Huskers Take on Creighton in Nebraska Classic

On Tap: The Nebraska baseball team heads to Omaha on Tuesday night in the final road trip of the season, as the Huskers take on the Creighton Bluejays in the Nebraska Classic. First pitch for the rubber match of the 2009 series between the Huskers and Bluejays is set for 7 p.m. at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. The Nebraska Classic is the annual neutral site game between the Huskers and Bluejays with both teams alternating as the home team.

Nebraska vs. Creighton
Tuesday, May 12 - 7 p.m.
Rosenblatt Stadium

Media Info
Tickets:  On sale at Rosenblatt Stadium and Ticketmaster Outlets across Nebraska
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: Tuesday’s game will be shown state-wide on NET and NET-HD and on CBS College Sports (Ch. 613 on DirecTV; Ch. 152 on DISH Network)

Probable Starting Pitchers
NU - Erik Bird, RHP, Sr., (2-2, 5.43 ERA) 
CU - Brandon Koeningstein, RHP, Fr., (4-0, 3.34 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, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington and on the Internet at Huskers.com.

TV: Tuesday’s game will be televised across Nebraska on NET (Ch. 12 and Ch. 112 in HD) and on CBS College Sports with Kevin Kugler and Adrian Fiala providing the commentary. It is the sixth of seven televised games throughout the 2009 season.

Tickets: Tickets for Tuesday’s game range from $9 to $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. Tickets will also be available at Rosenblatt Stadium on Tuesday night.

Internet: Tuesday’s game with Creighton will be shown for free on the new Huskers.com video player.  For more information, visit Huskers.com. 

Tuesday preview: The Huskers look to bounce back following a series loss to CSU Bakersfield over the weekend. Nebraska had the bases loaded in the ninth on Saturday and got the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings of Sunday’s one-run loss. Nick Sullivan enjoyed a strong weekend, going 4-for-8 with two homers, while Adam Bailey hit .333 on the weekend with two homers and five RBIs. The Bluejays also struggled over the weekend, dropping a three-game series against Missouri State in Omaha.

3 Things to Watch
1.  Erik Bird is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in eight career outings against Creighton. He went a career-high 9.1 innings in the last meeting on April 21.
2.  Nick Sullivan is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with four homers and seven RBIs over NU’s last eight contests.
3.  Ben Kline and Jake Mort have been  two of the Huskers’ most consistent hitters against Creighton in their careers. Kline is hitting .417 with two doubles in three career games, while Mort is a career .343 hitter in 10  career  games against the Bluejays.

Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays head into the final weekend of the regular season with a 28-21 mark and in third place in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bluejays led the MVC before being swept by Missouri State at home over the weekend. Creighton finishes up MVC action at Wichita State over the weekend  before the league tournament begins the following week.

Offensively, the Bluejays are led by outfielder Robbie Knight, who is hitting .347 with a team-high 45 runs scored.  All-Missouri Valley Conference first baseman Darin Ruf has been the Bluejays’ top run producer, leading Creighton in both homers (8) and RBIs (47) while hitting .324 on the year while Elliott Soto (.325-0-24), T.J. Roemmich (.303-8-41) and Vincente Cafaro (.301-5-31) have been consistent producers in the Bluejays lineup.

On the mound, the Bluejays’ strength has been balance, with six pitchers having at least three wins. Freshman right-hander Brandon Koenigstein is expected to make the start on Tuesday night. He is 4-0 on the year with a 3.34 ERA in 29.2 innings of work. He is 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA against NU, as he allowed a run in an inning of relief on April 21.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 70-37-2, and has won 16-of-22 meetings since Mike Anderson took over as Nebraska’s head coach in 2003. The Huskers have swept the season series four times this decade (2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008). The Huskers have won the the season series every year since 1999 with the exception of 2007.

Last Time Out
Sunday (CSU Bakersfield 8, Nebraska 7): Nick Sullivan continued to swing a hot stick, going 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs, as Nebraska nearly overcame a six-run deficit in falling to CSU Bakersfield, 8-7. Sullivan belted his sixth homer of the year and second in as many days, while true freshman Khiry Cooper homered and drove in a pair of runs in the setback. A five-run fourth inning by CSU Bakersfield was too much to overcome, although Nebraska gave it run late, leaving the tying run in scoring position in each of the final two frames.  Leading 1-0 after a second-inning homer by Jeremy Rodriguez, the Roadrunners chased Husker starter Sean Yost with five runs in the fourth, as the freshman took the loss.

Saturday (CSU Bakersfield 10, Nebraska 8): Nebraska belted four homers, including a pair by Adam Bailey, but Ryan McIntyre’s RBI triple in the top of the ninth broke an 8-all deadlock and lifted CSU Bakersfield to a 10-8 victory. The Huskers led 8-7 heading into the ninth, but could not close the door as the Roadrunners scored three times to pull out the victory.  Kyle Richardson tied the game with a solo homer before McIntyre plated the go-ahead run two batters later with an RBI triple.  Nebraska fought back, loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Mickey Jannis, but could not get the tying hit, as Sullivan grounded into a game-ending double play.  Cade Thompson went 3-for-4, while Kiser had two hits, including his second homer of the year, and three RBIs for the Huskers. Sullivan had two hits, including his fifth homer of the season.

Friday (Nebraska 9, CSU Bakersfield 6): Mike Nesseth overcame a rocky start to earn his first win since March 18, as Nebraska topped CSU Bakersfield, 9-6, Friday night. Nesseth allowed five runs over the first two innings, but settled down and held the Roadrunners in check over his final 5.1 innings of work. He fanned seven and retired nine of the final 11 hitters he faced. Cory Burleson paced the 10-hit attack for Nebraska, going 2-for-3 with his first career homer and scoring three times. Jake Mort drove in pair of runs, as eight of the nine Huskers starters had hits on the night.  Trailing 5-0, the Huskers struck for six runs in the bottom of the second, including a two-run double by Jake Mort and an RBI single by Adam Bailey and added a pair of runs, including Burleson’s first round tripper of the season.

Tezak Named to Academic All-District Team
Nebraska senior infielder Jeff Tezak was honored on May 7. as he was named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All- District VII. Tezak, who carries a 3.55 GPA in political science, is in his first semester of graduate school after graduating in December of 2008. He now advances to the national ballot in hopes of earning Academic All-America honors.

On the season, Tezak is hitting .310 with two homers and 26 RBIs in 48 games for the Huskers after missing nearly all of the 2008 season following knee surgery. He leads NU in walks (29) and on-base percentage (.422) and has struck out just 15 times In 171 at-bats. Defensively, he has a .983 fielding percentage at second base, committing just three errors in 173 chances.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska’s 11 straight years of being above .500 was the second-longest streak in the Big 12. Only Oklahoma State, which had not had a losing record since a 16-28 mark in 1977, had a longer streak among Big 12 schools. The Cowboys are the only program in the Big 12 to never have an under .500 mark since the Big 12 was formed in 1997.

?-Nebraska has shown the ability to score runs in bunches. The Huskers have already plated five runs in an inning 14 times in 2009. Here is a look at the Huskers’ biggest innings in 2009.

?-Nebraska has 14 come-from-behind wins among its 22 victories, including eight 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.

?-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 20-9-1, but just 2-19 when they are held to fewer than 10 hits.

?-Nebraska started a season-high six freshmen against Missouri on May 3, including Cory Burleson (C), Boomer Collins (LF), Khiry Cooper (RF), Cody Asche (3B), Kale Kiser (2B) and Sean Yost (P). Burleson has now started 23 games at catcher, which is the most by a Husker freshman catcher since Patrick Johnson started 23 games in 1994.

?-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).

?-Tyler Farst’s four-hit day against Missouri on May 3 marked the sixth time the Huskers have had a four-hit day this season. The setback to the Tigers was the Huskers’ first loss in six games where a player had at least four hits.

?-Casey Hauptman has been the Huskers’ workhorse out of the bullpen. He has made three appearances of 5.1 innings this season, including one against CSU Bakersfield on Sunday, where he allowed no earned runs. He also threw 5.1 innings at Kansas on April 24 to earn the win and at UL-Lafayette in the season opener on Feb. 20.

?-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.

?-When a Husker starting pitcher has left with a lead, the Huskers are 14-2-1 on the season.

?-Saturday’s loss to CSU Bakersfield was the first in 138 games where the Huskers took a lead into the ninth inning and lost. Prior to that, NU was 136-0-1 dating back to 2005 when taking a lead to the ninth. The Huskers are 231-4-1 (.981) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.

?-Adam Bailey’s two-homer day against CSU Bakersfield was the second of the season by a Husker, as Jeff Tezak hit a pair of homers against Oklahoma on March 29.

?-The Huskers are 52-6 dating back to last season when they out-hit an opponent and have won nearly 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent.

?-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 15 times to rank third among all Big 12 players in fewest strikeouts per at-bat.  Tezak is second among all Big 12 hitters in walk-to-strikeout ratio entering the final week of the regular season. He is bidding to become the first Husker position player since 2003 to strike out less than 20 times with a minimum of 150 at-bats.

?-NU hitters have taken a beating this season, as the Huskers have been hit by 68 pitches to rank fourth in the Big 12.  DJ Belfonte has been hit 42 times in his career, including a team-high 12 times in 2009. Three current Huskers are now among the top five in school history.

?-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 and are  93-1 under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 65-0 since the start of the 2005 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 in 2008, 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 .265 with six homers and 22 RBIs, as he is second on the team in homers, on-base percentage (.416), walks (25) and hit-by-pitches (11). He is just the third baseball player to receive the award since it was created in 1991.

Bird Soars Down the Stretch
Senior right-hander Erik Bird has been one of the Huskers’ most consistent hurlers in recent weeks. Since March 31, Bird is 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA over his last 12 outings, holding hitters to a .250 average over 40.1 innings. Bird pitched a scoreless inning of relief in Saturday’s loss to CSU Bakersfield.

He tossed the first complete game of his career against New Mexico on April 28, scattering seven hits and allowing two runs. His effort was the second-best effort of the year against a New Mexico team that led the country in hitting.  Only projected No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State held the Lobos to fewer runs than Bird. One week earlier, Bird was even better, going 9.1 innings in a no-decision against Creighton. He allowed one run on six hits and matched his career best with five strikeouts in a game that went 12 innings before NU won 4-3.

The only senior pitcher on the 2009 staff, Bird enters the final week of his career with 76 appearances to rank fourth on NU’s career charts. He will match Jeff Anderson (1981-84) on Tuesday night for third place, while only Steve Hale (87, 1999-03) and Brett Jensen (80, 2004-06) have pitched more times as a Husker than Bird has over the past four 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 (29) and on-base percentage (.422). 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 .983 fielding percentage in 173 chances at second base this spring.

Tezak has been even better in league play, hitting .313 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 20 contests while ranking third in the league with 16 walks and striking out just twice in 83 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 .315 batting average with team bests in both homers (11) and RBIs (46). The Scottsdale, Ariz., product is 10th in the league in homers and RBIs.

Bailey has shown the ability to drive in runs in bunches, pacing the Huskers with 10 multi-RBI efforts, including seven games with at least three RBIs. Bailey’s most recent multi-RBI effort came in Saturday’s loss to CSU Bakersfield, when he went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs.

He now has 16 multi-hit games to tie for second on the squad and 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 .328 clip with five homers and 45 RBIs in his last 64 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 21 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, 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 of this weekend’s games against Baylor at Hawks Field.  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 4-3 with two saves and a 5.15 ERA in 17 appearances. He has a team-high 63 strikeouts over 57.2 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 on April 26, and picked up  his first win since returning to the rotation on May 8 against CSU Bakersfield. He went 7.1 innings and struck out seven to pick up the win. As a starter, he went at least six innings in five of his seven 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 186-59-1 (.758) since the ballpark opened in 2002.

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.

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.