Huskers Head West for NCAA Regional

For the eighth time in the last nine seasons, the Nebraska baseball team advanced to NCAA regional play, as the Huskers will travel to Tempe, Ariz., this week for the NCAA Tempe Regional. The four-team, double-elimination regional begins Friday, June 1, and continues until Monday, June 4, with the winner advancing to meet the winner of the Oxford Regional taking place this weekend.

The Huskers, who finished fourth in the Big 12, will take on Big West Conference champion UC Riverside (37-19) in Friday’s first match-up at 4 p.m. (central) from Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Arizona State (43-13) is the region’s top seed and the No. 5 National Seed in the NCAA Tournament. ASU will take on Northeast Conference champion Monmouth (36-22-1) at 9 p.m. (central). The rest of the regional schedule is as follows: Saturday (4 p.m. and 9 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m. and 5 p.m.) and Monday, if necessary, at 8 p.m. All times listed above are central. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Sun Devil Athletic Ticket Office at (480) 965-2381 or by visiting www.thesundevils.com.

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.

The Huskers will be making their 11th NCAA trip in school history and have a 28-21 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including College World Series appearances in 2001, 2002 and 2005. This season marks the first time since the 2000 campaign that Nebraska has been on the road for a regional. In that season, the Huskers won the Minneapolis Regional ? the first regional title in school history.

This year, Nebraska comes in with a 30-25 record after going 1-2 at the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. NU knocked off eventual tournament champion and No. 13 Texas A&M, 5-3, in the opener before back-to-back losses to Kansas State (5-1) and No. 5 Texas (5-4) derailed the Huskers’ bid for a third straight Big 12 Championship game appearance.

Nebraska rebounded from a 3-6 start in Big 12 action to win five of its last six conference series with the only Big 12 series loss coming at the hands to regular-season champion and No. 4 national seed Texas in mid-April.

Six Big 12 teams got into the tournament field, which ranks second to the ACC among all conferences. Joining the Huskers in the field are a trio of No. 1 seeds in Texas (No. 4 national seed), Texas A&M, Missouri, as well as Oklahoma State and Baylor.

Scouting the NCAA Regional Teams
Arizona State (43-13): The Sun Devils are the No. 5 national seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament after claiming the Pac-10 Conference championship and posting their fourth 40-plus win season in the past five years. The Sun Devils, winners of nine of their past 10 games, boast Pac-10 Player-of-the-Year Brett Wallace, who hit .426 with 15 homers and 73 RBIs this season. Wallace is one of three Arizona State players with double-digit round-trippers, along with Kiel Roling (13) and Eric Sogard (10). The Sun Devils also pose strong threats on the mound in freshman right-hander Mike Leake (12-1, 3.72 ERA) and junior left-hander Josh Satow (11-3, 2.23). Leake was one of 11 Sun Devils to earn All-Pac 10 Conference honors under head coach Pat Murphy, who was named the league’s 2007 coach of the year.

The Huskers and Sun Devils are not unfamiliar foes on the diamond, most recently facing off twice in the 2005 College World Series. In the first contest, Nebraska earned its first CWS victory in school history with a 5-3 win, while a repeat match-up just four days later saw an ESPN instant classic when the Sun Devils defeated the Huskers, 8-7, in 11 innings. Arizona State had three Big 12 opponents on this year’s schedule, defeating Texas A&M once (5-4), splitting contests with Missouri (7-1 and 2-3) and sweeping a two-game set against Kansas State (9-6, 6-2). This marks the fifth time in the past seven years that Arizona State has been selected as a Regional host.

UC Riverside (37-19): The UC Riverside Highlanders earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning their first Big West Conference title in school history. Under the direction of third-year head coach Doug Smith, Riverside saw a large turnaround this season by finishing with 16-5 record in conference play after going 9-12 in the Big West in 2006. A large part of that success came from Highlander ace James Simmons, who holds a league-best 2.32 ERA with a 10-3 record. Simmons also struck out 113 hitters during the regular season to rank second in the conference. Shortstop Jaime Pedroza has started all 56 games for the Highlanders, earning team highs in home runs (12) and RBIs (51) with a .329 average. This will be just the second NCAA Tournament appearance ever for UC Riverside, after also qualifying in 2003 when they were ousted by Richmond a year after the Huskers defeated the Spiders in the 2002 Super Regional. Nebraska and UC Riverside have met only once in school history as the Highlanders defeated the Huskers, 5-3, on March 27, 1980. The Huskers and Highlanders had one common opponent this season as both traveled to Oklahoma. Riverside was swept in three games (14-5, 11-5, 2-1), while Nebraska won 2-of-3 at Norman (0-6, 6-4, 12-5). The Highlanders earned their highest ranking in school history back on May 22 when they reached No. 13 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball poll.

Monmouth (36-22-1): The Monmouth Hawks set a school record for wins this season en route to the Northeast Conference Championship and third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (also 1998 and 1999). Located in West Long Branch, N.J., the Hawks are led by the pitching duo of Brad Brach and Ryan Buch, who were named the New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Assocation’s Pitcher and Rookie of the Year. Both have posted 9-2 records on the season and impressive ERAs (Brach, 2.72; Buch, 2.17). First baseman Andy Meyers leads the team in hitting with a .395 average and finished the season as the Northeast Conference leader in hits (85) and RBIs (64). Another strong force at the plate is right-fielder Kyle Messineo. With a .346 average, his team-leading .484 on-base percentage works to the Hawks’ advantage as he is first in the conference in stolen bases, reaching successfully in 41 of 45 attempts. Messineo is one of five hitters in the lineup to post at least a .300 batting average The Hawks have one tie on their 2007 schedule, a 3-3 deadlock with Boston College on March 8 in Lantana, Fla., when the game could not be continued after nine innings due to darkness.

Leading Off

?-Since the NCAA went to the 64-team format in 1999, Nebraska has made eight appearances, which ties for eighth nationally in that time period. The only teams to make more appearances tham Nebraska in that span are Cal St. Fullerton, Clemson, Florida St., Miami (Fla.), Oral Roberts, Rice and Texas.

?-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 played 27 of its final 31 games against teams in the top 50 in the RPI.

?-Nebraska played 25 of its 55 regular-season games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers, going 10-15 against the other teams in this year’s field.

Nebraska vs. the 2007 NCAA Field

Opponent Record

• vs. Rice 0-1
• vs. Stetson 1-0
• vs. Missouri 1-2
• vs. Texas A&M 2-2
• vs. Creighton 1-2
• vs. Oklahoma State 2-1
• vs. Wichita State 0-1
• vs. Texas 1-3
• vs. Coastal Carolina 0-2
• vs. Baylor 2-1

?-As a league, the Big 12 entered the postseason ranked second nationally among all leagues in RPI and is one of only three conferences to win 70 percent of its games against non-league foes during the regular season.

The Big 12’s six bids was second only to the ACC, which received seven bids. Three Big 12 schools (Texas, Texas A&M and Missouri) also received No. 1 seeds.

?-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. The Huskers won five of their last six Big 12 series to finish above .500 in conference play. NU joined No. 1 seeds Missouri and Texas as the only Big 12 teams to win five of their last six series in Big 12 action. In fact, the win on the final day of the regular season marked the first time NU had been above .500 in Big 12 play all season.  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. 32) while hosting Coastal Carolina (No. 7) at Hawks Field.

?-Of Nebraska’s 55 regular-season games, 32 (58 percent) have come against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. In fact, only four other teams - all of which came from the Big 12 - have played more games against top-50 RPI teams.

?-With the 2007 NCAA Regional, Nebraska will make its 11th appearance in school history, and first since the 1999 campaign where it wasn’t a No. 1 seed. The Huskers had been a top seed in each of their last six NCAA appearances.

?-NU has 12 come-from-behind wins this season, including a pair of wins at Kansas to end the regular season. Since the start of the 2005 campaign, the Huskers have had 48 come-from-behind wins.

?-Nebraska ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big 12 with 19 saves this season, a total which is second on Husker single-season list. The figure is more remarkable when you consider that Nebraska has 30 victories in 2007. Five Husker pitchers have at least one save, including seven by Matt Foust and four by Steve Edlefsen.

?-The Huskers are second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 70 sacrifices this season. Of the top eight teams nationally in sacrifices, five are playing in this weeks NCAA regionals. NU’s 70 sacrifice bunts is the team’s highest total since recording 77 sacrifices during the 2000 campaign (68 games).

?-Several Huskers have enjoyed their best success in two-out situations during the 2007 season. Andy Gerch has driven in 20 of his 29 runs with two outs, while Jake Opitz (22 of 43) and Craig Corriston (15 of 37) have combined to drive in nearly half their total RBIs in two-out situations.

?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson enters this week’s NCAA Regional with 212 wins and needs two wins to move into a tie for third place on NU’s career wins list. He is already just one of four Husker managers to win 200 games at Nebraska.

?-Nebraska has won 84 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning dating back to the 2005 campaign, and is 181-3 (.984) when leading after eight innings since the start of the 2003 season.

?-Nebraska’s trip to Tempe marks the first time the Huskers have traveled to a Pac-10 school since going to Stanford for the 2000 NCAA Super Regional. The Huskers will open the 2008 season with a series at Stanford.

?-The crowd of 18,136 at Rosenblatt Stadium against Creighton was the second-largest single-game crowd in college baseball during the regular season.Thanks to Boyd Nation (www.boydnation.com), here is a listing of the largest crowds in 2007.

?-With a win in this weekend’s NCAA Regional, right-hander Johnny Dorn will join former All-American Shane Komine as the only two Husker pitchers to reach double figures in wins more than once in their careers. Komine, who holds NU’s school record with 41 wins, finished with at least 10 wins in each of his final three seasons at Nebraska.

?-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 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 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.

?-NU has gotten off to fast starts this season, outscoring its opponents 49-30 in the opening inning of games. The first inning is the Huskers’ highest-scoring inning this season.

?-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).

Last Time Out
Wednesday (Nebraska 5, Texas A&M 3): Nebraska used an opportunistic offense and strong pitching performances from Tony Watson and Matt Foust to knock off No. 11 Texas A&M, 5-3, at the Big 12 Championship. Watson (6-4) allowed two runs over 5.1 innings of work to pick up his first win since April 29. The left-hander got out of several early jams, as the Aggies left runners in scoring position in each of the first six innings against Watson and in seven of nine innings. Foust earned his seventh save by going the final 3.2 innings, highlighted by a bases-loaded strikeout of Blake Stouffer in the eighth to preserve NU’s 4-3 lead at the time. Nebraska pounded out eight hits and plated single runs in five different innings ? including a trio of sacrifice flies - en route to its third consecutive victory. DJ Belftonte and Craig Corriston ? the top-two hitters in the Nebraska lineup ? combined to go 4-for-7 and score four of the Huskers’ five runs. Belfonte matched his season high with three hits and scored twice, while Craig Corriston reached safely on three of his four plate appearances and also scored a pair of runs. Andy Gerch drove in a pair of runs, including a two-out RBI single in the first that gave the Huskers the lead for good off Texas A&M starter Clayton Ehlert.

Thursday (K-State 5, Nebraska 1) Kansas State took advantage several costly errors in handing Nebraska a 5-1 setback in the Big 12 Championship.The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead and relied on a strong performance from starter Brad Hutt, who held Nebraska to one run over eight innings for the victory. Hutt scattered three hits and walked one, as he held the Huskers scoreless until the sixth. Andrew Brown drove in NU’s only run with a RBI single, but the Huskers still had an opportunity to send the game into extra innings against KSU closer Daniel Edwards in the ninth, loading the bases after two-out singles by Jake Opitz and Jeff Tezak and a walk to Andy Gerch. Unfortunately for the Nebraska, Jake Mort flew out to left to end the Huskers’ rally. Opitz went 2-for-4, while no other Husker had more than one hit.

Saturday (Texas 5, Nebraska 4) Freshman DJ Belfonte went 2-for-4 and scored twice, but NU’s late-inning comeback fell short in a 5-4 loss to No. 5 Texas. The Huskers had the tying runner on base in each of the last three innings, but could not capitalize against Longhorn closer Randy Boone, who got UT out of each jam, including a bases-loaded situation after NU got to within 5-4, earn his 13th save. Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Boone retired the first two Huskers before Andy Gerch started the rally with a single up the middle. Pinch hitter Nick Sullivan then delivered a single to right, which was misplayed by UT right fielder Kyle Russell to allow Gerch to score from first and make it a one-run game. Jake Mort and Bryce Nimmo both coaxed walks to load the bases, but Jeff Lanning grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat. NU had one last opportunity, as Craig Corriston singled with one out in the ninth, but Boone retired the next two hitters, preserving the win for reliever Austin Wood, who allowed one hit over 3.2 scoreless innings for his eighth win in nine decisions. Jake Opitz drove in pair of runs in a losing effort, while NU got a strong relief performance from right-hander Luke Wertz, who allowed one run over six innings of work. Wertz struck out six Longhorns and kept the Huskers in the game after Texas jumped out to a 4-1 lead.