Huskers Host Bears in Two-Game Series

This Week: Fresh off a series win over No. 11 Oklahoma State over the weekend, the Nebraska baseball team wraps up a five-game homestand with Northern Colorado. Tuesday’s first pitch has been moved up to 3:35 p.m. because of cold temperatures, while Wednesday’s matinee remains at 1:35 p.m.  The Huskers are 14-7-1 after taking 2-of-3 from OSU over the weekend. Northern Colorado was swept at Tulane over the weekend and its trip to Lincoln wraps up a 10-game road trip for the Bears. Following the two-game series with the Bears, the Huskers return to the road, traveling to nationally ranked Oklahoma for three games this week.

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 the action on selected Husker Sports Network stations. In addition, 55 regular-season games in 2009 will be carried on Huskers.com.

 

Nebraska vs. Northern Colorado

Tuesday, March 24, 3:35 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25, 1:35 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
Tues. 
NU-Matt Freeman, So., RHP (0-0, 2.81 ERA) 
UNC-James Quisenberry, Jr., LHP (2-1, 7.55 ERA)

Wed. 
Both teams TBA

On the Huskers: The Huskers will look to improve on their 8-1 home mark following Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma State. The Huskers sport a team batting average of .292 to rank sixth in the Big 12, while Adam Bailey (.368, 15th) and Kyle Bubak (.355, 18th) both rank in the top-20 in hitting. Bailey, who hit .406 during his 13-game hit streak that was snapped on Sunday, leads the Big 12 in homers (nine) and RBIs (33) while ranking in the top-10 in hits (32, 8th) and slugging percentage (.782, 2nd). Jeff Tezak, who hit .444 against Oklahoma State last weekend, is now 10th in the conference in on-base percentage (.471), while raising his average to .328 on the year.

3 Things to Watch
1.  Over the last five games, NU’s bullpen has a 2.88 ERA and is holding hitters to a .195 average over 25 innings.
2. Sophomore left-hander Eric Rose pitched in all five games last week, tossing five shutout innings in the process. Rose, who is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA leads the Big 12 in appearances with 13.
3. Arvada, Colo., native Nick Sullivan is hitting .333 in eight career games vs. Northern Colorado. Last year, he went 4-for-11 with five runs scored and three doubles in five games against the Bears.

Scouting Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado wraps up a 10-game road trip with a two-game series with the Huskers at Hawks Field this week. Head Coach Kevin Smallcomb and his Bears are 7-14 following a three-game sweep by Tulane over the weekend. The Bears are 2-7 on the trip, earning wins at New Mexico State and at Southern Miss on March 18.  Northern Colorado returned just nine letterwinners, including four starters, from a team that went 21-33 against a challenging schedule.

Offensively, the Bears have been potent, hitting .311 as a team and averaging almost eight runs per game. Andy Mees has also played a big role in the Bears’ success, hitting .410 with six homers and 25 RBIs, while infielder Kevin Sandberg is hitting .325 with nine homers and a team-high 27 RBIs. Sandberg has also been one of the Bears’ top pitchers going 2-2 in his six appearances, while right-hander Joe Sawicki is 0-1 with a 5.95 ERA in four starts, fanning 13 over 19.2 innings of work.

Series History: The Huskers have won 28 of the 31 meetings between the two schools, including 14 of 15 meetings since the Bears have moved to the Division I level. Last year, the Huskers won all six meetings with the Bears.

Last Time Out
Friday (Nebraska 11, Oklahoma State 4): Cody Asche and Cody Neer combined to drive in six runs, as Nebraska picked up its second straight win, defeating No. 11 Oklahoma State, 11-4, on Friday. Neer matched his career high with four RBIs, going 2-for-5, while Asche drove in two more, keying a five-run fourth inning against All-Big 12 pitcher Andrew Oliver. Trailing 3-0, the Huskers erupted for five runs off of the Cowboy ace, all coming with two outs, including Neer’s double and a two-run triple by Asche. The first six hitters in the lineup combined for 12 hits, nine RBI and nine runs scored on the afternoon. Kyle Bubak went 2-for-4 and scored twice, while Adam Bailey had three hits and scored twice. Jeff Tezak also chipped in a pair of hits while drawing two walks.

Saturday (Nebraska 12, Oklahoma State 4): Nebraska jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back, defeating No. 11 Oklahoma State, 12-4, on Saturday to clinch the series win.  Cody Neer homered and matched his career high with four RBIs for the second straight day, while Adam Bailey, Tyler Farst and Jeff Tezak drove in two runs apiece, as Nebraska picked up its third straight win against a ranked opponent. Neer went 2-for-4 with four RBIs while Bailey and Kyle Bubak combined to score seven of the Huskers’ 12 runs, the eighth time the Huskers have reached double figures in runs this season. Jordan Roualdes earned the win, allowing four runs on seven hits over seven innings for his third straight win.

Sunday (Oklahoma State 6, Nebraska 3):  Nick Sullivan homered and drove in a pair of runs, but Oklahoma State used a strong pitching performance by Tyler Blandford to salvage the finale of the three-game series. Sullivan went 2-for-4 and drove in two of the Huskers’ three runs on the day, highlighted by his first homer of the season to pull Nebraska within three runs in the seventh inning, but Nebraska was held to three hits on the afternoon to snap its three-game win streak. Blandford was outstanding for Oklahoma State, allowing only three hits over eight-plus innings while fanning 11 Huskers to improve to 4-0 on the season. Michael Mariot (1-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits over three innings of work.

Leading Off
?-NU Head Coach Mike Anderson became the third Husker skipper to reach 100 conference wins with his victory over No. 11 Oklahoma State on Friday.  Anderson, who is now 101-66-1, became the fastest Husker manager to reach that plateau.

?-The Huskers have been tough on ranked teams at home in recent years, posting a 62-31 (.667) record since 1998, including an impressive 22-8 (.733) mark against top-10 teams. NU is 43-22 (.662) against ranked foes since Hawks Field at Haymarket Park opened in 2002 following the weekend series win against Oklahoma State. With Monday’s newest rankings, NU is currently scheduled to take on three more ranked teams (Texas, New Mexico and Baylor) at home this season.

?-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 .379 with a homer, nine RBIs and 20 runs scored. The Husker offense has also made significant improvement in that span, averaging better than eight runs per game over the last 13 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 nine times through the first 22 games of the season, eclipsing the team’s entire 2008 total (59 contests). Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings this spring.

?-Nebraska already has eight come-from-behind wins among its 14 victories, including five 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 107 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.

?-The Huskers have reached double figures in runs eight times this season - all coming in the last 18 contests - and are fast approaching the team’s entire 2008 total of 12.

?-The second and eighth innings have been the keys to the Huskers’ success this year. NU is out-scoring opponents 28-10 in the second inning and have plated 35 runs in the eighth inning, compared to just 15 for opponents.

?-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 hitters have taken a beating, as the Huskers have been hit by 37 pitches through the first 22 games. At the current pace, NU hitters are on pace to get hit 93 times during the 55-game regular-season schedule, making a strong charge 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 (37), Nick Sulllivan (31) and Jake Mort (30) are now in the top-six all time with Belfonte, who has been hit seven times, matching Alex Gordon for second place on Saturday against Oklahoma State.

?-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 for the Big Red. They have accounted for a .308 average with 14 homers and 69 RBIs, while going 7-3 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 130 of its last 131 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 130-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 225-3-1 (.985) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.

?-The Huskers are 45-1 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 90-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 62-0 since the start of the 2005 season.

?-Nebraska is 14-2-1 when getting at least 10 hits this season, but winless in the five games without reaching double figures in hits.

?-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.