Huskers Head to Big 12 Tournament

2007 Record (29-23, 14-13 Big 12)
Rankings: NR (CB) ? NR (BA) ? NR (Sports Weekly) ? NR (NCBWA)

This Week’s Schedule
Day Date Matchup Location Radio Time/Result
Wed. May 23 Texas A&M (41-15, 13-13 Big 12) Oklahoma City, Oka. Husker Sports Network 10 a.m.
Thurs. May 24 Kansas State (33-22, 10-16 Big 12) Lawrence, Kan. Husker Sports Network 7:30 p.m.
Sat. May 26 Texas (42-14, 21-6 Big 12) Oklahoma City, Oka. Husker Sports Network 1 p.m.
Sun. May 27 TBA Oklahoma City, Oka. Husker Sports Network 1 p.m.
Polls are in the following order: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly

Media Info
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com
Live Stats: huskers.com/big12sports.com
Live Video: big12sports.com
Television: Sunday’s Big 12 title game will be carried nationally on Fox Sports Net (Ch. 37 in Lincoln on Time Warner Cable; Ch. 47on Cox Cable; Also on DISH Network and on DirecTV.
Televisi : All-Session Tickets prices range from; club-level seating, $225, box seats, $120, reserved seating, $85, weekend box seats, $70 and weekend reserved seating, $50.

Huskers Head to Big 12 Tournament
The Nebraska baseball team travels to Oklahoma City in search of the program’s fifth Big 12 Tournament title, as the Big 12 Championship begins Wednesday at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. For the second year, the tournament format is a pool play format, with the eight teams divided into two four-team brackets and the winner of each bracket advancing to Sunday’s nationally televised title game. The winner of Sunday’s game will earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament the following weekend.

The Huskers (29-23, 14-13 Big 12) earned the fourth seed in this week’s tournament by winning the series against Kansas last weekend - NU’s fifth series win in the last six weekends. NU passed Texas A&M for fourth place on the final day of the regular season, edging the Aggies out by a half game.

Nebraska opens the tournament on Wednesday morning, as it takes on Texas A&M (41-15, 13-13 Big 12) at 10 a.m. The Huskers will also play Kansas State (Thursday at 7:30 p.m.) and Texas (Saturday at 1 p.m.). All-session tickets can be purchased prior to the championship and single-game tickets can be purchased at the Bricktown Ballpark.

Fans across the state of Nebraska can listen to all of this week’s action 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.
For fans that can’t make it to Oklahoma City, the Big 12 is carrying live video of all of the games leading up to Sunday’s title matchup on Big12sports.com. Live stats will also be available on Huskers.com.

The Huskers showed fortitude in bouncing back from a 3-6 conference start by winning every series but one over the past six weeks, including series wins over K-State, Baylor and Kansas to close the regular season. Over the weekend, the Huskers needed to win its final two games to finish above .500 in conference play, and pulled out 11-9 and 4-2 wins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to go above .500 for the first time in league play this season.

On Sunday, junior Luke Wertz allowed two runs over eight innings in the longest start of his career. Wertz, who is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts since moving into the rotation, stuck out eight without a walk to earn his fourth win of the season.  He finished the year wih a 3-0 record with a 1.77 ERA in conference action, ranking second among all league hurlers in both ERA and opponent batting average.

The Huskers enter the Big 12 Tournament battle tested, as 24 of their last 28 regular season games were against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI. NU’s strength of schedule led the nation entering last weekend and has been consistently in the top five for most of the second half of the year.

Husker Home Run Club Social Set for Wedneday
The Husker Home Run Club will hold a postgame gathering following Wednesday’s Big 12 Tournament opener against Texas A&M. The Bricktown Brewery is located one block west of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.  For more information on the event, visit www.huskerhomerunclub.com.

Leading Off
?-Since a 3-6 start in Big 12 play (which included four last at-bat losses), the Huskers closed the conference season with a flourish since the start of April. The Huskers have played .611 baseball in conference play since Easter weekend and join Missouri and Texas as the only Big 12 teams to win five of their last six series in league play.

?-The Huskers have not shied away from tough competition this spring, as their schedule is rated fifth nationally of the 293 teams playing Division I baseball.  Nebraska has played 24 of its last 28 games against teams in the top 50 in the RPI entering this week’s tournament and will play at least three games against top-50 foes this week in Oklahoma City. 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. 22) and Stetson (No. 27) while hosting Coastal Carolina (No. 9) at Hawks Field.

?-Of Nebraska’s 52 regular-season games, 29 (56 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. Seven of the eight teams in action this week have RPIs in the top 35 nationally.

?-Last Tuesday’s crowd of 18,136 at Rosenblatt Stadium against Creighton was the second-largest crowd in college baseball this season. Thanks to Boyd Nation (www.boydnation.com), here is a listing of the largest crowds in 2007.

NCAA Baseball’s Largest Crowds in 2007
Attend. Game (MLB Park) Date
23,984 Rice 7, Baylor 0 (Minute Maid Park) Feb. 10
21,620* Georgia 10, Georgia Tech  7 (Turner Field) April 24
18,136* Creighton 9, Nebraska 2 (Rosenblatt) May 15
13,791 San Diego State 4, Michigan 1 (Petco) March 10
*-2007’s largest single-game crowd (others were tournaments)

?-The Huskers are second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 67 sacrifices this season, as 13 players have recorded at least one sacrifice bunt. Nebraska’s 67 sacrifices is the Huskers’ highest team total since the 2000 squad had 77 sacrifices.

?-NU has 12 come-from-behind wins this season, including a pair of wins over the weekend at Kansas

?-Nebraska’s pitching has been solid in Big 12 action, posting a team ERA of 4.37 to rank second in the league. In fact, Nebraska and Texas were the only schools with ERAs under 4.50 in Big 12 play. NU pitchers also led the league in saves (eight), complete games (three) and stikeouts/game (8.48), while ranking second in walks (3.32) and opponent batting average (.255).

?-Nebraska’s bullpen has been just as good in conference play, posting a 2.86 ERA and a 91-39 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 88.0 innings this season.

?-Nebraska has won 83 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning dating back to the 2005 campaign, and is 180-3 (.983) when leading after eight innings since the start of the 2003 season.

?-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.

?-Nebraska finished Big 12 play with a .300 batting average in conference play, one of only three teams in the league to hit .300 in conference play.

?-Several Huskers have enjoyed their best success in two-out situations during the 2007 season. Andy Gerch has driven in 19 of his 27 runs with two outs, while Jake Opitz (19 of 37) and Craig Corriston (14 of 32) have combined to drive in nearly half their runs in two-out situations.

?-NU has gotten off to fast starts this season, outscoring its opponents 47-29 in the opening inning of games. The first inning is the Huskers’ highest-scoring inning this season.

?-Nebraska ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big 12 with 18 saves this season, a total which is second on Husker single-season lists. Five pitchers have at least one save, including six 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 enters this week’s Big 12 Tournament with 211 wins and needs three wins to move into a tie for third place on NU’s career wins list.

?-Craig Corriston’s three stolen bases against Kansas on May 19 was the first time that a Husker had three stolen bases since Jake Mort swiped three bases against Texas Tech on April 29, 2006.

?-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.

Big 12 Tournament History
Nebraska makes its ninth consecutive appearance in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City this week and looks to continue its run of success. The Huskers are 27-8 in the Big 12 Tournament, with a league-best four tournament titles (1999-01, 2005) and two runner-up finishes (2002 and 2006).  At the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, the Huskers are 23-4 all-time, winning all four of their tournament titles in Oklahoma City.

Last Time Out
Friday (Kansas 10, Nebraska 5): Craig Corriston tied his career high with three hits, but Kansas scored six unanswered runs, erasing a 5-4 deficit to take the opener witha 10-5 win. Corriston went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice to provide much of the offensive highlights for Nebraska. The Jayhawk duo of John Allman and Brock Simpson proved to be too much, combining for six hits and driving in three runs apiece to help Kansas extend its win streak to six games. Allman went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a go-ahead RBI triple in the sixth. Simpson enjoyed a 3-for-4 evening with three RBIs and scored twice. Andres Esquibel turned in a solid relief effort to earn the victory, tossing 3.1 innings of one-hit ball relief.

Saturday (Nebraska 11, KU 9) Jake Opitz had three hits and drove in two runs, while his game-saving play in the bottom of the ninth helped the Huskers preserve an 11-9 victory on Saturday. With the Huskers clinging to a two-run lead and a runner on first with no outs, Opitz ignited a 4-6-3 double play, as he sprawled out to stop Brock Simpson’s one-hop grounder behind second and flipped to Jake Mort, who fired a strike to first to complete the double play. Andy Gerch led Nebraska’s 13-hit attack with a 2-for-5 effort and a season-high three RBIs, including a key two-run triple in the Huskers’ five-run fifth. Craig Corriston drove in a pair of runs and scored three times, while Jeff Tezak went 3-for-3 and scored three runs, as the Huskers built a 10-3 lead and withstood a furious Jayhawk comeback. Johnny Dorn earned his ninth win of the season, allowing six runs over five innings of work, as the junior right-hander moved into a tie for second place on NU’s career wins list.  Thad Weber earned his third save by striking out three over 2.1 innings of relief

Sunday (Nebraska 4, KU 2) Nebraska used a combination of timely hitting and strong pitching from Luke Wertz and Matt Foust to top Kansas, 4-2, Sunday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.  Nebraska produced just three hits, but had two of them in the decisive seventh inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Jake Mort to break a 1-1 deadlock and give the Huskers the lead for good. That was more than enough for Wertz, who allowed two runs on eight hits over eight innings ? his longest start of the year ? and struck out eight without a walk.  Matt Foust pitched a perfect ninth for his team-best sixth save of the season. Nebraska broke through in the seventh, taking advantage of a key balk call and a two-run double from Jake Mort to take a 3-1 lead. With one out, an infield single from Andy Gerch and a walk to Jake Opitz put runners on first and second for Mort, who cleared the bases with a double past third.

The Kid is All Right
Freshman DJ Belfonte has become an ideal leadoff hitter for the Huskers this spring. The outfielder from Kansas City is hitting .309 from his leadoff spot while appearing in 51 of 52 games this season and is making a strong case for Freshman All-America honors.

He leads NU in five offensive categories, including on-base percentage (.459), walks (30), hit-by-pitches (17), multi-hit games (17) and sacrifices (15) and is  second on the team in runs scored (37) and stolen bases (10).

Belfonte, who leads all Big 12 freshmen in walks, sacrifices and on-base percentage, has been even better against the Big 12, ranking among the league’s best in several categories, including batting average (.343, 11th),  on-base percentage (.456, second), runs scored (24, 10) and walks (14, seventh), ranking first or second among all Big 12 rookies in each category.

Belfonte is looking to become only the third true freshman starter to hit over .300 since 1999 and could be the first freshman to lead NU in walks since 1998.

What Can Brown Do for You?
First baseman Andrew Brown has been one of the Big 12’s hottest players over the second half of the year. The senior from Carrollton, Texas, is hitting .373 with five homers, 15 doubles and 25 RBIs over his last 31 games, raising his average from .239 to .310 in the process.
He is now third in the Big 12 in doubles, as 30 of his 58 hits this season have gone for extra bases. In league play, he finished with a .343 average, six homers and 24 RBIs, ranking in the league’s top-10 in eight offensive categories, including hits, homers, RBIs, doubles and runs scored.

The surge began on March 25 against Missouri with his first career four-hit game, a 4-for-5 afternoon with three doubles and a homer. Two weeks ago, Brown helped NU to a key series win over Baylor, hitting .444 with a homer and three RBIs while adding three walks in a series win over Baylor.  

Against Kansas State, he hit .545 (6-for-11) with two homers and five RBIs. A second-team All-Big 12 designated hitter in 2006,  he led NU to a series win at No. 23 Oklahoma last month, hitting .583 with five runs scored and three doubles over the weekend. He tied his career high with four hits in a series-clinching win on April 15

Dorn Climbs Husker Win List
With his win against Kansas on May 19, Johnny Dorn tied Jeff Anderson for second place on NU’s career wins list. Dorn sports a 30-8 career record as a Husker, becoming the third NU player to ever reach the 30-win plateau. WIth a win this week, he can move into sole possession of second place, trailing only three-time All-American Shane Komine on NU’s career chart.

Of Dorn’s 30 career wins, 10 have been in Big 12 series clinchers over the past three seasons. Of the 14 chances he has had to win a series in his Husker career, Dorn has come through on 10 of them, including five as a freshman when he went 12-2 en route to All-America honors.

WIth his win over Kansas on May 19, he became the first Husker hurler since Komine to defeat every Big 12 team at least once during his career.  If Dorn can put up one more win this season, he will join Komine as the only Huskers in school history to reach double figures in wins more than once in their career.

The wins chart is one of three top-10 lists that Dorn is on, as he ranks foruth on NU’s career starts list (41) and sixth in career innings, moving past Jim Lepley (264.1, 1985-88) for sixth place on NU’s innings list.

Wertz Finds Sunday Niche
Throughout 2007, the Huskers have been looking for a third weekend starter to join veterans Tony Watson and Johnny Dorn, and they have found one with the development of junior Luke Wertz.

The right-hander from Parker, Colo., has become one of the Huskers’ top performers during the season, going 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 14 appearances. He has struck out 55 and walked only 12 in 51.0 innings while holding foes to a .212 average.

Wertz has been his best down the stretch, going 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA since March 16, striking out 52 over 48 innings in that span. He had a streak of 23.1 innings without an earned run, including each of his conference starts and is 3-for-3 in turning in quality starts since moving into the rotation in late April.

He allowed one unearned run and struck out a career-high 10 hitters against Kansas State on April 29 and allowed three runs over 6.1 innings against Baylor on May 13. Wertz picked up his third Big 12 series-clinching win in the regular-season finale at Kansas, allowing two runs over eight innings, as he struck out eight without a walk in a 4-2 Husker win.

Prior to moving into the rotation, Wertz had shined as the Huskers’ long relief specialist.  He picked the perfect time to turn in the best relief effort of his career, clinching NU’s series win over No. 23 Oklahoma on April 15. The right-hander went a career-high 8.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits for his first-ever Big 12 win. Wertz retired 22 of 23 Sooners during one stretch en route to turning in the longest relief effort by a Husker since All-American Shane Komine tossed 9.2 innings at Iowa State during the 1999 campaign.  One week later against No. 4 Texas, he tossed 7.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out seven against a Longhorn team that was hitting .325.

Husker Ace Has Been Dealing
All-American pitcher Tony Watson has been one of the Big 12’s top pitchers for the past two seasons. This season, Watson is 5-4 on the season, but ranks among the Big 12 leaders in innings pitched (88.1, ninth), strikeouts (78, ninth) and complete games (two, first), as he is second in the Big 12 with an average of 6.77 innings per appearance.
Watson picked up four of his five wins against Big 12 teams, including wins over nationally ranked Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas. In conference action, Watson is in the top two in four categories.

Watson, who was 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in his first four starts, turned the corner with a 10-inning performance against Missouri on March 23 where he allowed one unearned run and struck out seven in a no-decision en route to earning Big 12 Pitcher-of-the-Week accolades. Two weeks later against No. 13 Oklahoma State on April 6, he tossed a complete game, striking out a career-high 12 hitters without a walk.  It marked just the fifth time in the last nine years where a Husker pitcher had at least 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk.

Elementry, Watson, Elementry
Left-hander Tony Watson collected his third piece of Big 12 hardware in the last month, as he was selected as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following his two-hit shutout of No. 4 Texas on April 20. Watson struck out six and did not allow a Longhorn baserunner to reach third, in handing UT its first shutout since April of 2005.

“(Watson) had control of the whole environment. It was pretty impressive. The truth of the matter is it was brilliant.”
- Texas Coach Augie Garrido after Watson’s two-hit shutout

Watson became the first Husker pitcher to earn three Big 12 weekly honors since Aaron Marsden in 2003. In fact, the only two other Huskers to accomplish the feat were chosen as the league’s Pitcher of the Year in those seasons.

Foust Has Been a Find
One of the biggest surprises for the Husker staff has been the emergence of junior Matt Foust. The right-hander had pitched only 12.2 innings prior to this season, but has become one of the Huskers’ most reliable arms this season. He is 1-4 with a 3.77 ERA and six saves in a team-best 24 games, ranking eighth in the league in saves, 10th in appearances and 13th in ERA.

In conference play, Foust has been one of the Huskers’ most reliable relievers, posting four saves and a 1.99 ERA in his 11 relief stints, holding hitters to a .169 average. His five saves in league play rank second among conference closers and is a major reason why NU led the Big 12 in saves in league play.

In addition, he has been used as an occasional starter this season and had his best effort against Creighton on April 17, allowing two runs over a career-long eight innings, but took the loss in a 2-1 setback.

The Bryce is Right in Center
After missing nine games in March with a shoulder injury, center fielder Bryce Nimmo has been a consistent performer at the bottom of the Husker lineup.

Since returning to the lineup on March 21, Nimmo is hitting .304 with eight stolen bases and 17 runs scored in his last 33 contests after hitting just .200 in his first nine games of the year. He leads the Huskers with 11 stolen bases and has been solid defensively in center field, where his speed helps him cover a lot of ground.

In Big 12 action, Nimmo has been even better, hitting .316, a nearly 100 point jump from his sophomore season. Two weeks ago against Baylor, he went 4-for-10 with a pair of multi-hit games in the series win. Nimmo enjoyed his best weekend at No. 23 Oklahoma in mid-April, hitting .455 (5-for-11) with three RBIs, two walks and a pair of stolen bases.

Four Huskers Named Academic All-Big 12
Four Husker baseball players earned accolades for their efforts in the classroom, as they were selected to the 2007 academic All-Big 12 team. The honorees included junior outfielder Bryce Nimmo, infielder Jake Mort and pitchers Matt Foust and Luke Wertz.
Nimmo is a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection, while the other three players were all second-team selections and were lauded for the first time in their career.  First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

Opitz Shows Offensive Punch
One of the offensive keys for NU this season has been the contributions of Jake Opitz. The junior second baseman is hitting .277 with five homers and 40 RBIs,  pacing the Huskers in RBIs and ranking second in homers. He is looking to become the first middle infielder to lead NU in RBIs since Dale Hegy drove in 51 RBIs in 1992.

Opitz has easily topped his career high in RBIs, which was 27 in 59 games a year ago. He has 15 multi-hit games and leads NU with 10 multi-RBI contests. Last weekend, Opitz showed his value with both his bat and glove, hitting .333 with three RBIs and scoring three runs in the series win over Kansas, while making a game-saving play in NU’s 11-9 victory on Saturday.

Opitz, who has made one error in his last 20 contests, has been a solid performer at second base throughout his career and is now four assists away from becoming the sixth Husker to record 400 career assists.

Opitz earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week accolades for his efforts at the Rice Invitational in February, hitting .600 and scoring five runs in helping NU to a 2-1 weekend. At Stetson the following weekend, he showed his improved power, belting two homers and driving in seven runs in two games on Sunday, as he equaled his entire 2006 total of homers in one afternoon.

The junior from Littleton, Colo., nearly became the first Husker to hit for a cycle at Hawks Field on March 21 against Western Illinois, going 3-for-5 with a homer and triple in NU’s 8-0 win. He provided the big hit in the win over Northern Colorado on March 28, a three-run triple that wiped out a 2-0 deficit.

Corriston, Tezak Make Immediate Impact
Junior college transfers Craig Corriston and Jeff Tezak have flourished throughout the 2007 campaign, their first in Husker uniforms.

Corriston, who has started at five different positions (1B, 3B, SS, RF and DH), is hitting .313 on the season with five homers and 35 RBIs, tying for the team lead with 17 multi-hit games. Corriston led NU to a series win at Kansas last weekend, hitting .455 (5-for-11) with five runs scored, four RBIs and five stolen bases. He matched his season high with three hits in the opener and then established career bests in both stolen bases (three) and runs scored (three) in NU’s 11-9 win.

Tezak, who transferred in from Palomar (Calif.) JC at the start of the spring semester, has found a role as NU’s designated hitter. Tezak is hitting a team-high .345, an average that is 14th in the Big 12, with a pair of homers and 34 RBIs. He had a 15-game hitting streak earlier in the season and enters the Big 12 Tournament hitting .361 over his last nine contests.

Tezak has been at the focal point of both of NU’s last at-bat wins this season, delivering a sacrifice fly against Western Illinois on March 20 while capping a five-hit day at No. 22 Alabama on March 10 with his ninth-inning RBI single. He was chosen as the league’s Player of the Week on March 12, after hitting .728 with a homer, three RBIs and two doubles in the series win over the Crimson Tide.

Edlefsen, Weber Provide Dual Threats
The Huskers have relied on the two-way talents of Steve Edlefsen and Thad Weber throughout the 2007 season.

Edlefsen, who can play nearly every position on the diamond, has been one of NU’s most valuable performers this spring. An infielder in his first year as a Husker, he has seen time in the outfield and at third base this season in addition to his mound duties.

On the mound, Edlefsen has been used in both a set-up and closer role, posting a 0-1 record and a 3.70 ERA in 21 appearances. He is second on the team with four saves and is tied for the team lead with three holds.

Weber, a junior college All-American at Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, is batting .257 with seven RBIs in 10 games, splitting time between designated hitter and first base. During the second half the year, he has moved into a co-closer role with Matt Foust, going 1-1 with two saves and  a 3.18 ERA in 18 contests. He has allowed just one of 14 inherited runners to score this year and earned his third save of the season at Kansas, going 2.1 innings to preserve NU’s 11-9 win.

Drawing a Crowd
With the first full week of spring-like weather, baseball fans came out in droves to the ballpark in late April. The first four games of the homestand drew an average of 7,184 to Hawks Field, including the three largest crowds of the year.
The three-game series with Texas drew a total of 21,898 fans, the fourth-largest series total in school history despite constant rain in the series finale. The April 20 crowd of 8,656 was the second-largest regular-season crowd in school history (fourth overall).

Brown, Watson Garner Big 12 Honors
Andrew Brown and Tony Watson were rewarded for their recent performances, as both players earned Big 12 weekly honors on April 9.  Brown was named the league’s Player of the Week for the first time in his career after hitting .500 (8-for-16) with four doubles, a triple and five runs scored in four games. His eighth-inning RBI double against Creighton broke a 10-10 tie on April 3. He also went 6-for-12 against OSU, including a 3-for-4 effort with a double and triple in the series clincher on April 7.

Watson collected his second conference honor in three weeks, sharing pitcher-of-the-week honors with Missouri’s Rick Zagone. Watson tossed a complete game against No. 13 Oklahoma State on April 6, holding the Cowboys to a season-low two runs, and striking out a career-best 12 hitters without a walk in a 5-2 win.

Morris Returns to Hawks Field
The Huskers welcomed a special guest back to the ballpark on March 25, as former All-American Jed Morris returned to watch the series finale between the Huskers and Missouri. Morris, who had not seen the Huskers play at Hawks Field since the 2002 Super Regional against Richmond, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia last summer and underwent treatment throughout the fall. The condition is currently in remission, and Morris is in Arizona going through 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.

Watson Garners Big 12 Honor
Nebraska pitcher Tony Watson was selected as the Big 12’s Pitcher of the Week by the conference office on March 26. He earned the honor after allowing one unearned run over 10 innings of work in the series opener against Missouri. Watson allowed just three hits and struck out a season-high seven Tigers, while retiring 14 of the final 15 hitters he faced.
His 10 innings against the Tigers was not only a career-long performance, but also the longest outing by a Husker pitcher since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

What an Inning
Nebraska’s 12-run outburst against Missouri on March 25 not only was the most runs in an inning by a Husker team in eight years, but also featured its most prolific power display of the season. NU hit three homers in an 11-pitch sequence, turning a 4-1 lead into a 10-run cushion. Jeff Tezak began the scoring with a grand slam - the first by a Husker in exactly one year. Andrew Brown followed Tezak’s homer with a solo blast before Craig Corriston added a third homer two batters later. It marked the fifth time in nine seasons that NU scored at least 10 runs in an inning.

Tezak Earns Big 12 Honor
Third baseman Jeff Tezak was selected as the Big 12’s Player of the Week on March 12 following the Huskers’ series win at No. 22 Alabama.
Tezak hit .727 (8-for-11) with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.182 in helping NU to a 3-1 week. He opened the weekend with six consecutive hits, including a 5-for-5 effort with a homer and two RBIs in a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Alabama’s preseason All-American Tommy Hunter. 

Tezak tied a Sewell-Thomas Stadium record with five hits, including a homer in the seventh that tied the game at three before driving in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. He posted his second multi-hit game of the weekend in the series finale, going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the Huskers’ 6-5 win on April 10.

Husker Baseball on Television
Nebraska made nearly a dozen television appearances during the 2007 campaign. The broadcast schedule featured five games produced by Nebraska Educational Television (NET and NET-HD), two games as part of the Big 12’s Television package with Fox Sports Net and one nationally televised game on ESPNU.

Huskers Feature Players from 13 States
Of the 39 members of the 2007 squad, 12 are from the state of Nebraska, including seven from the Omaha metro area and two from Lincoln. In all, a total of 13 states are represented on the 2007 roster, including six from Colorado and five from Iowa.

Huskers Honored by Baseball America
The Nebraska baseball program was recently honored by Baseball America when the magazine ranked its top 64 teams of the 64-team field era (1999-2006). The Huskers were rated 11th overall and second only to Texas among Big 12 teams.  Winning percentage, postseason success, All-American, draft choices and number of alumni in the majors all played into the rankings. In fact, Nebraska was the only northern school in the top 15 in the rankings.

Seven Draftees on 2007 Husker Roster
Nebraska’s 2007 roster boasts a total of six Huskers who have been previously selected in the annual Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The list is led by pitcher Tony Watson, who was drafted in the 23rd round out of high school and in the 17th round by Baltimore last summer.

Baseball 101 is a Big Hit
During the first week of baseball practice, the Nebraska baseball team hosted Baseball 101, a one-day clinic put on by the Husker coaches and players to raise money for City Impact. The event had nearly 100 participants and raised over $3,000 for children in Lincoln’s Urban neighborhoods. Baseball 101 for the 2008 season will take place on Friday, Jan. 25. For more information on next winter’s Baseball 101, visit www.cityimpact.com.