Huskers Welcome Northridge for Four Games

This Week: The Huskers continue their homestand this weekend, as they welcome the Matadors of Cal State Northridge into town for a four-game series. First pitch all three days at Hawks Field is slated for 1:05 p.m. with a doubleheader set for Saturday afternoon. The Huskers are 6-3-1 following an 11-2 victory over South Dakota State on Wednesday, while Cal State Northridge is 5-4 following a 9-8 victory over Evansville on Wednesday. Tickets for all four games are available at the NU Ticket Office, by calling 800-8-BIGRED or at Hawks Field 90 minutes before first pitch. UNL Students receive free general admission seating with a valid student ID.

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action this weekend on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington - and on the Internet at Huskers.com. Every game this season will be carried on Huskers.com and available to Husker Sports Network stations. Saturday’s games against Cal State Northridge will be internet-only broadcasts because of basketball conflicts.

Nebraska (6-3-1) vs.
Cal State Northridge (5-4)

Friday -1:05 p.m.
Saturday - 1:05 p.m. (DH)
Sunday - 1:05 p.m.

Media Info
Live Radio: Selected Husker Sports Network stations and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com (Saturday’s games are Internet only)
Live Stats:  Huskers.com 
Live Video: HuskersNside (subscription required)
Television: None

Probable Starting Pitchers
Fri. 
NU-Mike Nesseth, So., RHP (1-1, 0.75 ERA)
CSN-Ryan McCarney, Jr., RHP (0-0, 3.55 ERA)
Sat. (Game 1) 
NU-Jordan Roualdes, Jr., LHP (0-1, 4.63 ERA) 
CSN-Ryan Juarez, So., RHP (2-0, 3.27 ERA)
Sat. (Game 2) 
NU-Erik Bird, Sr., RHP (0-0, 7.27 ERA) 
CSN-TBA
Sun. 
NU-Michael Mariot, So., RHP (0-0, 10.00 ERA)
CSN-Bryan Harper, Fr., LHP (0-0, 0.77 ERA)

On the Huskers: Nebraska bounced back from Sunday’s loss to Missouri State with an 11-2 win over South Dakota State on Wednesday. Casey Hauptman tossed six innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts, while Kyle Bubak continued his early season tear with four hits and scored four times. The Huskers picked up their 175th win at Hawks Field, used a balanced offense, as 10 players had at least one hit while six players drove in at least one run. Adam Bailey belted his Big 12 leading fifth homer and drove in four runs, upping his team-leading total to 15. Cody Asche and Cody Neer also had two hits apiece to help the Big Red reach double figures for the third time in their last five contests.

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK
1. Tyler Farst has been on a tear for the Huskers, as he is hitting .574 (9-for-19) during his current six-game hit streak.
2. Kyle Bubak became the second Husker in three games to record a four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored against South Dakota State. Bubak is 9-for-13 (.692) over his last three contests.
3. Nebraska has hit eight homers in its first 10 games. In 2008, the Huskers didn’t hit their eighth homer until the 15th game of the season.

Scouting Cal State Northridge
Cal State Northridge takes on its second Big 12 opponent in as many weeks, as the Matadors visit Lincoln for a four-game series this weekend. CSN is 5-4 on the season following a two-game split with Evansville during the midweek series. The Matadors have already enjoyed success against the Big 12, sweeping Texas Tech in a three-game series in Northridge last weekend.
Seventh-year head coach Stephen Rousey welcomes back a veteran team with 22 returning letterwinners, including 15 position players.

Offensively, the Matadors are paced by senior John Paham, who hit .348 with six homers and 32 RBIs en route to all-conference honors in 2008. He is off to a good start this spring, hitting .333 with two homers, six RBIs and a team-high six runs scored. Richard Cates leads Cal State Northridge with a .438 average after hitting .350 with 42 RBIs in 2008, while third baseman Ryan Rineda is also above the .400 mark, hitting .433 with two homers and a team-high 10 RBIs.

On the mound, the Matadors are in a similar position to Nebraska after losing the majority of their pitching staff from last season. Ryan Juarez is 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts, while left-hander Bryan Harper has allowed one earned run over 11.2 innings. Billy Ott is the team’s closer with two saves in three appearances.

Series History: Nebraska is 2-4 all-time against Cal State Northridge, but Friday’s game will be the first between the two programs since 1997.  NU went 4-1 against Big West teams last year, sweeping UC RIverside before falling to UC Irvine, 3-2, in the NCAA Lincoln Regional last May.

Last Time Out
Kyle Bubak had four hits and scored four times, while Casey Hauptman tossed six innings of one-run ball, lifting Nebraska to an 11-2 victory over South Dakota State.

Bubak, hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time as a Husker, ignited a season-high 16-hit outburst by going 4-for-5 and scoring four times. Bubak added two doubles and a pair of RBIs to help improve Nebraska to 6-3-1 on the season.

With Bubak providing a spark, Nebraska got production up and down the lineup on Wednesday. Adam Bailey drove in four runs by going 2-for-5 with his fifth homer of the year, while Cody Asche and Cody Neer both added two hits. Asche, who came in the game in the sixth, went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a pair of RBIs while Neer went 2-for-5 with an RBI. In all, 10 Huskers had at least one hit, while six players drove in at least one run.

Hauptman was sharp in his second career start and first in exactly a year, scattering four hits in the longest outing of his career. The right-hander from Millard South improved to 2-0, fanning three over six frames and allowing just three runners into scoring position.

Leading Off
?-Senior Jeff Tezak squares off against his former team this weekend, as the San Diego, Calif., native began his college career at Cal State Northridge in 2005. Tezak hit .317 that season with 19 RBIs and 26 runs scored for the Matadors, who went 18-36-1 that season.
?-Nebraska already has four come-from-behind wins this season, including three wins where the Huskers had to overcome at least a three-run deficit. The five-run comeback against Missouri State on Feb. 27, equaled NU’s largest comeback since the 2003 season. NU now has 103 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.
?-Nebraska has shown a flare for the dramatic in 2009, winning three games in its last at-bat, including a five-run eighth inning against North Dakota on Feb. 25 and a six-run eighth inning against Missouri State on Feb. 27.  Four of the Huskers’ nine completed games have been decided in the last at-bat.
?-Cory Burleson’s four-hit effort against Sam Houston State on Feb. 28, marked the first time since 2005 that a Husker freshman had four hits in a game. Since 1999, only five other players have accomplished the feat (John Cole, Adam Stern, Matt Hopper, Drew Anderson and Andy Gerch). Burleson is the first true freshman to have a four-hit day since former Major Leaguer Drew Anderson in 2001.
?-A trio of Huskers are quickly climbing the Huskers’ career hit by pitch list. DJ Belfonte (32), Nick Sulllivan (29) and Jake Mort (28) now comprise half of the Huskers’ top-five list in career hit by pitches.
?-The crowd of 3,280 against North Dakota on Feb. 25 was the fourth-largest opening day crowd in school history and the largest February home crowd in program history. 
?-Nebraska’s 15-inning season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette marked the fifth time since the start of the 2003 season that the Huskers have reached the 14th inning of a game. In addition, it is the Huskers’ longest road game since a 16-inning game at Iowa State in 1999.
?-Prior to this season, the last time NU opened a season with three consecutive one-run games was in 2002. The only other time in the program’s 100-plus year history was back in 1970.
?-Nebraska set a school and Big 12 record in the opener against UL-Lafayette, as five Husker pitchers combined for 22 strikeouts, breaking the school and conference mark of 21 set at Iowa State on April 18, 1999. Three of the top five strikeout performances have been under pitching coach Eric Newman over the past two seasons.
?-Nebraska has enjoyed a youth movement during the early portion of the season, as 14 players have seen their first action as Huskers during the first nine games. The group includes eight freshmen, four junior college transfers and a pair of sophomores who did not play because of injuries the past two seasons.
The group has been effective both offensively and on the mound for the Big Red. They have accounted for a .323 average with eight homers and 37 RBIs, while going 3-2 with both of the Huskers’ saves in 2009.
?-Nebraska has already played three extra-inning games in the first two weekends of the year. NU is 1-1-1 this year in extra frames and 15-9-2 (.615) in extra-inning contests since 2003. The highest amount of extra-inning games in a season this decade is five, set in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
?-Since the NCAA went to the 64-team format in 1999, Nebraska has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, which ties for seventh nationally in that time period. The only teams to earn more bids than Nebraska in that span are Cal State Fullerton, Florida State, Miami, Oral Roberts, Rice and Texas.
?-With his 12-strikeout effort against Sam Houston State on Saturday, Michael Nesseth joined an exclusive list of Husker pitchers. The only NU hurlers to fan more hitters in a game this decade are Shane Komine (5 times), Joba Chamberlain (twice), Johnny Dorn and Zach Kroenke (one time each).
?-Nebraska has won 124 of its last 125 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 123-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 218-3-1 (.984) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.
?-The Huskers are 37-1 dating back to last season when they have more hits than their opponent. The only time over the last two years NU has lost when out-hitting an opponent was on Feb. 21, when the Huskers out-hit UL-Lafayette, 3-2, but lost 2-1.
?-The Huskers are now 85-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs.