No. 6 Huskers Clash with No. 21 Cowboys

On Tap: The Nebraska baseball team hits the road this weekend, as the sixth-ranked Huskers travel to No. 21 Oklahoma State for a three-game series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Huskers (24-4-1, 10-1-1 Big 12), who have won seven of their last eight games since an 8-all tie against Oklahoma on March 23, had their midweek game at Iowa canceled because of weather. The Cowboys (22-9, 6-6 Big 12) are also playing their best baseball of the year, winning three of their last four, including a 6-1 win over Western Illinois on Tuesday after taking 2-of-3 from then No. 4 Missouri in Columbia last weekend. OSU has been tough at home, winning 12 of 13 games in Stillwater this spring.

No. 6 Nebraska (24-4-1, 10-1-1 Big 12)  vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State (21-9, 6-6)

Friday, April 11 at No. NR/21/25 Oklahoma St.  6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at Oklahoma State 1 p.m. Sunday April 13 at Oklahoma State 1 p.m. Media Info Live Radio: Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com; SIRIUS Satelitte Radio on Sat. and Sun. Live Stats: Huskers.com Television: None Live Video: HuskersNside for Friday and Sunday at Oklahoma State; No Video on Saturday Probable Starting Pitchers Friday NU-Johnny Dorn, Sr., RHP (4-0, 2.12 ERA) OSU-Andrew Oliver, So., LHP (2-2, 3.00 ERA) Saturday NU-Thad Weber, Sr., RHP (6-1, 3.06 ERA) OSU-Tyler Lyons, So., LHP (5-2, 3.12 ERA) Sunday NU-Aaron Pribanic, Jr., RHP (3-1, 2.70 ERA) OSU-Tyler Blandford, So., RHP (3-2, 6.03 ERA)

On the Radio and Internet: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call the action all weekend on the Husker Sports Network, including KLIN 1400 in Lincoln, KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and on the Internet at Huskers.com. In addition, NU’s games on both Saturday (Ch. 143) and Sunday (Ch. 125) will be carried on Sirius Satelitte Radio.

Huskers Climb in National Polls: The Huskers continued their climb up the national charts this week, jumping from 11th to sixth in this week’s Baseball America poll and from ninth to sixth in Collegiate Baseball’s weekly poll. It is the first time that the Huskers have been in the top 10 in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball since May 8, 2006 and the highest NU has been ranked since May 1, 2006, when they were third in both polls.

Last Time Out: Nick Sullivan homered and drove in a career-high five runs, as No. 9 Nebraska completed a sweep of Texas Tech with a 5-3 victory on Sunday. Sullivan’s three-run sixth-inning homer helped NU overcome a 3-2 deficit, as he sent his third homer of the year over the wall in dead center to give the Huskers a two-run cushion. Sullivan began NU’s offensive day with a two-run double in the first, and now has had six multi-RBI efforts in his last 12 games. Sullivan totaled three of the Huskers’ five hits on the day to power the offense, Nebraska received a solid performance from starter Aaron Pribanic, while three relievers combined for three innings of two-hit ball to preserve the win. Pribanic allowed three runs over six innings, fanning striking out six for his fourth win of the season before turning the game over to the bullpen. In the seventh, Mike Nesseth got NU out of a two-on, two-out jam before Dan Jennings fanned a pair in the ninth for his third save in as many chances.

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND
1. With his five RBIs vs. Texas Tech on Sunday, Nick Sullivan drove in more runs in one day than his entire 2007 season total of four in 30 games

2. The Huskers have won their last four Big 12 series on the road dating back to 2007, including series wins at nationally ranked Oklahoma and Texas.

3. Mitch Abeita is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with a homer and seven RBIs in his last 10 contests.

Leading Off
?-With a 24-4-1 record entering the weekend, the Nebraska baseball team is enjoying one of its best starts since the program began in 1889. Only the 1983 (27-2) and 2005 (25-4) squads have had better records at the 29-game mark. The 1983 squad won a school-record 26 games to open the season, while the 2005 team won a school-record 57 games and reached the College World Series.

?-Oklahoma State coach Frank Anderson coached for three seasons under NU assistant coach Dave Bingham at Emporia State, helping Emporia State toa berth in the 1984 NAIA World Series.

?-Following the weekend series sweep over Texas Tech, the Huskers climbed into the top five in the pseudo-RPI ratings on April 9.

?-Since the series loss at Stanford on the opening weekend, the Huskers are 23-2-1, winning all six weekend series in that stretch.

?-Nebraska’s 10-1-1 start after the first four weekends of conference action is its best start since the Big 12 was formed in 1997. In fact, of the three seasons NU has won at least nine of its first 12 league games, the Huskers have won the Big 12 twice.

?-Despite losing six pitchers selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft and returning only five pitchers from last year’s staff, the Huskers lead the Big 12 and rank third nationally with a 2.86 ERA entering this weekend. Nebraska has only had four years in school history with a team ERA under 3.00 and only once since the aluminum bat was introduced in 1974.

?-If it seemed like the Huskers won a lot in March, it’s because they did. NU’s .886 winning percentage represented the second-best month in school history, trailing only a perfect 22-0 month in March of 1983. Nebraska’s 19 wins in March tied for the ninth-most victories by a Husker team in an month in school history.

?-Husker starting pitchers are a combined 17-2 on the season and have won 17 of their last 18 decisions dating back to Feb. 22.

?-Husker pitchers have pitched at least five innings in 25 of the past 28 starts. Of those three non-5.0 inning performances, two were pre-determined three-inning starts, while the other was Dan Jennings’ outing that was spread over two days because of rain.

?-The 14-game win streak Nebraska put together earlier this season tied for the fourth-longest win streak in school history and the longest since a 15-game win streak in 2000.The streak fell two games shy of the Big 12 record of 16 set by Kansas State (2006) and Texas Tech (2002).

?-Craig Corriston’s walk-off homer against Oklahoma on March 21 was the first by a Husker since 2005. The Huskers have had five walk-off homers since 2000.

?-Four former Huskers began the 2008 season on Major League Rosters. The group includes Darin Erstad (Houston Astros), Dan Johnson (Oakland Athletics), Alex Gordon (Kansas City Royals) and Joba Chamberlain (New York Yankees). Twenty six Huskers have reached the Major Leagues, including Gordon and Chamberlain in 2007.

?-Nick Sullivan’s five RBIs against Texas Tech were the most by a Husker since Jeff Tezak had six against Missouri on March 25, 2007.

?-Since allowing 17 runs to Stanford in the season opener, Nebraska pitchers have combined for a 2.38 ERA, as the Huskers have allowed more than five runs just four times this season.

?-With the series win over Texas Tech last weekend, the Huskers have won nine of their last 10 Big 12 series dating back to last season.

?-The Huskers have shown the knack for comebacks in 2008, overcoming deficits nine times this spring, including a four-run deficit at No. 13 Texas on March 28. Under Mike Anderson, the Huskers have authored 87 come-from-behind wins.

?-With the series win at Texas two weeks ago, the Huskers have won the regular-season series in four of their last five visits to Austin dating back to the 2000 season. In that stretch, UT has lost only two other three-game home series in league play

?-Aaron Pribanic is the first Husker pitcher in at least the last decade to throw complete games in his first two starts and the first to throw consecutive complete games since Aaron Marsden in 2003. With his complete-game against UC Riverside on March 2, Pribanic became the first Husker to toss a complete game in his first start since Marsden in 2002.

?-Nebraska pitchers have struck out at least 10 hitters in three consecutive games for the first time this season and the first time since a five-game stretch in April of 2007.

?-The Huskers have not been afraid to play young players this year, as 10 freshmen have seen playing time this season and six (Ben Kline, Dan Johnston, Tyler Rank, David Stewart, Andy Cotton and Casey Hauptman) have made at least one start.

?-The Huskers have applied pressure on opponents in 2008, as they are fourth in the Big 12 with 48 stolen bases. NU’s stolen base total is more than halfway to last year’s entire season total of 63.

?-Jake Mort’s error in the series finale against Oklahoma on March 23 was his first error at third base since May 8, 2006, a span of 51 games.

?-The Huskers went an amazing 77 innings without trailing in a game before the streak was snapped at Kansas State in the series finale on March 16. NU did not trail during the first series against Northern Colorado last month.

?-DJ Belfonte ended a homer drought on March 10, belting his first career homer in 332 at-bats. Jake Mort now has the longest streak without a round tripper, as he has not homered in 387 career plate appearances this weekend’s series with Texas Tech.

?-Mitch Abeita’s pinch-hit homer against UC Riverside on March 1 snapped several homer droughts. It was the first homer by a Husker pinch hitter in 97 at-bats dating back to May 13, 2005, and the first-ever pinch-hit homer by a Husker in Hawks Field. In fact, NU has had only three pinch-hit homers this decade.

Huskers

Category

Oklahoma State

29

Games

30

.287

Batting Average

.317

6.7

Runs/Game

8.0

9.6

Hits/Game

11.0

19

Home Runs

38

48-63

Stolen Bases

25-33

2.86

ERA

3.81

258.0

Innings

262.0

3.6

Runs Allowed/Game

4.4

239

Strikeouts

213

91

Walks

98

7.2

Hits Allowed/Game

8.5

37

Errors

36

.966

Fielding Percentage

.967

Scouting Oklahoma State
Head Coach Frank Anderson (176-99 in five seasons at OSU) has the Cowboys in the national polls with a 21-9 record following Tuesday’s win over Western Illinois. OSU has played a challenging schedule, sweeping nationally ranked Arizona in a two-game series, along with facing Baylor, Texas A&M and Missouri already in league play. OSU took 2-of-3 at fourth-ranked Missouri last weekend, winning the final two games of the series.

Offensively, Donnie Webb is the Cowboys’ top hitter, as he is hitting .362 with a homer and 19 RBIs. Outfielder Matt Hague is also well above the .300 mark, as he has a .355 batting average with four homers and 38 RBIs. OSU leads the Big 12 with 38 homers and ranks second in the conference with a .317 average. Two-way performer Jordy Mercer and first baseman Rebel Ridling are both all-conference caliber performers, as Mercer is hitting .352 with six homers and 30 RBIs, while Ridling is at .315 with a team-best seven homers and 27 RBIs.

On the mound, OSU has one of the Big 12’s top 1-2 punches in sophomore left-handers Andrew Oliver (2-2, 3.00 ERA) and Tyler Lyons (5-2, 3.12 ERA). Mercer, when he is not at shortstop, is one of the Big 12’s top closers, recording five saves in his eight outings in 2008.

Series History: Oklahoma State holds a 109-71 lead in the all-time series, as the Huskers won 2-of-3 in 2007. Oklahoma State has lost only one home series to the Huskers since Allie P. Reynolds Stadium was built in 1981.

Weather Fouls Up Husker Schedule
The only thing that has slowed down the Huskers in recent weeks is mother nature, as Nebraska’s last two mid-week games have been affected by weather. Nebraska’s game that was canceled at Iowa on Tuesday, April 8, will not be made up, marking the second road game NU has lost to inclement weather in 2008.

The NU-Creighton game scheduled for April 1, will now be played on Wednesday, April 23, at Rosenblatt Stadium. The game will be carried by WOWT’s 6.20 (Cox Channel 120) and MyTV (Ch. 110 on Time Warner Cable and Ch. 17 on DirecTV) and fans who had originally purchased tickets for the April 1 contest should hold on to those tickets, as they will be good for the rescheduled date.

Louisiana-Lafayette Series Update
Nebraska Baseball Coach Mike Anderson announced changes to the final two games of the Nebraska-Louisiana-Lafayette series.

The games on Saturday, May 3, will now be a day-night doubleheader with start times set for 12:05 p.m. and 6:35 p.m., repectively. Fans will need separate admission to both games, as Hawks Field will be cleared between the two contests. Due to the schedule change, fans may also use their Game 28 ticket for GA seating for any regular season game, based on seating availability.

A Marked Improvement
When looking at the Huskers’ difference in record between 2007 (18-11) and 2008 (24-4-1), one can look to improved production in all three phases of the game. Offensively, NU is averaging nearly a half run more per game and hitting points better than at this point in 2007. On the mound, NU has shaved over a run off of its team ERA and is holding opponents to 30 points below its 2007 batting average.

Doing the Little Things on Offense
While the Huskers don’t overwhelm teams with their power, the Huskers make up for it in other areas. NU ranks in the top 50 nationally in stolen bases (48, 44th), hit batters (31, 43rd) and sacrifice flies (19, ninth) in the April 9 NCAA stats. Nebraska has also done a good job of putting the ball in play, striking out a league-low 132 times (5.31 per game) through 29 games, a pace which would be the Huskers’ second-lowest average since 1972.

Catch a Rising Star
Senior Mitch Abeita has gotten off to a hot start behind the plate for the Huskers. The senior from Dallas, Texas, is hitting .360 with six homers and 24 RBIs, ranking among the Big 12 leaders in on-base percentage (.513, second), homers (seventh), walks (22, eighth) and batting average (sixth) entering Tuesday’s game at Iowa. Last season, Abeita had only one homer and 20 RBIs while appearing in 46 games before breaking his fibula in the Big 12 Championship.

Swinging Sullivan
One of the biggest surprises of 2008 has been the emergence of Nick Sullivan in the middle of the lineup. Sullivan was limited by a broken thumb and hit .192 in 30 games last year. This season, he leads the Huskers with a .366 average while chipping in 15 RBIs.

He has been on a tear of late, hitting .439 (18-for-41) with three homers and 18 RBIs in his last 13 games dating back to March 16. Against Texas Tech, Sullivan single-handed powered NU to a sweep, hitting .412 with three homers and eight RBIs, including a career-high five RBIs in the series finale on April 6. He was the Big 12 Player of the Week on March 24, hitting .444 with nine RBIs to help the Huskers go 3-0-1 on the week.

Sullivan Earns Big 12 Honor
Sullivan was honored by the Big 12 on March 24, as he was named the league’s player of the week. Sullivan hit .444 (8-for-18) with a homer and nine RBIs in helping the Huskers go 3-1-1 on the week. Sullivan had four multi-RBI games and three multi-hit games on the week, helping the Huskers split a series with Arkansas and go 2-0-1 in a Big 12 series with Oklahoma.

Corriston Collects Big 12 Award
Craig Corriston became the second player to be honored by the Big 12 in 2008, as he was chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Week on March 17. He guided the Huskers to a 5-0 week, hitting .579 (11-for-19) with six runs scored, four doubles and four RBIs. Corriston also stole a pair of bases and recorded three multi-hit contests, including his first career four-hit game on March 15.

Nimmo Named to Senior Watch List
Nebraska center fielder Bryce Nimmo was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2008 Lowe’s Senior Class Award on March 10. Presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, the award focuses on the "Four C’s" of classroom, character, community and competition.

A three-year starter at center field, Nimmo is hitting .333 with a homer, 14 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 28 contests. In addition to his success on the diamond, he is a two-time academic All-Big 12 selection who carries a 3.51 GPA in finance. He has been named to the Big 12’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll in all seven semesters at Nebraska.

From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists in mid-April. The winner will be announced at the 2008 College World Series.

Dorn Picks Up Big 12 Honor
Johnny Dorn earned another Big 12 honor on March 10, as he was chosen as the Big 12’s Co-Pitcher of the Week. It is the third time the senior has received the conference’s weekly award.

Dorn allowed just one earned run over seven innings, as the Huskers defeated Northern Colorado, 12-2 on March 8. He fanned a career-high 13 Bears, including the first seven hitters he faced. His 13 strikeouts were the most by a Husker pitcher since Joba Chamberlain in 2005, and the second-highest total by a Husker pitcher since Hawks Field opened in 2002.

Dorn Named to Clemens Award List
Senior right-hander Johnny Dorn received another honor on March 6, as he was named to the Roger Clemens Award Watch List. Dorn is among the 78 players on the initial watch list, which will be paired down to 10 semifinalists in May. In all, nine Big 12 players were on the initial watch list.

Dorn Climbs Husker Win List
With his three wins in 2008, Johnny Dorn moved closer to matching Shane Komine’s school record for wins. The right-hander from Grand Island has moved into the the top three spots on nearly every major Husker career chart during the 2008 season. On the year, Dorn is 4-0 and has held six of his seven opponents to two runs or less. Dorn has beaten every Big 12 team during his Husker career, joining two-time All-American Shane Komine as the only two Husker pitchers to accomplish the feat.

Dorn leads all active Division I pitchers in career wins with 35 following his victory over Texas Tech on April 4. Dorn, who is one of only two pitchers in school history to record a pair of double-figure win seasons, is just six wins shy of matching two-time All-American Shane Komine’s school and Big 12 record of 41 wins.

As part of Baseball America’s preview, the publication graded the schools in the top eight conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, Big Ten, Big East, Big West and C-USA) in four areas - national impact, competitiveness, fans and facilities and academics - during the 64-team NCAA era.

Nebraska was one of 16 programs to receive an A from the publication and joined Texas as the only two Big 12 programs to receive an A. As a conference, the Big 12 tied the ACC for second place in that era.

Six Draftees on 2008 Roster
Nebraska’s 2008 roster boasts a total of six Huskers who have been previously selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Four of the players were picked in last year’s draft, including Thad Weber, who was chosen in the 35th round, but elected to return for his senior year.

Two Starters to Miss Remainder of 2008
The Huskers have battled the injury bug in 2008. Two starters from NU’s opening day lineup (Jeff Tezak and Clay Cuno) have suffered season-ending injuries.

Tezak underwent left knee surgery on March 6 for an injury suffered earlier in the year. He appeared in seven contests at designated hitter, belting a homer against UC Riverside. Last year, he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors at designated hitter, hitting .335 with three homers and 37 RBIs in 56 contests.

Cuno, who opened the season as Nebraska’s left fielder, underwent shoulder surgery last week and will be lost for the remainder of the year. He appeared in three games, going hitless in five at-bats. Last season, Cuno hit .381 with 12 homers, 13 doubles and 51 RBIs at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College en route to being named the Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year.

Huskers Feature Players from 12 States
The 34 members of the 2008 roster hail from 12 states from coast to coast. There are a total of 12 players from Nebraska on the roster, including six from the Omaha metro area and two from Lincoln.

Huskers Tabbed for Sixth in Big 12
The Nebraska baseball team was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 by a vote of the league coaches released on Feb. 20. The Huskers, coming off a season where they went 32-27 and reached the finals of the NCAA Tempe Regional, totaled 36 points in voting.

Texas was the choice of the league’s coaches, garnering 80 points in the preseason voting and eight of the 10 first-pace votes. Missouri (71) and Baylor (65) received the other two votes, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. The rest of the order was Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Tech.

The Coaching Staff
Nebraska shuffled its coaching staff in the offseason, adding pitching coach Eric Newman, while shifting Dave Bingham over to handle the Huskers’ defensive efforts. The three full-time coaches on the Nebraska staff have combined for over 1,100 wins.

Dave Bingham - Serves as the Huskers’ defensive coordinator, overseeing team defense and working with the Husker infielders.

Eric Newman - Begins his first season as Nebraska’s pitching coach after serving as the head coach at Dallas Baptist the past three seasons. Newman, who compiled a 95-72 record at DBU, is a California native who pitched collegiately at both Fresno State and Texas Tech.

Nate Thompson - Begins his first season as Nebraska’s volunteer coach and works primarily with the infielders and assists with the hitters. Thompson comes to NU after serving as an assistant coach at Fort Hays State in 2007. He played for Coach Newman at Dallas Baptist and was a student assistant at the school in 2006. Thompson coaches first base.

Husker Baseball on Television
The Husker baseball program will make at least nine appearances on television during the 2008 season. The broadcast schedule featured five games produced by Nebraska Educational Television (NET and NET-HD) as well as nationally televised games as part of the Big 12’s television package.

Husker Home Run Club Bus Trips
Make your plans now to join the Husker Home Run Club for a pair of bus trips during the season.

The first bus trip takes place this weekend (April 12-13) for a trek to Oklahoma State, with the second one on May 17-18 for the Huskers’ regular-season finale at Missouri. Both packages include roundtrip transportation, selected meals, a hotel room and tickets to both of Nebraska’s games that weekend.

For more information and prices, contact Ed Bolejack at (402) 476-4990 or Erich Helge at (402) 643-5403 or visit Huskerhomerunclub.com.

Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale
Single-game general admission tickets for Husker baseball home games are now on sale. General admission tickets for all regular-season home games this season are $7 for adults and $5 for youth in high school or younger or for senior citizens ages 60 or older. General admission tickets are free for children ages six and younger along with UNL students (with a valid student ID).

The 2008 schedule includes Big 12 home series against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas A&M, as well as non-conference series against Louisiana-Lafayette, UC Riverside and Northern Colorado. Other single-games on the schedule include matchups with NCAA qualifiers Creighton and Wichita State, as well as contests against Nebraska-Kearney and Western Illinois.

Husker-Creighton Tickets on Sale
Tickets for both of the Nebraska-Creighton games at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium are now on sale. Reserve seating prices the games on April 23 and May 13 are $14, $12 and $10 and tickets can be purchased over the phone at Ticketmaster in Lincoln at 475-1212, in Omaha at (402) 422-1212 or on the Internet at ticketmaster.com. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the Nebraska Ticket Office.

Husker Baseball: Giving Back
The Husker baseball program has been active in the community during the 2007-08 academic year. Starting with the Paint-a-Thon in August, the Nebraska baseball team has done over 425 hours in community service projects this year.

?-During the Christmas break, players and coaches combined for over 250 hours of community service projects, working with various groups in their hometowns. Some of the projects included working with local law enforcement in translating languages, cleaning community centers and raising money for Food Banks.

?-On Jan. 25, 2008, the Nebraska baseball program hosted Baseball 101, a day of activities to help fans learn more about the sport. The one-day clinic had over 100 participants and raised over $10,000 for a literacy center in Lincoln.

?-Last month, several Husker players spoke at elementary schools as part of Dr. Seuss week, spending part of two days reading to elementary students.

All Tied Up
Nebraska’s series finale against Oklahoma ended in an 8-8 tie after 10 innings because of the Sooners’ travel arrangements. It marked the fourth tie in a conference game since the Big 12 began in 1997, and the first tie by a Husker team since a 6-6 tie with Creighton in 1996.

16 Huskers Named to Big 12 Honor Roll
A total of 16 current or former Husker baseball players were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The group is led by Bryce Nimmo and Nick Sullivan, both of whom made their seventh consecutive appearances on the honor roll.

As a team, the Huskers recorded a 2.95 team GPA during the fall semester, their best performance in Mike Anderson’s six years as head coach at NU