Huskers Travel to Arlington to Open 2007 Season

The Nebraska baseball team hits the road to begin the 2007 season this week, traveling to Arlington, Texas, for the Hilton Arlington UTA Invitational. The Huskers, who went 42-17 a year ago, will play four games over a three-day span, including a pair of contests against New Mexico.

The season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 16, as the Huskers take on New Mexico (2-3) in a day-night doubleheader. Game one’s first pitch is set for 11:30 a.m. from Clay Gould Ballpark. Nebraska will take on the host Mavs (1-3) Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. and conclude the weekend with Illinois State, which opens its 2007 this weekend.

All four of Nebraska’s games this weekend can be viewed on-line on HuskersNside (subscription required) as the website will carry nearly all of the Huskers’ 2007 schedule, both home and away. Live stats for all four games this weekend will be on Huskers.com.

The Huskers, who are ranked as high as seventh nationally this week, return 22 letterwinners from a team that reached an NCAA Regional for the seventh time in eight seasons in 2006. NU brings back six position starters and 12 of 15 pitchers from a staff that ranked 12th national in team ERA a year ago.

Offensively, the Huskers welcome back four All-Big 12 performers in shortstop Ryan Wehrle, first baseman/outfielder Andrew Brown, designated hitter Andy Gerch and second baseman Jake Opitz. Wehrle, who was the first Husker shortstop to earn All-America honors, hit .367 with eight homers and 48 RBIs while also swiping 14 bases. Brown, a second-team All-Big 12 performer as a utility player, hit .298 with nine homers and 30 RBIs, while Gerch (.290-4-18) and Opitz (.293-2-27) were honorable-mention picks in 2006. In fact, Nebraska returns more than half of its total hits, runs and RBIs and two-thirds of its stolen base totals from 2006.

Despite losing first-round draft pick Joba Chamberlain and Brett Jensen, the school’s all-time leader in saves, NU returns a staff that combined for 29 of NU’s 42 wins in 2006 and made 44 starts.

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Returnees	206	358	64	10	29	189	56
Pct.	55%	57%	58%	71%	41%	54%	66%
Prior to 2006	34%	36%	30%	20%	19%	39%	23%
Pitchers	W	GS	S	IP	SO
Returnees	29	44	2	301.6	185
Pct.	69%	75%	12%	57%	48%
Prior to 2006	65%	54%	91%	64%	68%

Leading Off
?-Nebraska and Kansas State are the final Big 12 teams to open the 2007 season when they take the field this weekend.

?-Nebraska has won its last five season openers and is 4-0 in season-opening games under Head Coach Mike Anderson.

?-Nebraska’s trip to Arlington is the Huskers’ fifth season-opening trip to Texas in the past eight seasons, but first since 2003. Saturday’s game against the host Mavericks will be the first meeting between the teams since 2000, a 3-1 Husker win.

?-Friday’s day-night doubleheader against New Mexico marks the first time since 1989 that the Huskers have opened the year with a doubleheader and the first time since 1985 that NU has opened the year with a doubleheader on the road.

?-Of the 32 players on this weekend’s travel roster, 12 could see their first action as Huskers, including seven true or redshirt freshmen.

?-Nebraska will see a familiar face in the UTA dugout on Saturday, as pitching coach Jay Sirianni played at Nebraska from 1996 to 1999, helping the Huskers win their first conference title of any kind as a senior in 1999. UTA Head Coach Jeff Curtis graduated from Nebraska-Kearney in 1990.

?-Tony Watson’s start on Friday will mark the fifth straight year and seventh time in the last eight years that a southpaw has taken the hill on opening day. The only right-hander who has earned the nod in that stretch is two-time All-American Shane Komine, who started the 2002 season opener against New Mexico.

Huskers Enjoy the Great Indoors
The Huskers baseball team has a case of cabin fever that they will to shake this weekend. Nebraska has been exclusively indoors since opening practice on Jan. 19 - a total of 23 workouts (counting Wednesday). The Huskers travel to Arlington on Thursday afternoon and are scheduled to work out outdoors for the first time Thursday evening.

The good news is that the 2007 season is the first time the Huskers have been able to workout in the Hawks Championship Center, a 81,200-square foot facility which was completed last summer. The building, which is connected to Memorial Stadium by an indoor skywalk, includes room for a full football field and a championship wing which includes hitting cages for the baseball and softball programs.

This is the second time in Mike Anderson’s five seasons that the Huskers have not gotten outdoors before leaving for a season opener. The other time was 2004 when NU got off to a 3-0 start, including a 19-run outburst in its season opener. Last year, the Huskers had 13 practices outdoors before their season opener in South Carolina.

Scouting the Weekend Field
New Mexico (2-3): The Lobos will have five games under their belt before taking on the Huskers on Friday. UNM won a 15-12 slugfest against Texas Tech in their opener on Feb. 6 before dropping three games against Arizona last weekend. The Lobos, who went 30-29 and finished fifth in the Mountain West Conference, are led by second baseman Jordan Pacheco, who is hitting .529 with two homers and four RBIs. Pacheco was selected as the preseason MWC Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Last season, he batted .351 with 21 doubles and 43 RBIs. Nebraska leads the series 16-7 and has won the last six meetings dating back to the 2001 campaign.

UTA (1-3): The Mavericks are 1-3 on the season after dropping a series against Louisiana Tech last weekend. UTA brings back seven starters and 16 letterwinners from a team that reached an NCAA Regional in 2006. Sophomore Matthew Otteman paced the Mavs’ offensive efforts last week, hitting .600 with six RBIs in UTA’s four contests en route to being named Southland Conference Player of the Week. Second baseman Dan Reider was a preseason All-Southland Conference pick after hitting .318 with four homers and 34 RBIs last season. Reider is hitting .357 with a homer and five RBIs. The two teams have met just twice, with NU winning the last meeting in 2000.

Illinois State (0-0): Illinois State opens its 2007 season this weekend by traveling to Arlington. The Redbirds return four starters and 18 letterwinners from a squad that posted a 20-33 record and tied for seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2006. Catcher Kevin Dubler was a preseason All-MVC selection after hitting .259 with four homers and 25 RBIs last season. The Huskers lead the all-time series, 3-0, including a pair of matchups last March in Lincoln.