Huskers Host Tigers this Weekend

On Tap: The Nebraska baseball team returns to the diamond this weekend, as the Huskers host the Missouri Tigers for a three-game series at Hawks Field. Friday’s first pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. with afternoon match-ups set for both Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.). The Huskers are 2-0 on the current eight-game homestand, sweeping New Mexico in a pair of games earlier this week (4-2, 9-5).

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, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on the Internet at Huskers.com.

Television: Saturday’s game will be shown across Nebraska on NET (Ch. 12 and Ch. 112 in HD) with Kevin Kugler and Adrian Fiala providing the commentary.

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.

Nebraska (21-23-1) vs. Missouri (25-21)
Friday, May 1 - 6:05 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 - 2:05 p.m.
Sunday, May 1 - 1:05 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
TV: Saturday’s game will be shown state-wide on NET and NET-HD

Probable Starting Pitchers
Fri.
NU-Jordan Roualdes, LHP, Jr., (4-4, 6.84 ERA)
MU- Kyle Gibson, RHP, Jr. (7-3, 3.57 ERA)

Sat.
NU-Mike Nesseth, RHP, So., (3-3, 4.75 ERA)
MU- TBA

Sun.
NU-Sean Yost, RHP, R-Fr., (1-4, 6.99 ERA)
MU-Nick Tepesch, RHP, So. (4-4, 6.41 ERA)

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

Weekend Preview: The Huskers come into the weekend with a little momentum, winning four of the last six contests, including a sweep of Mountain West Conference co-leader New Mexico earlier this week. Nebraska has swung the bats well of late, hitting .303 over its last five contests, as catcher Cody Neer (.533, 8-for-15) and shortstop Ben Kline (.412, 7-for-17) have led the offensive charge.  In the league race, the Huskers need a series win to keep their hopes alive for advancing to the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. Missouri (25-21) brings a four-game win streak into town following a win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night.

3 Things to Watch
1.  Shortstops Ben Kline (3) and Kyle Bubak (2) have combined for five multi-hit games in their last six starts.
2.  Cody Neer is hitting .562 (9-for-16) with five runs scored during his current five-game hit streak dating back to April 21. Neer had a career best four hits on Wednesday against New Mexico.
3. Erik Bird is 2-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his last 10  appearances since March 31. Bird, who tossed his first-ever complete game on Tuesday night, is holding opponents to a .243 average in that stretch.

Last Time Out
Tuesday (Nebraska 4, New Mexico 2): Behind a complete-game gem from Erik Bird, Nebraska posted a 4-2 victory over New Mexico Tuesday night. Bird (2-1) scattered seven hits and fanned two in his first-ever complete game, limiting a Lobo offense that led the nation in batting average (.371) and ranked sixth in runs per game (9.7) to their second-lowest offensive output of the year. Only San Diego State All-American Stephen Strasburg held the Lobos (31-13) to fewer runs, as he shut out New Mexico, 1-0, on April 17.  Bird allowed a pair of first inning runs before settling down and effectively worked out of several jams on the night. Trailing 2-0, Nebraska scored twice in the second on a Boomer Collins sacrifice fly and a Cody Neer RBI single before taking the lead in the third, as Jeff Tezak doubled and eventually scored on Jake Mort’s safety squeeze. Ben Kline and Neer had two hits apiece in the victory.

Wednesday (Nebraska 9, New Mexico 5): Cody Neer had a career-high four hits, while Nebraska used a six-run sixth inning to top New Mexico, 9-5, Wednesday afternoon. Neer went 4-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice, as the Huskers (21-23-1) pounded out 15 hits in picking up their fourth win in the last six contests.  Nick Sullivan, Ben Kline and Jeff Tezak had two hits apiece, while Tyler Farst homered and drove in two runs.  The Huskers trailed 4-1 before striking for six runs on seven hits off of four New Mexico pitchers.  After a leadoff triple by DJ Belfonte, Neer made it a 4-2 game with an RBI single to center before Nick Sullivan’s single put runners on first and second. Kale Kiser laid down a perfect bunt for a single, and Lobo reliever Gabe Aguilar’s throw was down the line in right, allowing Neer to score to pull the Huskers within a run. Tezak then tied the game with a ground out before Jake Mort executed a perfect suicide squeeze to score Kiser with the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Tyler Farst belted a two-run homer to cap NU’s six-run inning. Sophomore Casey Hauptman (4-5) allowed one run over three innings to pick up his fourth victory of the season. Hauptman, Eric Rose and Erik Anderson combined to allow just two runs over 5.1 innings.

Scouting Missouri
Missouri enters the final month of conference play with a 25-21 record while riding a four-game win streak. The Tigers, who began the year in the top 10 in some national polls, are in sixth place in the league, but just 1.5 games out of third place. Following this week’s series with the Huskers, Missouri closes out league action against Kansas next weekend.

The Tigers are led by one of the Big 12’s top pitchers in junior right-hander Kyle Gibson. One of the top contenders for league pitcher-of-the-year honors, Gibson is 7-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 11 starts, pacing the league in both strikeouts (99) and complete games (five). Sophomore Nick Tepesch (4-4, 6.41 ERA) also works out of the weekend rotation, while the Tigers will occasionally use a pitcher-by-committee approach with nine pitchers working an inning apiece.

Offensively, the Tigers are 10th in the Big 12 in batting average, but have a veteran lineup. All-Big 12 performer Aaron Senne is hitting .315 with two homers and 30 RBIs, while Greg Folgia leads MU in all three triple crown categories, batting .347 with eight homers and 52 RBIs.
Series History: The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Huskers 141-105-1 in one of the Huskers’ oldest rivalries. Missouri has won the last two series against NU, sweeping the 2008 season series in Columbia last May.

Leading Off
?-Following his complete game on Tuesday night, senior Erik Bird has thrown at least 9.0 innings in each of his last two starts. The last Husker to do that was All-American Joba Chamberlain, who threw 9.0 innings against Texas (4/8/05) and Texas A&M (4/15/05).

?-Cody Neer’s four-hit day against New Mexico marked the fifth time the Huskers have had a four-hit day this season. NU is now 5-0 in games where a player has four hits this season.

?-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. Hauptman tossed three innings of three-hit relief to earn the win on Wednesday.

?-Erik Bird’s 9.1 inning effort at Creighton on April 21 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 19-6-1, but just 2-17 when they are held to less than 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 13 times to rank second among 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 weekend’s action.  Tezak is 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 40 of his 43 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 sixth on the team with 19 RBIs despite missing the last two games with a viral infection. He is third 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 13 times, more than twice the Huskers’ total from 2008. Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings in 2009.

?-Nebraska has 13 come-from-behind wins among its 21 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 112 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.  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 135 of its last 136 games when taking a lead into the ninth inning and is 135-0-1 in that stretch dating back to the 2005 season. NU is 230-3-1 (.985) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.

?-The Huskers are 51-3 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 13-1-1 on the season.

?-Nebraska is 15-3-1 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 .244 with two homers and 15 RBIs, while ranking first on the team in hit-by-pitches (10) and second in walks (21). He is just the third baseball player to receive the award since it was created in 1991.

For Academic Consideration
Five Nebraska baseball players have been nominated for ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors this season The list of nominees include pitchers Matt Freeman and Casey Hauptman, second baseman Jeff Tezak and outfielders DJ Belfonte and Nick Sullivan. Sullivan and Belfonte were both first-team Academic All-District VII selections in 2008.  Nebraska has had a Big 12-leading 16 Academic All-Americans in baseball, including nine over the past 10 years.

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 .310 with two homers and 26 RBIs, leading the Huskers in both walks (27) and on-base percentage (.419). Tezak had committed just one error in his first 35 games before having two at Texas A&M on April 18. He still has a .980 fielding percentage in 148 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 weekend with a .315 batting average with team bests in both homers (nine) and RBIs (41). The Scottsdale, Ariz., product is 10th in the league in homers and has been among the Big 12 RBI leaders for most of 2009.
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 five homers and 42 RBIs in his last 58 games dating back to last May. This season, he is hitting .318 with three homers and 30 RBIs,  as he is among team leaders in doubles (13, first), RBIs, (second), runs (32, first), hits (50, second) and walks (20, thrid)

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 been dominant at times in 2009. 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 185-54-1 (.773) since the ballpark opened in 2002, including a 12-9 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 five position players (Kyle Bubak, Cory Burleson, Kale Kiser, 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 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. 
 
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.