Huskers Host North Dakota for Two Games

North Dakota (1-12) at Nebraska (12-11)  Tuesday, March 30 - 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 - 1:35 p.m.

Media Info Live Radio: Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com (affiliate list on page five of game notes) Live Video: HuskersNside Live Stats:  Huskers.com

Probable Starting Pitchers Tuesday  NU-Mike Nesseth, Jr., RHP (1-2, 6.43 ERA)  UND-David Lind, So., RHP (0-1, 7.36 ERA) Wednesday  NU-Khris Tate, Jr., RHP (0-0, 4.91 ERA)  UND-Zach Salfer, So., RHP (0-1, 21.60 ERA)

This Week: The Nebraska baseball team wraps up the its season-long seven-game homestand at Hawks Field with a pair of non-conference games against North Dakota. Tuesday's series opener is set for a 6:35 p.m. start, while Wednesday's contest has a 1:35 p.m. first pitch. The Huskers are 12-11 on the season after dropping 2-of-3 to No. 12 Oklahoma. North Dakota has just one win on the season in 13 contests after getting swept at Oral Roberts over the weekend.

Tickets: Single-game tickets for this weekend 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.

Radio: Both games against North Dakota will be on selected Husker Sports Network stations, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, and on Huskers.com.

Video: Both contests will be carried on HuskersNside, as a minimum of 29 games this season will be on Huskers.com or HuskersNside. For more information, visit Huskers.com.

Midweek Preview: The Huskers will look to build some momentum following a 10-0 win over No. 12 Oklahoma on Sunday. Freshman right-hander Tom Lemke tossed a three-hit shutout, earning Big 12 co-Pitcher-of-the-Week honors, as he struck out eight to run his record to 4-1. NU's offense got going after being held in check in the first two games of the series, belting 12 hits, including two each from Kale Kiser, Adam Bailey, Tyler Farst, Cody Asche and Chad Christensen. Bailey, Christensen and Farst all homered in the win, marking the eighth time this year the Huskers hit multiple homers in a game. The most encouraging thing from last week was the emergence of freshmen Bryan Peters and Christensen. Peters hit .588 (10-for-17) with eight runs scored last week, nearly doubling his season batting average in the process. Christensen made the most of his opportunities against the Sooners, drawing a pinch-hit walk on Friday before coming up with a pair of hits, including his third homer of the season, in a start at shortstop on Sunday.

Mike Nesseth will start on Tuesday after tossing three shutout no-hit innings against South Dakota State last week, as he was on a pre-determined pitch count. He is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last seven outings. On Wednesday, junior Khris Tate makes his first start since Feb. 21, after earning a chance with solid relief work, as he had a 1.50 ERA in his last five appearances dating back to March 5.

3 THINGS TO WATCH
1,072: Number of days since the last homer by a Husker shortstop prior to Chad Christensen's solo blast on Sunday when Christensen made his first career start at shortstop in the finale vs. Oklahoma.
.486: Kale Kiser's batting average since moving up to the No. 2 spot in the Husker lineup. Kiser now leads the Big 12 with a .431 batting average and is sixth with 25 runs scored.
6: Number of RBIs that Adam Bailey had against North Dakota in 2009, as Nebraska rallied for a 10-6 victory.

Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota is in the middle of a 27-game road trip to begin the 2010 season. The Fighting Sioux, one of three non-conference foes in the newly formed Great West Conference,  opened with a 1-12 mark on the season after being swept at Oral Roberts over the weekend. UND has played a tough schedule with games against Wichita State, Missouri and Oral Roberts before the two-game series with the Huskers. This is the second year North Dakota has been at the Division I level in baseball, as they move up from the Division II ranks.

The Fighting Sioux return eight everyday starters and 15 letterwinners from last season, including outfielder Aaron Cook, who hit .328 with six homers and 27 RBIs. Josh Ray has led UND with a .350 average and seven runs scored, while Omaha Cenral product Jabby Bakhit is hitting .289 with a team-high three stolen bases.  Infielder Andrew Gudmunson, who began his career at Nebraska, also hit better than .300 last year, hitting .314 with five homers and 25 RBIs, but is hitting just .125 in nine games this season.  Junior right-hander David Lind makes his second appearance of the season on Tuesday, as he allowed three earned runs on eight hits over 3.2 innings in his only other start.

Last meeting and Series History: Nebraska leads 1-0 as the two teams have played only once, a 10-6 victory last season. In that game, Adam Bailey went 3-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and a career high six RBIs. His six RBI effort was the most by a Husker since Ryan Wehrle drove in six runs against Texas Tech in 2006. Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Nebraska responded with five runs, loading the bases before Khiry Cooper's two-run single gave NU the lead for good. Tyler Farst, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, then coaxed a bases-loaded walk to plate another run before Bailey - who belted a three-run homer earlier in the game - gave the Huskers a pair of insurance runs with a two-run double. Casey Hauptman earned the win in relief, allowing one run over the final 3.1 innings.