Huskers Battle Bears Tonight

Lincoln - The Nebraska baseball team wraps up its seven-game homestand this week, as the Huskers take on Northern Colorado in a two-game series from Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

First pitch for Tuesday’s game is set for 6:35 p.m. and the game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com, while Wednesday’s 1:35 p.m. start will be carried exclusively on Huskers.com. In addition, both games of the NU-UNC series will be shown on HuskersNside (subscription required) while live stats will be on Huskers.com.

General admission tickets -priced at $7 and $5 - are available for both games by visiting Huskers.com, calling the NU Ticket Office (800-8-BIGRED) or at the Hawks Field Ticket Office beginning 90 minutes prior to first pitch.

The Huskers (13-9) will look to take the momentum from Sunday’s 16-1 victory over Missouri into this week’s action with the Bears. Nebraska established season highs in both runs and hits (17), highlighted by a 12-run outburst in the sixth that turned a 4-1 game into a rout. First baseman Andrew Brown led the charge with a 4-for-5 afternoon and tied a school record with three doubles, as he enjoyed his first career four-hit day. Designated hitter Jeff Tezak single-handed did most of the damage with six RBIs in the sixth inning, including a grand slam, as the Huskers snapped MU’s 14-game win streak. Third baseman Craig Corriston continued his hot hitting over the weekend, batting .462 (6-for-13) with a homer and five RBIs against the Tigers, raising his season totals to 386-2-21.

One area where the Huskers have made marked strides on the homestand is with the pitching staff, as NU has a team ERA of 1.40 over the last five contests, including the staff’s first shutout of the year against Western Illinois on March 20. The string of solid outings continued on Sunday, as Johnny Dorn tossed a complete-game five hitter against Missouri. Dorn, who upped his record to 4-1 on the season, struck out a season-high nine batters in a game shortened to seven innings because of the run rule.

Northern Colorado brings a 7-13 record into town after dropping a series at nationally ranked Arizona over the weekend. In Sunday’s finale, the Bears had a 5-4 lead, only to see Arizona tie the game in the ninth and win with a walk-off homer in the 12th. The Bears already have one win over a Big 12 team, as they split a pair of games against Kansas last Wednesday.

Nebraska leads the series with UNC, 20-3, as the teams split a pair of meetings last season in Lincoln. The Bears posted a 5-2 meeting in the opener before NU rebounded with a 9-1 win in the finale.

Traffic Issues Around the Ballpark

The NDOR has announced that Sun Valley Boulevard from Charleston to North 10th Street will be closed beginning March 19th. This closure is to repair the abutments and decking of the bridge over I-180, and is expected to take about six weeks to complete. Detour routes will be marked on Charleston to North 1st Street then east on Cornhusker Highway.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska’s 12 runs against Missouri in the sixth inning on Sunday was the Huskers’ highest single-inning total since putting up 13 runs in the fifth inning against Chicago State on March 16, 1999.

?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson takes on his alma mater this week, as Anderson played at UNC from 1983 to 1986 and served as an assistant coach at the school in 1994. During his playing days, Anderson hit .450 with 30 stolen bases in 1986, his final season at the school.

?-Nebraska has enjoyed its best success in two-out situations during the first part of the season. The Huskers have driven in nearly 37 percent of their runs with two outs. Craig Corriston has 11 of his 21 RBIs in two-out situations, while Andy Gerch has driven in all seven of his runs with two outs.

?-Three of NU’s four Big 12 losses have been by one run with the other coming in extra innings.

?-NU’s shutout against Western Illinois on March 21 marked the first shutout of the year for the Huskers, and the first since consecutive shutouts of Texas (6-0) and Wichita State (11-0) last April.

?-Eight of Nebraska’s 22 games have been decided by one run, as the Huskers are 5-3 in one-run contests.

?-The Huskers are 9-0 when out-hitting opponents, but is just 4-9 when the opponent has more hits.

?-Nebraska’s bullpen has been solid in recent games, posting a team ERA of 1.74 over the last 10 contests, while holding foes to a .214 average.

?-The Huskers did not commit an error in the final two games of the Missouri series, marking the first time all season that NU has went two consecutive games without an error.

?-Nebraska is looking to pick up its first extra-inning win of the year, as the Huskers are 0-2 so far this season. NU had won all five of its extra-inning contests during the 2006 campaign.

?-NU is one of only seven teams in all of Division I baseball to post team ERAs below 4.00 in each of the last five years, joining Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts, Rice, Texas and Wichita State.

Weekend Recap
Friday (Missouri 5, Nebraska 1, 11 inn): Tony Watson allowed one unearned run over 10 innings, but could not get the win, as Missouri scored four runs in the 11th to earn a 5-1 victory. Watson turned in one of the finest performances of his career, scattering three hits and striking out seven and retiring 14 of the final 15 hitters he faced. Missouri rallied off the Husker bullpen in the 11th, as Trevor Coleman’s two-run bases-loaded single broke the tie. Craig Corriston had three hits and drove in NU’s only run of the game in a losing effort.

Saturday (Missouri 4, Nebraska 3): Jake Opitz went 2-for-3 with a homer, but Evan Frey’s eighth-inning RBI single broke a 3-all tie, lifting Missouri to a 4-3 victory. Frey’s two-out RBI single in the top off of NU reliever Drew Bowman plated the go-ahead run for MU, which overcame an early 3-1 deficit. Nebraska had ample opportunities against Tiger starter Rick Zagone, putting the tying run in scoring position in both the seventh and ninth, but could capitalize and push the tying run across. DJ Belfonte went 2-for-4 and scored twice, as he and Opitz combined for half of Nebraska’s eight hits, but NU was held scoreless after the third.

Sunday (Nebraska 16, Missouri 1): Jeff Tezak drove in six runs as part of NU’s 12-run sixth inning, as the Huskers snapped Missouri’s 14-game win streak with a 16-1 win. Tezak, who went 3-for-5 and scored twice, broke open a 4-1 game with a grand slam before driving in two more runs later in the inning with an RBI double.Andrew Brown and Craig Corriston also homered in the inning as NU totaled 10 hits off of four Tiger pitchers. Brown finished with a career high four hits, including a school-record three doubles. Bryce Nimmo was 3-for-3 and scored three times on the afternoon, while Corriston had two hits and drove in three runs. Johnny Dorn was the beneficiary of NU’s outburst, as he tossed a complete-game five hitter and struck out a season-high nine Tigers for his fourth win.

Morris Returns to Hawks Field
The Huskers welcomed a special guest back to the ballpark on Sunday, as former All-American Jed Morris returned to watch the series finale between the Huskers and Tigers. Morris, who had not seen the Huskers play at Hawks Field since his playing days, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia last summer and underwent treatment throughout the fall. The condition is currently in remission, and Morris will travel to Arizona in early April to begin extended spring training in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Last fall, the Husker coaches and players raised money for Morris’ medical bills, culminating with a full day of batting practice for fans at Hawks Field. The event raised more than $11,000.