Huskers Wrap Up Homestand with Iowa

Nebraska vs. Iowa
Tuesday, April 14 - 6:05 p.m.

Radio: IMG Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com

Video: Free Live Video on Huskers.com

Live Stats:  Huskers.com 

Probable Starting Pitchers
NU-Michael Mariot, So., RHP (1-2, 7.46 ERA) 
Iowa- Michael Jacobs, Jr., LHP (1-4, 7.39 ERA)

On Tap: The Nebraska baseball team concludes its eight-game homestand on Tuesday night, as the Huskers host Iowa at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is set for 6:05 p.m. and the game will be NU’s final home game before beginning a seven-game road trip.

The Huskers (16-18-1) look to snap a nine-game losing streak - their longest losing streak since 1997 - following a sweep at the hands of No. 9 Texas over the weekend. The Huskers scored 14 runs on the weekend against a pitching staff that leads the nation with a 2.16 ERA, but was unable to parlay that offense into a victory against the Longhorns. One highlight for the Huskers was the performance of freshman Cody Asche, who went 4-for-8 with four RBIs in the series against UT. Asche collected his first three-hit day of the year in the nightcap against the Longhorns on Friday night.

Iowa (11-20) also comes in looking to snap their own losing streak, as the Hawkeyes have dropped their last seven games in a row, including a sweep at the hands of Indiana over the weekend. This is the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since 2007 as last year’s game in Iowa City was rained out.

Tickets: General admission tickets are $7 (adults) and $5 (youth and seniors) and can be purchased at Hawks Field beginning 90 minutes before first pitch. UNL students get in free with a valid N-Card.

Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call the action on the Husker Sports Network stations, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on the Internet at Huskers.com.
Internet Video: Tuesday’s game will be carried on the new Huskers.com video player. Fans who watch the feed will be able to have live stats, polls and much more on their browser. For more info on the new player, visit Huskers.com.

3 Things to Watch
1.  With a pair of appearances over the weekend, senior Erik Bird has moved into sixth place on NU’s career list in appearances with 70. Bird matched his career high with five strikeouts against Texas on Saturday.
2. With an 0-for-4 effort at Texas on Saturday, Tyler Farst snapped his streak of 33 consecutive games reaching base. It was the first time since May 31, 2008, that Farst did not reach by a hit, HBP or a walk.
3. Cody Asche’s .351 batting average is the highest by a Husker freshman since John Cole hit .396 in 1999.

Scouting Iowa
The Huskers and Hawkeyes match up for the second time this season after the teams wrapped up the fall with an exhibition game in Iowa City last October. The last three regular-season games in the series have been decided in the later innings, including a 13-inning affair in Iowa City in 2006. Under former Creighton coach Jack Dahm, the Hawkeyes enter Tuesday’s game with an 11-20 record and have lost seven straight contests following a sweep against Indiana over the weekend.

Ryan Durant paces the Hawkeye attack with a .333 average with two homers and 17 RBIs. He is one of five Iowa starters hitting above .300 on the season.  Wes Freie has been a consistent power threat for Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes in both homers (six) and RBIs (29), while hitting .311 on the year. Justin Tool is second on the team in hitting with a .320 mark and has 10 stolen bases.  Junior left-hander Michael Jacobs will make his sixth start of the year on Tuesday night, as he is 1-4 with a 7.39 ERA. He has allowed 45 hits over 28 innings of work and has struck out 14 over 28 innings of work.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa, 10-8, and has won three of the past four matchups since the series resumed in 2005 after a 75-year break.

Last Time vs. Iowa (April 10, 2007): Dan Jennings earned his first career victory, while Jake Opitz and Jeff Tezak drove in two runs apiece, as Nebraska held off Iowa, 7-6.  Jennings turned in the best performance of his career in a spot start, allowing one earned run over four pre-determined innings for his first career win. The left-hander from West Des Moines, Iowa, scattered five hits and struck out a career-high four after learning he was going to make his first career start 20 minutes before the game when the tarp was pulled.   Opitz and Tezak both had two hits in the victory, as Opitz’s two-run single in the bottom of the third helped NU overcome an early 2-0 deficit, while Tezak’s sixth-inning solo homer gave the Huskers a seemingly safe four-run lead.  Iowa fought back in the ninth, taking advantage of four walks and a pair of wild pitches to pull within 7-6 and had the bases loaded with two outs. Matt Foust finally thwarted the Hawkeye comeback by getting Kevin Hoef to foul out to first baseman Andrew Brown to end the contest and earn his second save.

Weekend Recap
Friday Game 1: In the opener, the Longhorns jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Husker starter Sean Yost, scoring three in the second ? all coming on homers- and adding two more in the fourth. Nebraska pushed two across in the fourth, including an RBI single by DJ Belfonte, and two more in the fifth, including an RBI single by Tyler Farst. In the ninth trailing 7-4, Nebraska got an RBI single from Adam Bailey and had the tying run on first before Farst popped out to end the game.

Friday Game 2: Cody Asche provided the bright spot for Nebraska, recording his first career three-hit game in the nightcap, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs, as the Huskers were nearly in position to overcome a 10-0 deficit against a Texas staff that leads the country in ERA. The Longhorns chased starter Jordan Roualdes, who allowed five runs over two innings of work. Trailing 10-0, the Huskers scored five times in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run double from Asche, and pushed across two more in the fifth to get within 10-7, but could not get closer. Tezak finished 3-for-4 and scored twice in a losing effort as he and Asche combined for six of the Huskers’ 11 hits.

Saturday: Nebraska’s offense was held in check by right-hander Cole Green, as No. 9 Texas posted a 9-2 victory over Nebraska Saturday afternoon. Green fanned five and allowed one earned run to earn the first nine-inning complete game of his career and the first one by an opposing pitcher against the Huskers since last April. Texas scored all the runs they would need in the first two innings against Husker starter Casey Hauptman, scoring once in the first and two more in the second on a Connor Rowe two-run homer.  Adam Bailey and Cody Asche drove in Nebraska’s runs, while Boomer Collins went 1-for-3 with a walk.

Leading Off
?-Four former Huskers are currently on Major League Baseball rosters. The newest Husker Major Leaguer is pitcher Brian Duensing, who is pitching for the Minnesota Twins, became the 27th Husker to reach the Majors when he made his debut on Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. Duensing, who pitched at NU from 2002 to 2005, is the first Husker from Omaha to reach the Majors since Bill McGuire in the late 1980s.   Houston Astros outfielder Darin Erstad is in his 14th season in the Major Leagues and trails only Stan Bahnsen (1966-82) among Huskers in terms of time in the Major Leagues, while Alex Gordon and Joba Chamberlain are each in their third season in the Majors.

?-Nebraska will also be looking to snap an eight-game home losing streak that dates back to March 25, on Tuesday night against Iowa. It is the longest home losing streak since the 1964 season.

?-The Huskers will also look to snap an offensive cold spell.  NU is hitting just .211 over the last seven games after hitting .325 over the previous nine games. The Huskers entered the homestand with a .302 team batting average.

?-One area that senior Jeff Tezak has excelled in this season is plate discipline. Tezak not only leads the Huskers in walks, but has struck out seven times to lead all Big 12 players in fewest strikeouts per at-bat. Tezak also paces all league players in walk-to-strikeout ratio entering this week’s action.  Tezak is now ninth in the Big 12 with a .453 on-base percentage entering Tuesday’s game against Iowa.

?-Third baseman Cody Asche has emerged as one of the Huskers’ top freshmen. He is hitting .351 on the season and ranks fourt on the team with 19 RBIs. Asche has been on a tear recently, hitting .450 with a homer and nine RBIs over his last nine contests. Asche’s error in Saturday’s series finale against Texas was his first in his last 12 contests and just his second error since Feb. 21.

?-Tyler Farst had reached safely in each of his first 32 games this season until the series finale against Texas. Farst who is hitting a team-high .339, had a streak of 33 straight games reaching base, highlighted by a pair of 11-game hit streaks during the year.

?-Nebraska has shown the ability to score runs in bunches. The Huskers have already plated five runs in an inning 11 times, easily eclipsing the team’s entire 2008 total of seven in 59 contests. Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings this spring.

?-Nebraska already has 10 come-from-behind wins among its 16 victories, including six wins where the Huskers had to overcome at least a three-run deficit. The seven-run comeback against Northern Colorado on March 24 equaled the Huskers’ largest comeback since the 2000 season, when NU overcame a 10-0 defict against Iowa State. NU has 109 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.

?-Nebraska hitters have taken a beating this season, as the Huskers have been hit by 53 pitches to rank second in the Big 12.
One look at the Husker career chart also shows the Huskers’ propensity to get hit by pitches. DJ Belfonte has been hit 38 times in his career, including nine times in 2008, to move into sole possession of second place on Nebraska’s career list. He is joined by Nick Sullivan (34, fourth) and Jake Mort (32, sixth) on NU’s career list.

?-Jed Hanson has made the most of his limited action, belting three homers in three straight games and is slugging  at a 1.444 clip in nine at-bats. The last Husker to homer in three straight games was Luke Gorsett in 2006, while the only other Husker to accomplish the feat under Mike Anderson was Daniel Bruce in 2004. The last Husker to homer in four consecutive games was Jed Morris, who had a streak of five straight games with a homer in 2002.

?-With his homer against Northern Colorado on March 25, Jed Hanson became the first Husker to homer in his first career at-bat in over a decade.  Hanson had not appeared in NU’s first 23 games before homering on the first pitch he saw as a Husker.

?-Jeff Tezak’s two-homer day at Oklahoma on March 29 marked the first by a Husker this season and the first since Jake Opitz had two homers against Eastern Illinois in the 2008 NCAA Lincoln Regional.

?-Nebraska’s five homers in the series opener at No. 11 Oklahoma on March 30 marked NU’s highest single-game total since belting five against Nebraska-Kearney on April 19, 2006, and the most by the Huskers in a Big 12 game since hitting five homers against Texas A&M on April 22, 2000.

?-When Cody Asche and Jed Hanson belted back-to-back homers in the nightcap against No. 11 Oklahoma on March 30, it marked the first time it had happened for the Huskers since Andy Gerch and Jake Opitz accomplished the feat on May 12, 2007.

?-Nebraska has shown a flare for the dramatic in 2009, winning five games in its last at-bat, including four runs in the bottom of the eighth in a 14-13 win over Northern Colorado on March 24. NU also scored six times in the bottom of the eighth in a 14-12 win over Missouri State on Feb. 27 and five times in the bottom of the eighth in a 10-6 win over North Dakota on Feb. 25.

?-The Huskers have reached double figures in runs 10 times this season after accomplishing the feat 12 times in 2008.

?-The Huskers are 92-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 64-0 since the start of the 2005 season.

?-NU is 16-5-1 when getting at least 10 hits this season, but winless in 13 games without reaching double figures in hits.

?-NU has enjoyed a youth movement in 2009, as 16 players have seen their first action as Huskers this season.  The group includes nine freshmen, five junior college transfers and a pair of sophomores who did not play because of injuries the past two years.  

?-Nebraska is 1-1-1 this year in extra frames and 15-9-2 (.615) in extra-inning contests since 2003.

?-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 the only Big 12 program to win at least 40 games in eight of the past 10 years, including three 50-win 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 has won 131 of its last 132 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 131-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 226-3-1 (.985) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.

?-The Huskers are 47-2 dating back to last season when they out-hit an opponent, as Saturday’s loss to Kansas State marked only the second time in the last two years that NU has out-hit an opponent, but lost the game. The Huskers have won over 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent.

Tezing with Tezak
After being limited to just seven games with a torn ACL in his knee, Jeff Tezak has come back better than ever in 2009. The senior from San Diego is hitting .330 with two homers and 20 RBIs, while leading the Huskers in both walks (23) and on-base percentage. Tezak is ninth in the league in on-base percentage, while also playing a stellar second base with a .989 fielding percentage in 94 changes.
Tezak has been even better in league play, hitting .373 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 15 contests while leading the league with 13 walks and no strikeouts in 51 at-bats.  He is one of only four players in the league with a .500 or better on-base percentage in conference action, ranking third with a .503 on base percentage.

Bashing with Bailey
Junior college transfer Adam Bailey has been a consistent run producer in the middle of the Husker lineup this spring. He enters the week with a .315 batting average with team bests in both homers (nine) and RBIs. The Scottsdale, Ariz., product is fourth in the league in homers and ninth in RBIs.

Bailey has shown the ability to drive runs in bunches, pacing the Huskers with eight multi-RBI efforts, including six games with at least three RBIs. He is also tied for second on the team with 13 multi-hit games. Bailey enjoyed a 13-game hitting streak from Feb. 28 until March 22, where he hit .406 with six homers and 23 RBIs.

What a Difference a Year Makes
After struggling to get at-bats for most of the 2008 season, first baseman Tyler Farst has been one of the Huskers’ most consistent hitters this spring. Through his first 41 games, he had a .179 average with three RBIs before earning a spot in the lineup after Craig Corriston’s knee surgery. Since then, Farst has been hitting at a .337 clip with four homers and 38 RBIs in his last 48 games dating back to last May. This season, he is hitting a team-high .339 with two homers and 26 RBIs, ranking sixth in the league with 11 doubles and 18th in hitting.
Farst, has had a pair of 11-game hit streaks in that stretch. He hit  .429 with a homer, five doubles and 14 RBIs during an 11-game streak that was snapped on April 3. He went 7-for-12 with three doubles and three RBIs against No. 11 Oklahoma, including his first career four-hit game on March 29. It was the second time that week he established a personal best as he drove in a career-high five runs, highlighted by his first grand slam, against Northern Colorado on March 24.

Sullivan Named to Senior Watch List
Nebraska left fielder Nick Sullivan was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award announced on March 19.  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 two-year starter, Sullivan is hitting .250 with two homers, 15 RBIs and 22 runs scored this season. He is third on the team in walks (18) and  third in on-base percentage (.411) while he has been hit by a team-high nine pitches.
In addition to his success on the diamond, he is a two-time academic All-Big 12 selection who carries a 3.78 GPA in finance. He has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in all nine semesters at Nebraska and is a two-time first-team Academic All-District VII selection.