Huskers, ?Jays Set for Rubber Match

The Nebraska baseball team leaves Lincoln for the first time in a month Tuesday evening, as the Huskers make the 57.25-mile trek to Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium to take on the Creighton Bluejays.

First pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. and fans can listen to Tuesday’s game on the 22-station Husker Sports Network, including flagship stations KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on the Internet at Huskers.com. Tuesday’s game will also be shown statewide on Nebraska Educational Television (NET-1, Ch. 12 and NET-HD, Ch. 112) with Larry Punteney and Adrian Fiala calling all of the action. It is the fifth and final regular-season Husker telecast on NET during the 2007 season.

Tickets for the series finale between the Huskers and Bluejays are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations across the state and will be sold at Rosenblatt Stadium on Tuesday. One of the largest crowds in college baseball this season will be on hand as both teams have postseason aspirations entering the final weekend of the regular season. Over 15,600 tickets have been sold for the series finale, and if the first two matchups this season are any indication of what is in store on Tuesday night, fans will be will be treated to a highly competitive matchup. The Huskers won a 12-10 battle in early April at Rosenblatt, only to see the Bluejays even the series with a 2-1 victory in Lincoln two weeks later.

Nebraska enters Tuesday’s contest with a 27-21 record and a two-game winning streak after winning the final two games of the weekend series against Baylor to get back to .500 in Big 12 play. The Huskers wrapped out 28 hits in the final two games of the series en route to winning their fourth Big 12 series in the last five chances and lead the Big 12 in hitting in conference games with a .304 team average.

NU wraps up a treacherous stretch on Tuesday where 24 of its last 25 games have been to teams currently in the top-50 in the RPI. The Huskers, who have played the toughest schedule in the country according to warrennolan.com, will look to build momentum heading into this weekend’s Big 12 series finale at Kansas. Matt Foust will make his sixth start of the season on Tuesday, as he enters the game with a 1-3 record and a 3.29 ERA. Foust allowed two runs over eight innings in NU’s 2-1 setback to the Bluejays on April 17.

The Huskers will run into a Creighton team which is enjoying one of its best seasons in school history. The Bluejays are 37-12 on the season following a sweep of Illinois State last weekend. CU brings a seven-game win streak into Tuesday’s contest and is tied with Wichita State for the Missouri Valley Conference lead with a 17-4 mark.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Huskers will travel to Kansas for a weekend series with the Jayhawks. First pitch for the Friday’s series opener is 7 p.m.

Leading Off
?-With over 15,600 tickets sold for tonight’s game, the Nebraska-Creighton game is guaranteed to be one of college baseball’s largest crowds in 2007. Thanks to Boyd Nation (www.boydnation.com), here is a listing of the largest crowds in 2007.

?-Since 1999, the third meeting between Nebraska and Creighton has taken place at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium - the site of the College World Series. The game has drawn crowds in excess of 10,000 for the last eight seasons (including Tuesday’s game).
For the past three years, the Nebraska Classic - sponsored by First National Bank - has been a true neutral-site contest with both teams sharing the operation of the event and working together to increase interest and make it one of the most anticipated events in the Omaha sporting calendar.

?-Since a 3-6 start in Big 12 play (which included four last at-bat losses), the Huskers have been one of the Big 12’s best teams over the past six weeks. The Huskers have played .600 baseball in conference play since Easter weekend and join Missouri and Texas as the only Big 12 teams to win four of their last five series in league play.

?-The Huskers have not shied away from tough competition this spring, as their schedule is rated as the toughest nationally of the 293 teams playing Division I baseball.  Including Tuesday’s game against Creighton, Nebraska has played 24 of its last 25 games against teams in the top-50 of the most recent RPI dating back to the Huskers’ series at Texas A&M.  In addition to playing its Big 12 schedule, NU went on the road and took a series from Alabama (one of only two teams to win a series in Tuscaloosa in 2007), and also played non-conference games at Rice (No. 1 in the RPI), Wichita State (No. 21) and Stetson (No. 24) while hosting Coastal Carolina (No. 11).

?-Of Nebraska’s 48 games this season, 28 (58 percent) have come against teams in the top-50 of the RPI. In fact, only 12 teams in the country have more wins against top-50 RPI teams than Nebraska.

?-As a league, the Big 12 is rated third nationally among all conferences and is one of only three conferences to win 70 percent of its games against non-league foes. In all, seven of the league’s 10 teams have RPIs in the top 40.

?-With one week left in the regular season, the field for the Big 12 Championship is still far from set. Six teams have already punched their tickets to Bricktown, while all 10 teams enter the last weekend with a shot at the postseason.

?-NU has gotten off to fast starts this season, outscoring its opponents 46-26 in the opening inning of games, as the first inning is the Huskers’ highest-scoring inning this season.

?-All-American Tony Watson has been a stalwart at the top of the Husker rotation in Big 12 play. He is 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA, while his  7.79 innings per appearance not only tops all Big 12 pitchers, but is the highest by a Husker pitcher in the Big 12 era (1997-present).

?-Nebraska has 10 come-from-behind wins this season, most recently against Baylor on May 12.

?-The Huskers are second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 64 sacrifices this season, as 13 players have recorded at least one sacrifice bunt.

?-Nebraska’s pitching has been solid in Big 12 action, posting a team ERA of 4.02 to rank second in the league. In fact, Nebraska and Texas are the only two schools with ERAs under 4.50 in Big 12 play. The Husker pitching staff is also second in the league in opponent batting average (.250), fewest walks per game (3.18) and strikeouts per game (8.41).

?-Several Huskers have enjoyed their best success in two-out situations during the 2007 season. Andy Gerch has driven in 17 of his 24 runs with two outs, while Jake Opitz (19 of 36) and Craig Corriston (14 of 32) have combined to drive in nearly half their runs in two-out situations.

?-Nebraska turned in its best defensive peformance of the season in the series win over Baylor, as the Huskers committed just one error in the three-game series, good for a .991 fielding percentage.

?-Nebraska’s bullpen has been just as good in conference play, posting a 2.23 ERA and a 78-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 76.2 innings this season.

?-Nebraska has won 81 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning dating back to the 2005 campaign, and is 178-3 (.983) when leading after eight innings since the start of the 2003 season.

?-Nebraska ranks eighth nationally and leads the Big 12 with 16 saves this season, a total which is fourth on Husker single-season lists.  Five pitchers have at least one save, including five by Matt Foust and four by Steve Edlefsen.

?-Nebraska has already had three double-digit hit streaks (Jeff Tezak-15; Andrew Brown-15; Andy Gerch-10), which is more than last season’s entire team total (2).

?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson became the fourth Husker coach to reach 200 career wins in a 5-2 victory over No. 13 Oklahoma State on April 6. He is now eight wins away from moving into third place on NU’s career wins list.

?-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 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 (Baylor, Nebraska 2): DJ Belfonte and Bryce Nimmo had two hits apiece, but Nebraska fell to Baylor, 9-2, in the series opener Friday night. NU scored its only runs of the night on a one-out pinch-hit RBI single by John Lee and Andrew Brown’s sacrifice fly. Belfonte, who reached safely in four of five plate appearances, went 2-for-3 and was hit by two pitches, while Nimmo went 2-for-4 with a run scored in a losing effort. Unfortunately, the Huskers ran into the hot pitching of Baylor right-hander Jeff Mandel, who spun 7.1 innings of shutout ball for the Bears. Mandel scattered six hits and struck out three, while he benefited from a Bears’ offense that pounded out 14 hits, including homers from Beemer Weems, Chase Gerdes and Dustin Dickerson. Tony Watson (5-4) took the loss for the Huskers, allowing eight runs on 11 hits over 6.2 innings.

Saturday (Nebraska 10, Baylor 4): Andrew Brown, Craig Corriston and Mitch Abeita had three hits apiece, leading Nebraska to a 10-4 victory on Saturday.  The Huskers pounded out 15 hits and used homers by Brown, Andy Gerch and Jake Opitz to snap a four-game losing streak. Brown paced the Husker attack with a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate, highlighted by his team-leading ninth homer of the year, as the senior first baseman also tied a career high with three runs scored. Abeita established a career high with three hits and scored twice, while Corriston tied his season best with a 3-for-6 afternoon, as the Huskers broke a 4-all deadlock with six unanswered runs over the last six frames. The offensive outburst was more than enough for the pitching duo of Johnny Dorn and Matt Foust, who combined to hold Baylor scoreless over the last six innings.  Dorn upped his record to 8-2 on the season, allowing four runs over five innings, while Foust tossed four innings of two-hit shutout relief for his fifth save.

Saturday (Nebraska 6, Baylor 4): Andy Gerch had three hits, including a fifth-inning RBI single to break a 3-3 tie, as Nebraska took the rubber match with a 6-4 victory on Sunday. Gerch drove in Andrew Brown with the go-ahead run, as the Huskers scored twice in the frame to take the lead for good against Baylor starter Kendal Volz. Jeff Tezak also had three hits in a 13-hit attack, while Jake Mort added two hits and scored twice, lifting the Huskers to their fourth Big 12 series win in the last five conference weekends. Luke Wertz (3-0) struck out six and scattered five hits over 6.1 innings. Relievers Steve Edlefsen and Thad Weber combined to stifle Baylor rallies in both the seventh and eighth innings. Edlefsen worked a scoreless inning while Weber went the final 1.1 innings for his second save.

Scouting Creighton
Fourth-year coach Ed Servais (151-74 at CU) has the Bluejays in prime position for a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title, as Creighton enters this Tuesday’s game with a 37-12 record and a seven-game win streak. Creighton is tied with Wichita State for the MVC lead and host Missouri State this weekend. The Bluejays have won seven straight games entering tonight’s game, including a three-game sweep at Illinois State over the weekend.

First baseman Darin Ruff has been Creighton’s top offensive threat, as he leads the Bluejays with a .387 average, seven homers and 52 RBIs. Catcher Chris Gradoville has driven in 50 runs while hitting .356 on the year, as four Bluejay regulars are above the .300 mark.
 CU’s calling card so far in 2007 has been its defense, as the Bluejays are in the top five nationally in both fielding percentage and double plays.  On the mound, freshman Casey Schmidt makes his seventh start of the season for the Bluejays, as he is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA. The right-hander has struck out 24 over 33.0 innings and held opponents to a .254 average. The Bluejays feature a deep bullpen including switch-pitcher Pat Vanditte (7-2, 2.18 ERA) and closer Andy Masten (4-3, 1.07 ERA, 13 SV).

NU leads the all-time series, 62-43-2, and has won 12-of-16 meetings since Mike Anderson took over as Nebraska’s head coach in 2003. The Huskers, who have won the season series for the last seven seasons, saw their six-game win streak against CU snapped in the last meeting in April.