Huskers Head to Iowa Tuesday Night

Nebraska vs. Iowa
Tuesday, April 27 - 6 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)
Video: None
TV:  None
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Probable Starting Pitchers
NU-Khris Tate, Jr., RHP (2-2, 4.88 ERA) 
Iowa-Matt Dermody, Fr., LHP (0-2, 14.79 ERA)

This Weekend: Nebraska hits the road for its final non-conference true road game, as the Huskers make the trek across I-80 and travel to Iowa for the first time since 2006 Tuesday night. First pitch between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is set for 6 p.m. at Duane Banks Field. The Huskers (19-21) look to bounce back after dropping 2-of-3 over the weekend at Baylor while Iowa (16-21) comes off a series win over Michigan, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday.

Radio: Tuesday's game will be carried 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 with Jeff Culhane and Lane Grindle on the call.

Preview: The Huskers begin the final homestretch of the season with a 19-21 record following a 4-1 loss at Baylor in the series finale on Sunday. The Huskers pitched well on the weekend, allowing six runs in the final two games, but were unable to pick up their first Big 12 series win of the season. Nebraska received solid starts from freshman Tyler Niederklein and Tom Lemke, but were held to one run on seven hits on Sunday. Junior Khris Tate (2-2, 4.88 ERA) will look to continue the run of solid starts, as he makes his sixth start of the year against the Hawkeyes.

Tuesday's game is a homecoming for Cedar Rapids native Chad Christensen, who returns to his home state for the first time in his collegiate career. Christensen, the only Iowa native on the 2010 Husker roster, has enjoyed a strong rookie campaign, hitting .333 with six homers and 15 RBIs, while starting the last 17 games at shortstop. Christensen's emergence has allowed to Huskers to play a youthful infield, as NU started three freshmen - Josh Scheffert, Bryan Peters and Christensen - along with sophomore Cody Asche over the weekend. The Baylor series marked the first time this year that NU has fielded that quartet.  While NU's freshmen have anchored the infield, a pair of senior outfielders have powered the Husker offense. Senior Adam Bailey is enjoying an All-Big 12 year, as he leads Nebraska in all three triple crown categories by hitting .386 with 15 homers and 51 RBIs. He leads the league in homers and hits, while ranking second in RBIs and fifth in batting average.

Iowa comes into the week with 16-21 record following a series win over Michigan. The Hawkeyes are led by Zach McCool, who is hitting .370 with 20 runs scored, and Kurtis Muller, who is hitting .367 with 35 runs scored and 19 stolen bases.

3 Things to Watch
15: Number of homers by Adam Bailey, which is the most by a Husker since Alex Gordon hit 19 in 2005.
6: Number of homers by freshman shortstop Chad Christensen. It is the most homers by a Husker freshman since 2003 (Alex Gordon, 7) and the most homers by a Husker shortstop since 2006 (Ryan Wehrle).
13: Number of innings played in Nebraska's last trip to Iowa City, as Nebraska won 16-14 in 2006. Steve Edlefsen, who is now a pitcher in Triple A for the San Francisco Giants, went 6-for-8 with five runs scored and hit for the cycle. Edlefsen is currently 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA in eight appearances for Fresno.

Scouting Iowa
The Hawkeyes, coached by former Creighton coach Jack Dahm, are 16-21 on the season following a series win over Michigan last weekend. Iowa has been tested out of conference, playing four-game series at both Kansas and Texas and take on Creighton Wednesday in Omaha.

The Hawkeyes are led by Zach McCool, who is hitting a team-best .370 with a homer and 20 RBIs. He is one of four starters over .300 on the season, as Iowa has hit only 11 homers, but has swiped 59 bases in 37 contests. Kurtis Muller is hitting .367 with 35 runs scored and 19 stolen bases, while Ryan Durant leads Iowa in homers (two), RBIs (34) and doubles (13) while hitting .294 on the season.

True freshman Matt Dermody makes his fourth start of the season on Tuesday against the Huskers. The left-hander is 0-2 in five games, allowing 23 hits over 14 innings of work. He went a career-best six innings against Western Illinois in his previous start last Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits in a no-decision. Iowa eventually won the game 6-5 in 10 innings.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa, 11-8, and has won four of the past five matchups since the series resumed in 2005 after a 75-year break. This is NU's second trip to Iowa City, as the 2008 game was canceled because of rain

2009 Matchup:  Jeff Tezak matched his season-high with four RBIs, lifting the Huskers to 8-5 victory. Tezak went 3-for-4 on the night, as the Huskers rapped out 11 hits. The senior switch hitter had an RBI single in the first inning before his two-run single in the third helped stake the Huskers to a 5-0 lead. He later drove in his fourth run on a RBI single in the seventh after Iowa pulled to within 5-4. Tezak was one of three Huskers to enjoy three-hit evenings. Adam Bailey went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, while Cody Asche tied a season high with three hits and scored a career-high four times. The Huskers also received strong performances on the mound. Michael Mariot took a shutout into the fourth, while four relievers combined for 5.2 innings of relief without allowing an earned run.  Erik Bird (1-1) got the win with 1.1 innings of relief, while Nate Kerkhoff, Erik Anderson and Mike Nesseth didn't allow run from the fifth until the ninth. Nesseth went the final 1.1 innings, fanning two for his second save.