Huskers Return Home to Face No. 11 Oklahoma St.

This Week: After spending the last seven days on the road, the Nebraska baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Hawks Field for a three-game series with nationally ranked Oklahoma State. The Huskers and Cowboys will play three afternoon contests with first pitches slated for 2:05 p.m. (Friday and Saturday) and 1:05 p.m. (Sunday).  The Huskers topped No. 15 Arkansas, 7-4, on Wednesday to earn a two-game split with the Razorbacks, while Oklahoma State, which opens Big 12 action this weekend, split a two-game series against Western Illinois on Wednesday.

Ticket Info: Single-game general admission tickets for all three games are $7 (adults) and $5 (youth and seniors) apiece and can be purchased at Hawks Field beginning 90 minutes before first pitch. UNL students are free with a valid N-Card.

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action on the 29-station Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha. All 55 regular-season games in 2009 will be carried on Huskers.com and available to Husker Sports Network stations.

 On the Huskers: The Huskers showed their resiliency once again, scoring six times in the ninth inning to overcome a 3-1 deficit in Wednesday’s 7-4 win at No. 15 Arkansas. The Huskers strung together four straight hits, including RBI singles by DJ Belfonte and Kyle Bubak and a two-run homer by Adam Bailey en route to their seventh come-from-behind win of the year.  Bailey, who is in his first year at Nebraska after spending the 2008 season at South Mountain Community College, leads the Huskers in all three triple crown categories, hitting .373 with nine homers and 30 RBIs, ranking first in the Big 12 in both homers and RBIs.

Oklahoma State at Nebraska

Friday, March 20 - 2:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 - 2:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 - 1:05 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: HuskersNside (subscription required)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Fri.
NU-Casey Hauptman, So., RHP (2-0, 2.53 ERA) 
OS-Andrew Oliver, Jr., LHP (3-1, 5.19 ERA)

Sat.
NU-Jordan Roualdes, Jr., LHP (2-1, 3.51 ERA) 
OS-Tyler Lyons, Jr., LHP (3-0, 3.43 ERA)

Sun.
NU-Michael Mariot, So., RHP (1-1, 7.32 ERA)
OS-Tyler Blandford, Jr., RHP (3-0, 4.74 ERA)

3 Things to Watch

1.  Nebraska has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with Oklahoma State in Lincoln dating back to 1999. NU is 8-1 against the Cowboys since Hawks Field opened in 2002.

2. Adam Bailey has 30 RBIs through 19 games this season. Last year, no Husker reached the 30-RBI mark until the 35th game of the season (Mitch Abeita)

3. Nick Sullivan has been on a  tear of late, hitting  .346 (9-for-26) with seven runs scored and a team best .553 on-base percentage over his last nine contests.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson is seeking is 100th conference win this weekend and is looking to become only the third Husker coach to reach that plateau and the fastest in school history. Anderson is 99-65-1 in Big 12 games entering this weekend’s series against Oklahoma State.

?-This weekend’s series features the two leading home run hitters in the Big 12 in Nebraska’s Adam Bailey (nine) and Oklahoma State’s Neil Medchill (eight). Both players also rank in the top five in the league in RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage.
?-The Huskers have been tough on ranked teams at home in recent years, posting a 60-30 (.667) record since 1998, including an impressive 22-8 (.733) mark against top-10 teams. NU is 41-21 (.651) against ranked foes since Hawks Field at Haymarket Park opened in 2002.

?-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 on March 4, Bubak is hitting .400 with a homer, eight RBIs and 14 runs scored. The Husker offense has also made significant improvement in that span, averaging better than eight runs per game over the last 10 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. The Huskers have already plated five runs in an inning seven times through the first 19 games of the season, matching the team’s entire 2008 total (59 contests). Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings this spring.

?-NU has shown a flare for the dramatic in 2009, winning four games in its last at-bat, including a five-run eighth inning against North Dakota on Feb. 25, a six-run eighth inning against Missouri State on Feb. 27 and a six-run ninth inning at Arkansas on March 18.

?-Nebraska already has seven come-from-behind wins among its 12 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 32 pitches through the first 19 games. At the current pace, NU hitters are on pace to get hit 92 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 (35), 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 .320 average with 14 homers and 63 RBIs, while going 5-3 with two of the Huskers’ three saves.

?-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.

?-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.

?-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.

?-Nebraska is the only Big 12 program to win at least 40 games in eight of the past 10 years, including three 50-win seasons.
?-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 43-1 dating back to last season when they out-hit an 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.

?-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 United State (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.

?-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.

Last Time Out
Tuesday (Arkansas 7, Nebraska 3): The Nebraska baseball team could not overcome an early three-run deficit, falling to Arkansas, 7-3, Tuesday night at Baum Stadium.  It was a night of missed opportunities for the Huskers, who could not capitalize on the early control struggles of the Arkansas pitching staff. NU loaded the bases in both the second and third innings without a hit, but could score only one run. By that point, the Huskers had dug themselves a 4-1 deficit and were forced to play catch up, as Arkansas scored two runs in each of the first two innings off of starter and loser Erik Bird, who didn’t get out of the second. No Husker had more than one hit, as three Razorback pitchers held NU hitless until the eighth.

Wednesday (Nebraska 7, Arkansas 4): Nebraska used another big inning to pull out a victory, scoring six runs in the top of the ninth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit and defeat Arkansas, 7-4, Wednesday afternoon.  The Huskers were down to their final two outs before rallying off the Arkansas bullpen, using a pair of walks, an error and four straight hits to plate six runs. With one out and runners on first and second, Cory Burleson’s grounder was thrown away, allowing both runners to score. DJ Belfonte and Kyle Bubak added RBI singles before Adam Bailey capped the outburst with a two-run homer. Bailey went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Bubak had two hits. Mike Nesseth earned the win in relief, fanning four over two innings as the right-hander struck out the final three Arkansas hitters he faced.

Scouting Oklahoma State
The Cowboys open Big 12 action this weekend, as they head to Lincoln for a three-game series with the Huskers. OSU is 14-5 on the season following a two-game split with Western Illinois (W, 30-3; L, 4-7) on Wednesday. The Cowboys have three wins over ranked teams, including a victory over Cal State Fullerton last weekend.

Oklahoma State’s strength is a strong weekend rotation led by left-handers Andrew Oliver and Tyler Lyons. Oliver, who is expected to be a first-round pick in this June’s Major League Baseball Draft, went 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors. The left-hander is 3-1 with a 5.19 ERA, while ranking fourth in strikeouts (33). Lyons, a second-team All-Big 12 pick, is 3-0 with a 3.43 ERA, fanning 19 in 21 innings.

Offensively, OSU returns first-team All-Big 12 outfielder Neil Medchill and second-team performer Thomas Belza. Medchill is hitting .368 with a team-high eight homers and 26 RBIs, while Belza is hitting .326 with 21 RBIs. The Cowboys feature four players with at least 20 RBIs.

Series History: Oklahoma State holds a 112-72 lead in the all-time series, as the Cowboys won three of four meetings last year. OSU took 2-of-3 from the Huskers in Stillwater before winning a matchup in the Big 12 Tournament.