Huskers Begin Homestand with New Mexico

On Tap: The Nebraska baseball team begins the homestretch of the 2009 season, as the Huskers take on New Mexico in a two-game series at Hawks Field. Tuesday’s first pitch is set for 6:05 p.m., while Wednesday’s game is a 1:35 p.m. matinee. Tuesday’s game is the start of an eight-game homestand and a stretch of 12 straight games inside the state to close the regular season.

New Mexico (31-12) at Nebraska (19-23-1)

Tuesday, April 28 - 6:05 p.m.
Wednesday, April 29 - 1:35 p.m.

Media Info
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
Tues. 
NU-Erik Bird, Sr., RHP (1-1, 6.02 ERA) 
UNM-John Hesketh, Sr., LHP (5-2, 2.62 ERA

Wed.
NU- TBA 
UNM-Ryan Escarcega, Jr., RHP (1-1, 5.84 ERA)

Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call the action on the Husker Sports Network, including flagship stations KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on the Internet at Huskers.com.

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. NU students get in free with a valid N-Card.

Internet: Both games against the Lobos will be shown for free on the new Huskers.com video player.  For more information, visit Huskers.com. 

Midweek Preview: The Huskers look to bounce back after dropping a doubleheader at Kansas on Sunday. Nebraska was in position to take the finale, leading 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh before the Jayhawks scored three times against reliever Casey Hauptman to regain the lead for good. Hauptman earned the win in Friday’s opener, allowing one hit over 5.2 innings of relief in NU’s 11-4 win. Adam Bailey had a solid weekend hitting .385 with three doubles while shortstops Ben Kline and Kyle Bubak combined to go 5-for-12 on the weekend. Kline picked up his second three-hit game in the opener, while Bubak recorded his team-best 16th multi-hit game in the finale.
New Mexico comes into the week with a 31-12 record after splitting a pair of games at BYU over the weekend. The Lobos, who are tied for second place in the Mountain West Conference, are second nationally with a .371 team batting average and feature three starters hitting over .400 on the season.

3 Things to Watch
1.  Nick Sullivan was chosen as the NU Male Student-Athlete of the Year on Sunday night. He is the third Husker baseball player since 1991 to receive the award, joining Jeff Leise (2003) and Daniel Bruce (2005).
2.  Kyle Bubak had multi-hit games in both of his starts last week, raising his average to .294 with a team-high 32 runs scored.
3. DJ Belfonte is coming off a strong weekend at Kansas where he hit .333 (3-for-9) with a homer, five RBIs and two stolen bases.

Weekend Recap
Friday (Nebraska 11, Kansas 4): Jake Mort and DJ Belfonte drove in three runs apiece, while Casey Hauptman tossed 5.1 innings of shutout relief, lifting Nebraska to an 11-4 victory in the series opener. The Huskers overcame an early 4-0 deficit with 11 unanswered runs, taking the lead for good with six runs in the fourth against KU starter Shaeffer Hall. Mort keyed the outburst with a three-run homer to left center, as he matched his season high in RBIs. Belfonte had two hits and drove in a season-high three runs, while shortstop Ben Kline tied a season high with three hits to pace a 13-hit attack for the Huskers.  Hauptman (3-4) turned in a dominant relief effort, allowing only one hit the final 5.1 innings, as he faced the minimum after entering the game in the fourth.

Sunday Game 1 (Kansas 8, Nebraska 2): Brian Heere and Buck Afenir drove in a three runs apiece, as Kansas picked up an 8-2 victory in Sunday’s opener. The Jayhawks scored all the runs they needed in the first three frames, jumping to a 5-0 lead against NU starter Mike Nesseth and relying on the arm of sophomore T.J. Walz (5-1), who scattered five hits and fanned 10 over 7.2 innings for the win. Adam Bailey drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-3 while Cody Asche was 1-for-3 with a run scored as Nebraska was held to five hits.

Sunday Game 2 (Kansas 9, Nebraska 4): Kansas took advantage of a controversial call, scoring three times in the bottom of the seventh to erase a 4-3 deficit en route to a 9-4 victory A disputed interference call in a 4-4 game allowed Kansas to plate two runs on David Stanfield’s two-out, two-run single to take a 6-4 lead.  Nebraska a two-run homer by DJ Belfonte and a solid performance by starter Sean Yost to take a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth.  Belfonte’s two-run homer in the second staked NU to a two-run lead, while Yost allowed one unearned run on one hit over the first five innings before Kansas pushed across a pair of runs in the sixth. Nebraska regained the lead on Kyle Bubak’s RBI single, which was misplayed for a three-base error, allowing Bubak to score and giving NU a 4-3 lead. Bubak had two hits and an RBI, while Adam Bailey had three hits in a losing effort.

Scouting New Mexico
Under coach Ray Birmingham, New Mexico brings one of the country’s most explosive offense to Lincoln. The Lobos come to town with a 31-12 record and are a half-game behind TCU for the Mountain West Conference lead following a split at BYU over the weekend. 

Birmingham, whose son Josh played at Nebraska in 2002 and 2003, has an offense that is second nationally with a .371 batting average and in the top 10 in runs, hits, doubles and triples. Outfielder Ryan Honeycutt tops the Lobos with a .451 average and has driven in 35 runs on the year. He is one of three Lobos hitting over .400 on the season. Senior second baseman Mike Brownstein leads the country with 10 triples and is second nationally with 75 hits. Kevin Atkinson has driven in a team-high 51 runs. On the mound, the Lobos have had 10 pitchers start at least once and four hurlers with at least four wins. Cole White and Clinton Cox have shared the closing duties, combining for nine of the team’s 11 saves.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 17-8, but the two teams have not met since the 2007 campaign. The Huskers split a pair of matchups with the Lobos, taking the opener, 6-2, but lost the nightcap by a count of 6-2.  This is the first matchup in Lincoln since 2004.

Leading Off
?-Casey Hauptman’s 5.1 innings of shutout relief at Kansas on April 24 matched the longest relief effort of his career. He also went 5.1 innings at UL-Lafayette in the season opener on Feb. 20, as his two performances are the longest by any Husker reliever this season.

?-Ben Kline’s three-hit day in the opener at Kansas on April 24 marked his first three-hit day since Feb. 20, and the fourth of his career. Kline has committed just two errors in his last 15 contests, raising his fielding percentage to .953 on the season.

?-One Husker who has taken advantage of playing time is junior Cade Thompson. He went 3-for-8 with a pair of doubles in his last four contests.

?-Adam Bailey has doubled in each of the Huskers’ last three contests and now is second on the team with 11 doubles. In fact, 21 of his 51 hits (41 percent), have gone for extra bases.

?-Erik Bird’s 9.1 inning effort was the longest pitching performance in the Big 12 this season and the longest effort by a Husker since Tony Watson threw 10 innings against Missouri on March 23, 2007. Ironically, none of the four ended up picking up the victory in those games, and Bird’s was the only one that Nebraska won.

?-Reaching double figures in hits is a key for the Huskers in 2009. When they have at least 10 hits in a game, the Huskers are 18-6-1, while last Tuesday’s win against Creighton marked the only time in 18 games this year that Nebraska has won a game without 10 hits.

?-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 just 11 times to lead all Big 12 players in fewest strikeouts per at-bat.  Tezak is also second among all Big 12 hitters in walk-to-strikeout ratio entering this week’s action.  The senior is also attempting to become the first Husker position player since 2003 to strike out less than 20 times with a minimum of 150 at-bats.

?-One constant with Nebraska’s offense has been junior first baseman Tyler Farst.  He has reached safely in 38 of his 41 appearances this season. Farst had a streak of 33 consecutive games reaching safely snapped in the series finale against No. 9 Texas on April 11.

?-Third baseman Cody Asche has emerged as one of the Huskers’ top freshmen. He is hitting .333 on the season and ranks fifth on the team with 19 RBIs. He is second on the squad with 12 two-out RBIs, as his percentage is a team best.

?-Nebraska has shown the ability to score runs in bunches. The Huskers have already plated five runs in an inning 12 times,  twice the Huskers’ total from 2008. Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings in 2009.

?-Nebraska has 11 come-from-behind wins among its 19 victories, including seven 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 deficit against Iowa State. NU has 110 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.

?-NU hitters have taken a beating this season, as the Huskers have been hit by 59 pitches to rank fourth in the Big 12.   Junior DJ Belfonte has been hit 40 times in his career, including a team-high 10 times in 2009. Belfonte, who now ranks second on NU’s career list, is one of 12 players in the league to be hit by at least 10 pitches this spring. Nick Sullivan has now been hit 10 times in 2008 to rank fourth on NU’s career chart.

?-Nebraska has won five games in its last at-bat this spring, including four runs in the bottom of the eighth in a 14-13 win over Northern Colorado on March 24.

?-The Huskers have reached double figures in runs 11 times this season after accomplishing the feat 12 times in 2008.

?-The Huskers are 93-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 65-0 since the start of the 2005 season.

?-Nebraska has won 133 of its last 134 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 133-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 228-3-1 (.985) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.

?-The Huskers are 49-3 dating back to last season when they out-hit an opponent and have won over 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent.

?-When a Husker starting pitcher has left with a lead, the Huskers are 11-1-1 on the season.

?-Nebraska is 13-3-1 when allowing five runs or less and has won 83 percent of its games since 2003 when allowing five runs or less.

?-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 (2000, 2001 and 2005)

?-Since the NCAA Championship 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.

Sullivan Named Male Student-Athlete of the Year
Senior outfielder Nick Sullivan received one of the highest honors a Husker student-athlete can receive, as he was chosen as the 2008-09 NU Male Student-Athlete of the Year on April 26.  Sullivan is a two-time academic All-Big 12 selection who carries a 3.78 GPA in finance. A first-team Academic All-District VII selection, he has been on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll in all nine semesters at Nebraska and was a nominee for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. On the diamond, Sullivan is hitting .233 with two homers and 15 RBIs, while ranking first on the team in hit-by-pitches (10) and third in walks (19).

Tezak Returns Better than Ever
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 .306 with two homers and 25 RBIs, leading the Huskers in both walks (24) and on-base percentage (.418). Tezak had committed just one error in his first 35 games before having two on Saturday at Texas A&M. He still has a .979 fielding percentage in 141 chances at second base this spring.

Tezak has been even better in league play, hitting .303 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 18 contests while ranking third in the league with 13 walks and striking out just twice in 76 at-bats.

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 .321 batting average with team bests in both homers (nine) and RBIs (41). The Scottsdale, Ariz., product is 10th in the league in both homers and RBIs.  Bailey has shown the ability to drive in runs in bunches, pacing the Huskers with nine multi-RBI efforts, including six games with at least three RBIs. He is also tied for the team lead with 14 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 .322 clip with four homers and 37 RBIs in his last 56 games dating back to last May. This season, he is hitting .320 with two homers and 27 RBIs,  as he is among team leaders in doubles (13, first), runs (31, second) and hits (48, second).

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.

Huskers In the Pros
Currently 20 former Huskers are in professional baseball, including Major Leaguers Darin Erstad, Joba Chamberlain and Alex Gordon. Brian Duensing began the 2009 season on the Minnesota Twins roster, but is currently in Triple-A.  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. In addition, other former Huskers, such as Luke Wertz and Jake Opitz, have not been assigned to teams yet this season.

Ticket Update
Because of the weather-related postponements this season, four previous game tickets can be used for general admission tickets to any remaining regular-season game at Hawks Field in 2009. Those tickets are the following:
 
? South Dakota State (Game 2 on season-ticket sheets)
? Northern Colorado (Game 9)
? Kansas State (Game 13)
? Texas (Game 15)

Twice the Action..
Nebraska fans have been seeing double almost every weekend of the 2009 season. The Huskers have played eight doubleheaders this season, including five of seven weekends in conference action. All five Big 12 doubleheaders have been because of weather, although the Huskers have not lost a conference tilt to inclement weather since 2001, the second-longest streak in the Big 12.

Nesseth Anchors Husker Pitching Staff
Sophomore Mike Nesseth has lived up to the early billing this season. The right-hander is 3-3 with two saves and a 4.75 ERA in 17 appearances. He has a team-high 56 strikeouts over 47.1 innings and is holding foes to a .249 average.  He started the first four weeks of the season before moving into the closer’s role on March 18. He went 1-1 with two saves in that spot and also helped preserve NU’s 11-9 win at Oklahoma on March 29.

Nesseth returned to the rotation against Kansas on April 26 and took the loss in NU’s 8-2 setback.  As a starter, he went at least six innings in four of his five outings, highlighted by a complete-game victory over Cal State Northridge on March 6, where he fanned seven in a 9-3 win. He was dominant against Sam Houston State on Feb. 28, tossing six shutout innings, scattering three hits and recording a career-high 12 strikeouts. 

Nesseth Ranked Among Top Prospects
Sophomore right-hander Mike Nesseth is rated by Baseball America as one of the top 100 prospects for this June’s Major League Baseball Draft. Nesseth, who went 4-1 with four saves and a 3.58 ERA last season, is rated as the No. 29 college prospect and No. 63 overall prospect by the publication. Nesseth was also ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Northwoods League over the summer by Baseball America. He was also ranked as the No. 19 sophomore in the country by the publication.  

Huskers at Home at Hawks Field
Nebraska has enjoyed the comforts of Hawks Field since moving into the ballpark in 2002. The Huskers are 183-54-1 (.771) since the ballpark opened in 2002, including a 10-9 mark mark this year. In 2008, Nebraska went 29-5-1 (.843) at Hawks Field, as its 28 regular-season home wins were the second-best total in school history.

Farst and Bailey Receive Big 12 Awards
Adam Bailey and Tyler Farst have both been honored, as the Big 12’s Player of the Week this season.
Bailey received the honor on March 2 after hitting .333 with three homers and 10 RBIs in five games. He drove in a career-high six runs against North Dakota on Feb. 25 while also homering twice at the Sam Houston State Bearkat Classic. Bailey also picked up a save with three innings of relief work against the Bearkats.

Farst received his honor on March 30 after hitting .500 with a homer, nine RBI and six runs scored in a four-game week.  He led the Huskers to their biggest comeback in six seasons against Northern Colorado on March 24, going 2-for-3 with a homer and five RBIs to help erase a 10-3 deficit.  Farst closed the week with his first career four-hit game, posting a 4-for-5 outing with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in an 11-9 win that snapped OU’s 16-game home win streak.

Double Duty for Bailey
Adam Bailey did something that no other Husker had done in 14 seasons against UL-Lafayette on Feb. 21. He became the first Husker player to earn a victory and hit a homer in the same game since Alvie Shepherd accomplished the feat against Kansas on April 5, 1995.  Bailey entered the game as a reliever in the top of the fourth and fanned three over 2.2 innings of two-hit relief. He moved to right field for the final three innings, going 1-for-2 with a ninth-inning homer that was the final margin of victory in a 9-8 win.

Having a Day
Junior Adam Bailey put together a home debut to remember in Nebraska’s home opener against North Dakota on Feb. 25, going 3-for-5 with a homer and six RBIs. His six RBIs were the second-highest total for a Husker since Mike Anderson took over the Husker program in 2003 and the highest single-game total by a Husker since 2007.

Switching Things Up
One of the things that is evident on the 2009 roster is an abundance of switch hitters. In all, Nebraska has six position players (Kyle Bubak, Cory Burleson, Kale Kiser, Jed Hanson, Jeff Tezak and Cody Neer) listed as switch hitters, which is believed to be the most in school history. Prior to this year, Nebraska has had only four switch hitters on a roster this decade - and no more than two in any year - since having four in 1985.

Husker Homes
The 2009 Huskers come from 14 states across the nation. Nebraska natives comprise nearly a third of the 34-man opening-day roster with 11 spots, while Texas, Missouri and Minnesota also claim at least three Huskers apiece.

Husker Baseball on Television
Nebraska will get plenty of television exposure this year, as a minimum of six games will be televised this spring. NU’s game at Arkansas on March 17 was televised on Cox Sports, while five other contests have been selected by NET.  The 2009 NET telecast schedule began on April 7, as the Huskers hosted Creighton in the first of three matchups between the programs this season. There are four remaining TV games for the Huskers this season.

Success in the Classroom
NU enjoyed a strong performance in the classroom by posting a team GPA of 3.089 during the fall semester. The team GPA was the highest in tracking the program’s GPA over the last 20 years. A total  of 18 Huskers were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fall semester, including DJ Belfonte, who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA.  In addition, senior outfielder Nick Sullivan has been on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll at nine semesters at Nebraska.

Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale
Single-game general admission tickets for Husker baseball home games are now on sale. General admission tickets for all regular-season home games this season are $7 for adults and $5 for youth in high school or younger or for senior citizens ages 60 or older. General admission tickets are free for children ages six and younger along with UNL students (with a valid student ID).
The 2009 schedule includes Big 12 home series against Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas, Missouri and Baylor as well as non-conference series against Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield.

Among the Nation’s Best
Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson begins the 2009 season in 12th place in winning percentage among all active coaches. He joins Texas’ Augie Garrido and Kansas State’s Brad Hill as the only three Big 12 coaches among the top-15 nationally in winning percentage. 
 
Huskers Tabbed for Seventh in Big 12
The Nebraska baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll by a vote of the league coaches released on Feb. 17.  The Huskers totaled 38 points in voting by the league’s coaches.  In 2008, the Huskers were picked sixth in the preseason poll and finished in third place in the final league standings, staying in contention for the league’s regular-season title until the final weekend of the year. Nebraska has finished fourth or better in five of the last six years under Head Coach Mike Anderson, including regular-season titles in 2003 and 2005.

Texas A&M was the choice of the league’s coaches, garnering 81 points in the preseason voting and nine of the 10 first-pace votes. Texas was the second choice, as the Longhorns received 69 points. Baylor and Oklahoma State tied for third with 59 points, while Missouri (51) and Oklahoma (42) placed fifth and sixth. Each of the league’s top six teams has been ranked in the top 20 by at least one national preseason poll.

Nebraska-Creighton Tickets on Sale Now
Single-game tickets for the annual Nebraska-Creighton baseball game at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium on Tuesday, May 12, are now on sale at Ticketmaster locations across Nebraska.   Tickets for the annual match-up between the Huskers and Bluejays range from $9-$15 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster in Lincoln at (402) 475-1212 or in Omaha at (402) 422-1212 or on the Internet at Ticketmaster.com.
The two teams have split their two meetings in 2009, with Nebraska taking a 4-3 victory in 12 innings in the most recent matchup on April 21.