Huskers Host Doane, Open Big 12 Home Schedule vs. OSU

Date       Date      Opponent                Radio                   Internet               Time/Result
Wednesday        March 30                vs. Doane (14-7)     Husker Sports Network Huskers.com         1:35 p.m.
Friday    April 1   vs. Oklahoma State (19-6)                     Husker Sports Network Huskers.com         6:35 p.m.

Saturday April 2   vs. Oklahoma State (19-6)                     Husker Sports Network Huskers.com         2:05 p.m.

Sunday  April 3   vs. Oklahoma State (19-6)                     Husker Sports Network Huskers.com         1:05 p.m.

Media Info
Live Radio: Selected Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com (affiliate list on page five of today's notes)

Live Stats: Huskers.com

Live Video: Huskers.com (with paid subscription)

Television: Saturday on NET

Promotions: Hometown Husker Days (Friday-Omaha, Saturday-Columbus, Sunday-Grand Island)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Wednesday         Tyler Niederklein, So., RHP (2-1, 4.38)            Jacob Bartek, Sr., RHP (0-0, 5.91)

This Week: Nebraska returns for a five-game homestand beginning with a make-up game against Doane College on Wednesday at 1:35 p.m. The contest was orginally scheduled for April 8 but was canceled due to inclement weather. The Huskers will then open the Big 12 home slate with a weekend series against Oklahoma State, beginning Friday at 6:35 p.m., and continuing Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.).

Nebraska and Doane met in the first game in program history, as the Huskers won a 23-6 contest in 1889.

Television: Saturday's game vs. Oklahoma State will be the first of five home games televised on NET this season. The NET television stream will also be available for free on Huskers.com.

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action this week on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KFAM 1110 AM in Omaha - and on the Internet at Huskers.com. A complete list of Husker Sports Network affiliates can be found on page 5.

Video: Fans can watch all four games this weeke by purchasing a Huskers NSide subscription on Huskers.com.

Preview: Nebraska looks to get back on the winning track when it hosts Doane College this Wednesday. The Huskers opened Big 12 play by dropping 2-of-3 at Texas Tech over the weekend, despite winning the series opener, 15-5.

The Doane matchup will the second against an in-state foe this season after NU defeated Nebraska-Kearney on March 2. The Huskers will also meet Creighton for the annual three-game series beginning next Tuesday, April 5 at Hawks Field.

As the Huskers hit the mid-way point of the season, Nebraska holds two of the best bats in the Big 12 Conference. Third baseman Cody Asche is hitting .349 with a nation-leading 17 doubles, while also ranking second in the Big 12 with five homers. Outfielder Kash Kalkowski is leading the Huskers with a .392 batting average, which is third in the league. Asche's status for this week is in question after he suffered a concussion in Sunday's series finale at Oklahoma State. The O'Fallon, Mo., native is on pace to break the single-season school record for doubles, as he has 17 through 26 games. The record is held by Jed Morris (2002) and Mike Duncan (1985) with 26.

Tyler Niederklein has earned the Wednesday start, which will mark the fifth time the Omaha, Neb., native has got the nod on the hill this season. Niederklein is 2-1 with a 4.38 ERA.

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK

1. The Huskers have won eight straight home games dating back to the March 13 win over Fresno State.

2. Nebraska ranks fourth nationally in hit by pitches with 46. Kash Kalkowski ranks third individually in the category as he has been plunked 12 times.

3. Cody Asche carries a team-best 12-game hit streak into this week. His status is in question following a concussion in Sunday's game at Texas Tech.

Scouting Doane

Doane makes the short trek from Crete with a 14-7 record on the season. The Tigers produced a school-record 30 wins last year and qualified for the GPAC Tournament for the first time since 2003. They are led by fourth year head coach Jeremy Jorgensen.

AJ Spanel is the top Tiger hitter as he is batting .476 with a .534 on-base percentage. He is one of six everyday starters hitting above the .300 mark. Mike Albert (.394) is the team leader in RBIs with 25, followed by Austin Tharp (.313, 17 RBIs) and Anthony Hincy (.328, 16 RBIs).

Doane has 15 Nebraska natives on its 2011 roster.

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 3-0. The last meeting occurred on Feb. 15, 1992 at Lincoln's Buck Beltzer Stadium, a 11-3 Husker winner. The Huskers also defeated the Tigers in 1889 and 1890, the first two years of the program's existence.

Last Time Out:

Huskers Come Up Short at Texas Tech
Nebraska had four hits in the first three innings but could not take advantage of early opportunities before the Red Raiders pushed across single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to claim the series by downing the Huskers 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Dan Law Field.

Cody Asche (2-for-3) and Kash Kalkowski (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games to combine for four of Nebraska's five hits on the day, as the Huskers out-hit the Red Raiders 5-4. It marked the first time in 16 games this season that the Huskers have outhit the opponent but lost the game.

The Huskers had an unfortunate moment in the bottom of the fifth inning when Asche was carted off the field with a concussion due to a hard collision on an attempted tag out. Trailing 2-0 Jamodrick McGruder on first, Barrett Barnes hit a ball deep in the hole at short. Chad Christensen made a nice backhanded stop but his throw to first was not in time as the speedy McGruder rounded second base. Kurt Farmer threw back across the diamond to Asche to tag out McGruder, but a hard collision jarred the ball loose and left Asche on the ground for a 16-minute injury delay. Asche was carted off on a stretcher and taken to Covenant Hospital near the Texas Tech campus and released shortly following the game.

Asche was on a tear all weekend, as he went 7-for-12 with two homers, three doubles and seven RBIs while extending his hit streak to 12 games. Kalkowski was quietly as effective in Lubbock, going 8-for-13 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

Trailing 3-0 after McGruder came around to score in the fifth, Kalkowski attempted to get the Huskers back in the game by hitting a leadoff double to left. Kurt Farmer then reached on an error by McGruder at second base and the Huskers had runners on the corners with none out. Christensen stepped to the plate and hit a fly into short right field that was snagged by a sliding McGruder. Kalkowski tagged up to score from third but the Red Raiders appealed to third base and home plate umpire Mike Morris ruled Kalkowski left the bag early.

"We had some chances," head coach Mike Anderson said. "We had some runners on with two outs but we didn't get those leadoff guys on the way we have to get an inning started. The one time we did Kash got called out. We had a couple plays where we just didn't punch them in. It's a tighter ballgame if its 3-1. A lot of things happened today. They literally say the ball bounces a certain way and there weren't many our way today. That's part of the game. You also have to look at it and make the breaks happen too."

Kalkowski's double was Nebraska's only hit from the fourth to ninth innings, as Texas Tech starter Robbie Kilcrease went 7 1/3  and gave up no runs on five hits. David Paiz earned the save by throwing the final 1 2/3.

Nebraska starter Jon Keller allowed three runs on four hits in five innings, as he threw 105 pitches, marking the third time in six starts he has went over the century pitch count.

The Huskers had chances to give Keller run support early in the game, but stranded five runners on base through the first three innings. The Red Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the third when Bo Altobelli led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a sac bunt and sac fly.

Leading Off

    -Nebraska and Doane will meet for just the fourth time ever. The Huskers played Doane in the first game in program history, taking a 23-6 win in 1889. This will be the first meeting between the schools since Feb. 15, 1992.

    -The Huskers are looking to continue a eight-game home winning streak. Nebraska has not lost at Hawks Field since March 12. The Big Red is 11-3 at home this season with all three losses coming against ranked teams. Wednesday's game will be the 15th home game this month.

    -Kash Kalkowski is coming off an 8-for-13 (.615) weekend at Texas Tech. Cody Asche was 7-for-12 (.583) in Lubbock.

To Watch

Asche Among Big 12, National Leaders
Cody Asche enters the week as the national leader in doubles with 17, while also ranking second in the Big 12 with 29 RBIs and five home runs. Asche is on pace to set NU's single-season record for doubles.

    NU Single-Season Doubles Top 10

    1.   26    Jed Morris    2002

          26    Mike Duncan 1985

    3.   24    Derek Dukart  1994

          24    Burt Beattie    1986

    5.   23    Justin Cowan 2000

    6.   22    Seven Tied   

Asche is the team leader with 29 RBIs and 15 multiple-hit games. He has hit all five homers since March 13. In the last 10 games, he is hitting .487 with 14 RBIs while putting together a 12-game hit streak.

A native of Fallon, Mo., Asche was a 2010 honorable-mention All-Big 12 selction as he hit .311 with 10 homers. His status for this week remains in question after he suffered a concussion in Sunday's game at Texas Tech.

Hauptman, Freeman Lead NU Pitching Staff
Nebraska's pitching staff is holding opponents to a .249 batting average and holds a 3.57 ERA.

Leading the way are a pair of seniors, Casey Hauptman and Matt Freeman. Hauptman ranks eighth in Big 12 pitching with a 1.48 ERA. His most impressive statistics is walks allowed, where he ranks fourth nationally by allowing just 0.3 walks per nine innings. Freeman is 12th in the Big 12 with a 1.77 ERA, although he led the league with a 0.63 ERA heading into last week's series at Texas Tech.

Opponents are hitting just .198 on Hauptman, which ranks eighth in the Big 12 Conference.

In the last 26 games, Nebraska relievers have held the opponent to one run or less 18 times. In the final three innings this season, NU has allowed only a total of 19 runs. Due in large part to the strong relief pitching, the Huskers are 12-0 when leading after six innings.

Huskers Focus on Strong Defense
Nebraska ranks third in the Big 12 in team fielding with a .976 percentage. The Huskers have only had multiple errors one time in the past 14 games. The infield, anchored by sophomores Chad Christensen (SS) and Bryan Peters (2B), has led NU in turning 13 groundball double plays.   

If Nebraska maintains its strong defense, it could be NU's highest fielding percentage since 2006 (.974).

Kalkowski Makes Smooth Transition to Hitting
One of Nebraska's best bats has been a surprise to opponents this season, as Kash Kalkowski enters the weekend ranked third in the Big 12 with a .392 batting average (31-for-79). The sophomore had a 12-game hit streak snapped March 16 at Kansas State, but he has regained form, including a stellar 8-for-13 series at Texas Tech last weekend. He ranks second on the team with 23 RBIs and four homers. His first home run was a grand slam on opening weekend, while he added a game-tying solo shot March 5 against UCLA.

Kalkowski has been at his best in clutch situations, as he leads NU in 2-out situations with a .438 average

A native of Grand Island, Neb., Kalkowski sat out last season following shoulder surgery. A two-way prep standout, Kalkowski was orginally expected to have a primary pitching role for the Huskers until two shoulder surgeries in 2009 and 2010.

Husker Comebacks Highlight Season
Nebraska has had seven come-from-behind victories this season, including three in a row in wins over North Dakota and Northern Colorado from March 20-23. The Huskers have 132 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003.                

NU had 10 come-from-behind wins last season, including overcoming a 10-run deficit against North Dakota on March 30 and a four-run deficit against Southeast Missouri State on May 8.

Farmer Finds His Groove in Sophomore Season
First baseman Kurt Farmer played in only 15 games last year, but has quickly developed into one of Nebraska's best bats. The Columbus, Neb., native holds the team's third-highest batting average at .342 and has started all 26 games at first base. He is hitting .465 with runners on base and .407 with runners in scoring position.

The week of March 14-20, Farmer helped lead Nebraska to a 4-1 mark by hitting .435 (10-for-23) with a team-best 12 RBIs. Farmer's week was highlighted by a seventh inning grand slam March 19 that boosted the Huskers to a 10-4 come-from-behind win. The sophomore homered again Sunday as part of a 3-for-5 day with three RBIs in NU's 8-6 victory. Farmer posted an efficient .500 (7-of-14) batting average with runners on base while also extending his hit streak to seven games.

Husker Offense Thrives in Middle Innings
Nebraska has thrived in the middle innings this season, scoring 72 percent of its runs from the third to seventh innings.  The Huskers' have scored 33 runs each in the third and seventh freams, while adding 28 in the fifth.

NU Succeeds with Productive Bats
The Huskers are 87-11 dating back to 2008 when they out-hit an opponent and have won 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent. Last season, NU was 25-4 when out-hitting opponents. The Huskers are also 32-10 when reaching double-figures in hits, but just 5-23 when held to nine hits or less.

The Huskers are undefeated at 15-1 this season when outhitting the opposition with the only loss coming March 27 at Texas Tech.

Huskers Taking Free Bases
The Huskers have been hit by 46 pitches this season and rank fourth nationally in that category. Kash Kalkowski has been plunked a team-leading 12 times, which ranks him third individually in the NCAA. Kurt Farmer ranks second on the team with nine after he was hit six times alone in the first four games of the season.

Huskers Announce 2011 Television Schedule

The Nebraska Athletic Department and Nebraska Educational Television have announced that five Husker home baseball games will be carried live on NET this spring. Two of those contests will be simulcast nationally on CBS College Sports, while NET and CBS College Sports will also televise the April 19 matchup at Creighton, the first game at the new TD Ameritrade Park.

The television schedule begins Saturday, April 2, as the Huskers host the Big 12 home opener against Oklahoma State at Hawks Field at 2:05 p.m. It is the first of five home games on the schedule, as NU's contests with Creighton (Tuesday, April 5, 6:35 p.m.), Baylor (Saturday, April 30, 2:05 p.m.), Texas (Friday, May 6, 6:35 p.m.) and Missouri (Saturday, May 21, 3:05 p.m.) will also be carried live. Both televised games against Creighton and the regular-season finale against Missouri will be simulcast nationally on CBS College Sports.

2011 Nebraska Baseball Television Schedule
Sat., April 2 - Oklahoma State at Nebraska - 2:05 p.m. (NET)

Tues., April 5 - Creighton at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m. (NET/CBS CS)

Tues., April 19 - Nebraska at Creighton - 6:30 p.m. (NET/CBS CS)

Sat., April 30 - Baylor at Nebraska - 2:05 p.m. (NET)

Fri., May 6 - Texas at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m. (NET)

Sat., May 21 - Missouri at Nebraska - 3:05 p.m. (NET/CBS CS)

Next Up:

Nebraska opens the Big 12 home slate against Oklahoma State this weekend from April 1-3. The series kicks off Friday night at 6:35 p.m.