*- Redshirt freshman who is hitting .273 with 24 RBIs in 47 contests
*- Is third on the team with six sacrifices and is fielding at a .962 clip at third, the highest fielding percentage by a Husker at the position in at least 15 seasons