Huskers Travel to No. 11 Wichita State

The Nebraska baseball team begins a four-game road trip on Wednesday night, as the Huskers travel to No. 11 Wichita State for an important non-conference matchup. First pitch from Wichita is set for 7 p.m. and can be watched in parts of the state on MyTV (Lincoln and Grand Island) and 6-2-0 on Cox Cable in Omaha

Radio broadcasts of Wednesday’s game will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network stations across the state, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com.

The Huskers hit the road with a 20-12 record after going 3-1 on its recently completed homestand after a 7-6 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night. Nebraska, which has won eight of its last 11 contests, raced out to a 7-3 lead before Iowa rallied for three runs in the ninth and had the bases loaded before Matt Foust closed the door in the ninth for his second save. The Huskers continued  to find offense, using 2-for-4 nights from second baseman Jake Opitz and third baseman Jeff Tezak, as the pair combined to drive in four runs. The Huskers got a strong outing from sophomore Dan Jennings, who went four innings in a pre-determined start for his first career victory, as he struck out four without a walk. 

Nebraska has warmed up at the plate in recent games, hitting .320 as a team over the last 11 contests to raise the team batting average to .288, which ranks  fifth in the Big 12.  Tezak and first baseman Andrew Brown both bring double-digit hitting streaks into Wednesday’s tilt against the Shockers. Brown is hitting .391 with seven doubles and nine RBIs, while Tezak is hitting .419 with 17 of his 29 RBIs in that stretch. Brown was chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, hitting .500 with four doubles, a triple and five runs scored in four games last week

Another Husker who is swinging a hot stick lately is left fielder Andy Gerch, as the junior is hitting .385 with six doubles and eight RBIs during a current eight-game hit streak. Gerch turned in multi-hit efforts in all four games last week, including a pair of doubles in Friday’s series-opening win.

Wichita State is 23-8 on the season and ranked as high as 11th nationally after Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma was rained out. The Shockers currently lead the Missouri Valley Conference with a 7-2 record after taking 2-of-3 games from Creighton last weekend.

Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State is 23-8 and ranked as high as 11th in the national polls heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Huskers.
The Shockers, who were rained out against Oklahoma on Tuesday, lead the MVC with a 7-2 mark after winning 2-of-3 games against Creighton last weekend. All-American second baseman Damon Sublett leads WSU with a .375 average with two homers and 24 RBIs. First baseman Derek Schermerhorn is hitting .361 with five homers, 26 RBIs and a team-high 16 stolen bases, while third baseman Connor Gillaspie leads WSU with 32 RBIs.

The all-time series is deadlocked at 19-19, as the Huskers have won the last three meetings, including an 11-0 shutout in Lincoln last April. The Huskers earned a 4-2 win in Wichita in 2005, their first win over the Shockers in Wichita since 1986.

Last Night: Nebraska 7, Iowa 6
Dan Jennings earned his first career victory, while Jake Opitz and Jeff Tezak drove in two runs apiece, as Nebraska held off Iowa, 7-6, on a soggy Tuesday evening at Hawks Field.  Jennings turned in the best performance of his career in a spot start, allowing one earned run over four pre-determined innings for his first career win. The left-hander from West Des Moines, Iowa, scattered five hits and struck out a career-high four after learning he was going to make his first career start 20 minutes before the game when the tarp was pulled. 

Opitz and Tezak both had two hits in the victory, as Opitz’s two-run single in the bottom of the third helped NU overcome an early 2-0 deficit, while Tezak’s sixth-inning solo homer gave the Huskers (20-12) a seemingly safe four-run lead. 

Iowa fought back in the ninth, taking advantage of four walks and a pair of wild pitches to pull within 7-6 and had the bases loaded with two outs. Matt Foust finally thwarted the Hawkeye comeback by getting Kevin Hoef to foul out to first baseman Andrew Brown to end the contest and earn his second save.

Leading Off
?-The Huskers are currently in the middle of a stretch where they play 13-of-16 games against ranked opponents. The stretch began at Texas A&M and will continue through the end of a three-game series with Texas April 20-22. NU is 3-3 against ranked foes during this stretch heading into this week’s action.
?-Nebraska has gotten off to fast starts this season, outscoring its opponents 36-12 in the opening inning of games. OSU’s two runs on Sunday marked the first time a Husker opponent had scored in the first inning since March 15, a span of 16 games.
?-The Huskers have two Kansas natives on the 2007 roster in pitchers Matt Foust (Overland Park) and Sam Sharpe (Louisburg). Foust has enjoyed his best season to date, going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in 12 appearances after earning his second save of the season against Iowa on Tuesday.
?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson became the fourth Husker coach to reach 200 career wins in Friday’s 5-2 victory over No. 13 Oklahoma State.
?-The Huskers have been hitting better in recent games, batting .320 as a team over the last 11 contests after hitting just .263 over the previous 10 games. Nebraska has also had at least 10 hits in each of the last seven games, the longest stretch of the year.
?-Nebraska’s bullpen has 12 saves this season, a total that already ranks fifth on single-season charts. Five pitchers have at least one save, including four by Steve Edlefsen and three by Erik Bird.
?-If you remove last Tuesday’s game against Creighton - a game where NU had six errors in sub-freezing conditions - NU’s defense has committed just six errors over the last 11 games, good for a .985 fielding percentage. NU had just two errors on the weekend in the series win over Oklahoma State.
?-Nebraska’s triple play against Northern Colorado on March 28 was the first one by the Huskers since the 1998 season and only the sixth in Big 12 history (since 1997). The Huskers join Texas A&M as the only teams to turn more than one triple play, while the last two in league play have both involved the Huskers.
?-Nebraska’s bullpen has been solid over the past month, posting a 2.62 ERA in the last 23 contests dating back to March 5, while holding foes to a .229 average in that stretch. NU is also 8-for-8 in save situations in that span.
?-Nebraska’s 12 runs against Missouri in the sixth inning on March 25 were the Huskers’ highest single-inning total since putting up 13 runs in the fifth inning against Chicago State on March 16, 1999.
?-Several Huskers have enjoyed their best success in two-out situations during the first half of the season. Andy Gerch has driven in 14 of his 17 runs with two outs, while Jake Opitz (13 of 27) and Craig Corriston (12 of 26) have combined to drive in nearly half their runs in two-out situations.
?-The Huskers enter the week ranked second in the Big 12 with 46 sacrifices, as 13 players have  recorded at least one sacrifice bunt this year. ?-Four of NU’s seven Big 12 losses this season have been by one run with three of them coming during an opponent’s last at-bat.
?-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.
?-The Huskers are 15-2 when out-hitting opponents this spring, but just 5-10 when the opponent has as many or more hits.
?-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 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.
?-Following this week’s four-game trip to Wichita and Norman, the Huskers begin a 15-game homestand that will last nearly a month. In addition, NU also has one game it can add to the schedule, as the home opener vs. Nebraska-Kearney last month was postponed.