Huskers Host Houston Baptist this Weekend

This Weekend: The Nebraska baseball team continues its five-game homestand this weekend, as the Huskers take on Houston Baptist in a non-conference series at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Because of inclement weather, the teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 12:05 p.m. with the finale still slated for Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Fans that had tickets for Friday’s game (Game #3 in season-ticket packets) can use those tickets for GA seats for any remaining regular-season game, depending on availability.  Saturday’s ticket will admit fans into both games of the doubleheader. The Huskers are 4-7 on the season following an 8-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney in the home opener.

Tickets: Single-game tickets are available by visiting the Hawks Field Ticket Office 90 minutes before first pitch. Tickets are $10 (reserved and Home Run Terrace) and $7 (GA) with youth and senior citizens GA seats at $5. All UNL students receive free admission with a valid N-card. Tickets for every home game are available on-line at Huskers.com.

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

Video: All three games this weekend will be available on  HuskersNside, as a total of 24 games this season will be on Huskers.com or HuskersNside. For more information, visit Huskers.com.

Weekend Preview: The Huskers (4-7) used great pitching from its youngsters and timely hitting to down Nebraska-Kearney, 8-1, on Wednesday in the Huskers’ home opener. NU took a shutout into the ninth as five Husker hurlers held the Lopers to just four hits. It marked the fifth time in the last six games that Nebraska has held the opposition to five runs or less in a game. Offensively, the Huskers broke out of a mini slump with 14 hits, as shortstop Kyle Bubak drove in a career-best three runs against the Lopers. The bottom third of the Husker lineup went a combined 4-for-7 with five runs scored and four RBIs against UNK.

Houston Baptist comes into the weekend with a 4-6 record after falling to Oklahoma, 9-1, on Wednesday afternoon.

4 Things to Watch
1.69: Casey Hauptman’s ERA this season, which is ninth in the Big 12. In his last two outings against No. 9 Rice and No. 14 UCLA, it is 0.96 over 9.1 innings. Hauptman also has a 13-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

.444: Khiry Cooper’s batting average over NU’s last six games, which includes four doubles in that stretch.

6: Number of times Nebraska hitters were hit by pitches against UNK. It marked the fourth time since 1999 that six or more hitters had been plunked in a game
.980: Nebraska’s team fielding percentage entering the weekend, which is on pace to shatter the school record (.975 in 2004 and 2005). NU’s infielders have combined for 3 errors through the first 11 contests.

Scouting Houston Baptist
The Huskies come to Lincoln on the back end of a Big 12 swing, as they lost at Oklahoma, 9-1, on Wednesday to snap a three-game win streak. HBU is in the midst of a transition to back to the Division I level. HBU competes in the Great West Conference and was picked to finish third in the league in 2010 - the inaugural year for the conference, which includes North Dakota and Northern Colorado among others. The Huskies are familiar with Big 12 competition, as they played Baylor and Oklahoma during the 2009 season.

Offensively, the Huskies are led by Robbie Buller, who is hitting a team best .395 with a homer and eight RBIs. Outfielder Viron Hackney is hitting .360 with two homers, seven RBIs and a team-high 10 runs scored.

On the mound, right-hander Dalton Schafer has been solid, going 1-1 in three starts, as he struck out a team-high 15 batters and walked only four over a team-high 18 innings of work. Left-hander Jamie Storey and right-hander Michael Schulle round out the weekend rotation.
Houston Baptist, which was a Division I program from 1973 until 1990 before returning to Division I in 2007-08, has won two of the three previous meetings in the series.

Last Time Out
Wednesday (NU 7, UNK 1): Kyle Bubak drove in a career-high three RBIs, while five Huskers pitchers combined on a four-hitter, leading Nebraska to an 8-1 victory.  Bubak keyed NU’s 14-hit attack with a 2-for-2 afternoon, collecting an RBI double in the fourth and a run-scoring single one inning later, as Nebraska pushed across seven of the its eight runs in those two frames. The senior shortstop also scored twice, as Nebraska snapped a three-game losing streak. Tyler Farst also had two hits and drove in a pair of runs, as six different players had at least two hits on the day. Four pitchers combined to allow one hit through the first eight frames before Nebraska-Kearney pushed across its lone run in the ninth. Tyler Niederklein worked around trouble in the first before settling down, as the Lopers had a pair of walks before the right-hander struck out Mike Stamp to end the first. That began a stretch where the Lopers had only two baserunners and one hit - Bake Cover’s third inning single - over the next seven frames. Neiderklein earned the win, allowing one hit over three innings, while relievers Ryan Anderson, Luke Bublitz and Chase Adams combined for six strikeouts over five innings of no-hit relief. Nebraska pitchers combined for nine strikeouts on the afternoon.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska has been aggressive on the basepaths with 16 stolen bases through the first 11 games. Last year, NU had just 15 stolen base attempts - and nine stolen bases - in its first 11 games.
?-Khiry Cooper has been on a tear as of late, hitting .444 (8-for-14) over NU’s last seven contests. He also has four doubles in that stretch, equaling his entire total of exta-base hits as a freshman.
?-After playing its first 10 games away from home, the Huskers will enjoy the comforts of playing at Hawks Field the rest of the month. The Huskers are in the middle of a stretch of playing 12 of 15 games at the ballpark, where they are 190-59-1 (.764) since 2002. The only trip the Huskers make the rest of the month is for a three-game series at No. 3 Texas in Austin to open Big 12 play.
?-Nebraska has tied or led heading to the eighth inning in eight of 11 games this year, but has lost four games on an opponent’s last at-bat.
?-While it is still early in the season, Nebraska’s defense has been much improved in 2010. The Huskers are third in the Big 12 with a .980 fielding percentage, and have not made an error in five of their first 10 games. That is well ahead of the school record of .975 set in 2004 and 2005.
The defensive effort is more impressive when you consider that Nebraska did not practice at home outside until this week because of the extended winter throughout the Midwest. The good defense is an encouraging sign, as the Huskers are 216-80-1 (.729) when committing one or fewer errors under Mike Anderson.
?-Nebraska has gotten off to quick starts in 2010, getting a lead on nine of its first 11 opponents, including the first seven games of the year.  Nebraska has won nearly 75 percent of its games (199-67) in Mike Anderson’s eight seasons at Nebraska when scoring first.
?-With his ninth-inning homer against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 26, Chad Christensen became the first Husker freshman to homer in his collegiate debut since Brian Kent accomplished the feat against Chicago State on March 16, 1999. Christensen is also only the fourth NU player since 1999 to homer in his Husker debut.
?-Nebraska’s 21 runs against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 26 marked only the second time the Huskers have scored 20 or more runs under Head Coach Mike Anderson and the first since scoring 22 runs against Kent State in 2004. NU’s top five single-game offensive outputs since 2003 are listed below.
?-One emphasis of the Husker pitching staff has been to reduce walks, and Nebraska has done a good job of that in 2010. NU is averaging 3.27 walks per game after averaging 5.36 walks per game in its first 11 games a year ago.
?-The Huskers have been proficient in two-out situations this season, recording 33 two-out RBIs this year.  In fact, 39 of Nebraska’s 65 runs (60 percent) have been scored with two outs through the first 11 contests. First baseman Tyler Farst leads the Huskers with seven two-out RBIs.
?-Four of the Huskers’ first seven losses have been on an opponent’s last at-bat this season. In the first seven games, NU was outscored, 22-12 from the seventh inning on. In the last four games, NU has outscored its foes, 6-3, from the seventh inning on.
?-Two of the Huskers’ three losses at Fresno State came after taking a lead into the ninth inning. It marked only the third and fourth times in 141 games dating back to 2005 that Nebraska had lost when heading into the ninth. The Huskers are 243-6-1 (.974) when leading after eight innings under Mike Anderson.
?-Nebraska’s seven stolen bases against Fresno State on Feb. 21, were the most by a Husker team since swiping eight bases against South Dakota State on March 17, 2006.
?-Freshman Tom Lemke became just the fourth Husker freshman to earn a start during the opening week of the season since 1999, and the first to collect a win in that stretch.Here is how Lemke’s line against Fresno State compared to the other three freshman hurlers.
?-Kyle Bubak’s five-hit day against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 26, marked just the sixth time a player has had at least five hits in a game under Mike Anderson, and the first since Jeff Tezak went 5-for-5 at Alabama in 2007.
?-Freshman Josh Scheffert enjoyed quite a debut against Fresno State on Feb. 21. He went 3-4 with three RBIs. He is the only Husker freshman in the last decade to have at least three hits or three RBIs in his first game as a Husker. Here are the other newcomers who had at least three hits or three RBIs in their Husker debut since 1999.
?-The Huskers bring back one of its most experienced teams in a while, as 18 letterwinners are back for the 2010 campaign. It is the second-highest number of returning letterwinners since Mike Anderson took over in 2003 and only the third time this decade NU has had at least 18 letterwinners. The biggest amount of experience is on the pitching side, where Nebraska returns at least 75 percent of its wins, starts, innings and strikeouts in 2010, a far cry compared to a year ago.
?-One area of focus in the offseason was adding strength, and a quick look at the rosters over the last two seasons show a dramatic improvement. Under strength coaches Mike Arthur and Brandon Rigoni, the 18 returnees from last year have gained a total of 203 pounds, an average of 11.2 pounds per player. Of the 18 players, 11 are at least 10 pounds heavier than their playing weight during the 2009 campaign. As a team, the Huskers gained a total of 328 pounds during the team’s off-season strength program in the fall.
?-The Huskers are 95-1 (.969) under Mike Anderson when reaching double figures in runs, including 67-0 since the start of the 2005 season.
?-NU has 115 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.
?-The Huskers are 58-6 dating back to 2008 when they out-hit an opponent and have won nearly 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent.
?-Adam Bailey’s 12 homers is the most by any Husker returning player since Alex Gordon in 2005. Gordon belted 18 homers en route to Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honors in 2004.
?-Senior outfielder DJ Belfonte ranks second on Nebraska’s career hit-by-pitch list with 46. He is just the second Husker to be hit by 40 pitches in a career, joining Daniel Bruce, who was hit 67 times in his playing career from 2002 to 2005.