Huskers Head to No. 16 Arkansas

This Week: The Huskers wrap up their five-game road swing, as they to Arkansas for a two-game series with the No. 16 (Baseball America) Razorbacks. First pitch from Baum Stadium on Tuesday is set for 6:30 p.m. while Wednesday’s series final is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch. It is the Huskers’ first trip to Fayetteville since the 2000 season and is the second meeting of a home-and-home series with Arkansas. The Huskers are 11-5-1 and look to rebound after dropping 2-of-3 at Texas Tech, while Arkansas is 12-3 and coming off a sweep of Florida over the weekend. 

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington - and on the Internet at Huskers.com. Tuesday’s game will be carried in Lincoln on WOW 105.3 FM because of the men’s basketball NIT game at New Mexico. All 55 regular-season games in 2009 will be carried on Huskers.com and available to Husker Sports Network station.

On the Huskers: The Huskers opened Big 12 action over the weekend, as they dropped 2-of-3 games at Texas Tech, snapping its five-game winning streak in the process. In all, 12 of the 23 Huskers who saw action during the weekend series at Texas Tech were playing their first-ever conference series and the inexperience may have played a factor in the Huskers stuggles in Lubbock, as the Huskers lost leads in both setbacks. One newcomer who has continued to impress is junior college transfer Adam Bailey. The outfielder/left-handed pitcher hit .385 with two homers and six RBIs in the weekend series at Texas Tech and now leads the Big 12 with eight homers and 28 RBIs. In fact, the Huskers’ top four averages are by newcomers, including third baseman Cody Asche (.390-1-8), infielder Kyle Bubak (.389-1-7), Bailey and catcher Cory Burleson (.371-0-60).

3 Things to Watch
1. Adam Bailey not only leads the Big 12 in both homers and RBIs, but has driven in 27 runs in his last 12 contests.
2. Infielder Kyle Bubak has seven multi-hit games in his last 10  contests, including a pair of four-hit efforts. Bubak is hitting .444 with 14 runs scored in eight games since moving into the leadoff spot
3. Senior Nick Sullivan has been on a  tear of late, hitting  .364 (8-for-22) with seven runs scored and a .518 on-base percentage over his last seven contests. 

Nebraska (11-5-1, 1-2 Big 12) at Arkansas (12-3)

Tues., March 16-6:30 p.m.
Wed., March 17-3 p.m.

Media Info
Live Radio: IMG Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com
Live Stats:  Huskers.com 
Live Video: Wednesday only on HuskersNside (subscription required)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Tues. 
NU-Erik Bird, Sr., RHP (0-0. 9.26 ERA) 
UA-Brett Eibner, So., RHP (1-2, 5.87 ERA)
Wed. 
NU-TBA 
UA-TBA

Scouting Arkansas
The Razorbacks are coached by a familiar face to Husker baseball fans, as Dave Van Horn guided the Huskers between 1998 and 2002 before returning to his alma mater. In his time at Nebraska, Van Horn guided Nebraska to a pair of College World Series appearances (2001-02), three Big 12 Tournament titles (1999-01) and in 2001, led the Huskers to their first regular-season conference crown in 51 years.

Van Horn (247-137 in seven seasons at Arkansas) has the Razorbacks off to a 12-3 start following a three-game sweep of Florida. Arkansas has enjoyed the home field advantage at Baum Stadium, playing 14 of its first 15 games at home.

Offensively, Ben Tschepikow leads the Arkansas attack, hitting .403 with five homers, a team-high 17 RBIs and six stolen bases. Andy Wilkins leads the Razorbacks with six homers and has 16 RBIs, while Chase Leavitt is also hitting .400 with with three stolen bases. In all, four starters are hitting over .300.

The Razorbacks will throw sophomore right-hander Brett Eibner against the Huskers on Tuesday. It will be is fourth start, as he is 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA in three outings, but has only pitched 7.2 innings. Arkansas, like Nebraska, has not announced its starter for Wednesday, as both teams are expected to throw a number of pitchers to prepare for weekend conference action.

Series history: Nebraska has a 8-6 advantage in the series, splitting a pair of games in Lincoln (6-1, 4-9) last March. This is the Huskers’ first trip to Fayetteville since sweeping a two-game series with the Razorbacks in 2000.

Tuesday’s Starter: #30 - Erik Bird ? Sr. ? RHP ? 6-1 ? 221 ? Omaha, Neb. (Burke)
Senior right-hander who is Nebraska’s most experienced pitcher and makes his 62nd career appearance and 11th career start against Arkansas ? Is going 0-0 with a 9.26 ERA in three starts, but has not pitched since March 7 ? Struggled with his control against Cal State Northridge, matching a career high with four walks as he allowed five runs on six hits in a no-decision ? Had a solid effort against St. Mary’s on Feb. 28, taking a shutout into the seventh inning while matching his career high with five strikeouts before allowing four runs ? Allowed four runs on six hits over 2.1 innings against UL-Lafayette on Feb. 21, but was not involved in the decision as NU came back to win 9-8  ? Put together his best year in 2008, going 5-1 with a 4.05 ERA in 17 outings ? Ranked fourth on the squad in wins and starts and fifth in innings pitched, establishing career bests in all three categories ? Tossed five innings of one-run ball against Creighton on May 13, scattering three hits in an 8-1 win in front of 14,680 at Rosenblatt Stadium ? Turned in one of the best performances of his career against fifth-ranked Wichita State on April 15, tossing a career-high 6.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing three singles and fanning four in a 3-0 win ? Allowed two runs on four hits over five innings in a start against Arkansas on March 19, 2008 ? Worked out of the Husker bullpen in a number of roles in 2007, going 0-0 with a 5.56 ERA in 17 appearances  ? Was 0-2 with a sparkling 0.82 ERA as a true freshman, tying for second on the team with 24 appearances ? Earned first-team all-state honors playing at Omaha Burke High School, going 5-1 with four saves and a 1.90 ERA in 2005, ranking among state leaders in strikeouts (85), ERA and saves (four).

Leading Off
?-The Huskers are 14-11 all-time against SEC competition. The Huskers have won 11 of its last 13 regular-season games against SEC teams dating back to 1991, but is 0-4 in NCAA Tournament matchups in that same span. This week’s series marks the fourth consecutive year that Nebrask has faced an SEC opponent, as the Huskers and Alabama played a pair of three-game series in both 2006 and 2007.
?-Junior college transfer Kyle Bubak has made the most of his opportunities at the top of the Husker lineup. Since moving into the leadoff spot five games ago, Bubak is hitting 444 (16-for-36) with a homer, six RBIs and 14 runs scored. The Husker offense has also made significant improvement in that span, averaging nine runs per game over the last eight contests.
Prior to Bubak’s move to the top of the lineup, NU’s leadoff hitters were hitting a combined .154 in the first nine contests.
?-Nebraska has showed the ability to score runs in bunches this spring. The Huskers have already plated five runs in an inning six times through the first 17 games of the season. Last year, NU scored five or more runs in an inning seven times and had five such innings in 2007. Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings this spring.
?-The Huskers have scored nearly 37 percent of their runs this season in either the second or the eighth inning. NU has scored 25 runs in the eighth inning while outscoring opponents 23-6 in the second frame.
?-Nebraska was stingy in two-out situations prior to the Texas Tech series, as opponents were hitting just .241 in those situations. The Huskers allowed 18 two-out hits in three games at Texas Tech, including 10 in Sunday’s finale.
?-Nebraska already has six come-from-behind wins among its 11 victories, including four 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 104 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.
?-Nebraska hitters have taken a beating, as the Huskers have been hit by 31 pitches through the first 17 games. At the current pace, NU hitters are on pace to get hit 100 times during the 55-game regular-season schedule, making a strong challenge for the school record of 103 set in 2003.
A trio of Huskers are quickly climbing the Huskers’ career hit by pitch list. DJ Belfonte (34), Nick Sulllivan (31) and Jake Mort (28) are now in the top-six all time with Belfonte, who has been hit six times, climbing into a tie for third place.
?-NU has enjoyed a youth movement in 2009, as 14 players have seen their first action as Huskers this season.  The group includes eight freshmen, four junior college transfers and a pair of sophomores who did not play because of injuries the past two years.   The group has been effective in the early going for the Big Red. They have accounted for a .332 average with 13 homers and 59 RBIs, while going 5-3 with two of the Huskers’ three saves.
?-Former Husker Adam Stern represented Team Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic earlier this month. Stern, who played at Nebraska from 1999 until 2001, went hitless in two pinch-hit appearances, as Canada fell to the U.S. (6-5) and Italy (6-2) in its two games. Stern has been a member of Team Canada in each of the past two World Baseball Classics.
?-NU 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.
?-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.
?-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 year, 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 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 129 of its last 130 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 128-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 223-3-1 (.985) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.
?-The Huskers are 42-1 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 88-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 60-0 since the start of the 2005 season.

Weekend Recap
Saturday Game 1 (Texas Tech 16, Nebraska 8): Nick Sullivan had three hits and drove in a pair of runs, but Texas Tech erupted for 12 runs in their final two at-bats to take the opening game of the three-game series, 16-8, Saturday afternoon at Dan Law Field.  Sullivan paced a 13-hit attack for Nebraska, which built a 6-4 lead after six and a half innings before Texas Tech scored seven times in the bottom of the seventh and tacked on five more runs in the eighth. Tyler Farst, Jeff Tezak and Jake Mort had two hits apiece as the Huskers  saw their five-game win streak snapped.

Saturday Game 2 (Nebraska 10, Texas Tech 1): Nebraska got a strong performance from left-hander Jordan Roualdes and timely hitting to earn a 10-1 victory over Texas Tech Saturday afternoon. Roualdes turned in his best performance of the year, allowing one run on five hits over eight strong innings of work. While Roualdes kept the Red Raiders at bay, Adam Bailey awoke the Husker offense with a two-run homer in the fourth that provided all the runs they would need. Bailey went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, as he accounted for the Huskers’ first four runs. Jeff Tezak drove in a pair of runs for Nebraska while Kyle Bubak and Cory Burleson had two hits apiece and combined to score five of the Huskers’ 10 runs.

Sunday (Texas Tech 10, Nebraska 3): Adam Bailey had two hits, including his eighth homer of the year, but Texas Tech used a big fourth inning and clutch hitting to take the finale of the three-game series, 10-3, Sunday afternoon. Bailey went 2-for-4 with a homer and scored twice, while Tyler Farst had two hits and drove in a pair of runs in a losing effort for Nebraska, which built an early 2-0 lead and had a chance to extend the lead in the top of the fourth only to see the lead evaporate in the bottom of the frame. Farst had RBI singles in the first and third frames to help the Huskers to an early two-run lead.