Huskers, Bluejays Meet at Hawks Field for Series Opener

Date      Date      Opponent                Radio                 Internet       TV        Time/Result

Tuesday April 5   vs. Creighton (20-5)  Husker Sports Network          Huskers.com NET/CBS CS         6:35 p.m.

Friday    April 1   at Kansas (12-15, 4-5) Husker Sports Network KUathletics.com        6 p.m.

Saturday April 2   at Kansas               Husker Sports Network          KUathletics.com         2 p.m.

Sunday  April 3   at Kansas               Husker Sports Network          KUathletics.com         1 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 (free NET stream for Tuesday's game)

Television: Tuesday on NET-1 (Ch. 12 in Lincoln), NET-HD (Ch. 112 in Lincoln) and CBS College Sports

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

Probable Starting Pitchers
Day        Nebraska                             Creighton
Tuesday Tyler Niederklein, So., RHP (3-1, 4.05)            TBA

This Week: Nebraska and Creighton will play the first of three games this season when the in-state rivals meet Tuesday night (6:35 p.m.) at Hawks Field. The Huskers and Bluejays will later play two games at the new TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, including the first event at the stadium April 19.

This is the 13th straight year Nebraska and Creighton have scheduled a three-game series dispersed throughout the season.

Tickets: Single-game tickets for Tuesday night 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.

Television: Tuesday's game vs. Creighton will be televised statewide on NET with a simulcast available nationally on CBS College Sports. The NET 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.

Preview: Nebraska (19-9, 2-4) dropped two games to Oklahoma State last weekend before salvaging the series finale with a 6-4 win. Cody Asche hit his sixth home run of the season in Sunday's victory and is looking to lead the Huskers to another home win before heading to Kansas this weekend.

Asche ranks among the league leaders in several offensive categories, including doubles (1st, 17) and RBIs (2nd, 32). His .333 batting average also ranks 13th in the Big 12, joining teammates Kash Kalkowski (4th, .379) and Kurt Farmer (7th, .356) to give Nebraska three players in the top 15. Farmer and catcher Cory Burleson each went 4-for-10 in last weekend's series against Oklahoma State, highlighted by two Burleson homers on Friday night.

Right hander Tyler Niederklein will start Tuesday night's game for Nebraska. The sophomore is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA in five starts and eight appearances. Two weeks ago against Northern Colorado, Niederklein struck out a career-high 10 batters.

3 THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEK

1.  Cory Burleson was 4-for-10 with six RBIs last weekend while starting all three games behind the plate. He entered the week with two career home runs and matched that total with two homers in Friday night's game.

2.  Kale Kiser hit .429 with three doubles and five RBIs vs. Creighton last year. Kiser and Bryan Peters each had two doubles in the last game of the series at Rosenblatt Stadium.

3.  Kash Kalkowski not only leads NU with a .379 batting average, but is also tops with a .465 on-base percentage. He has reached first safely in 11 straight games.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton is off to a strong 20-5 start, including an impressive 10-3 record in road games, highlighted by a four-game sweep at New Mexico. The Blujejays are led by eighth-year head coach Ed Servais, who is looking to improve on last year's 27-25 season as they finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Trever Adams is one of four everyday starters that is hitting over the .300 mark. Adams is battng a team-best .390 with six homers. Adams, along with Alex Staehley and Jimmy Swift, have combined for over 50 percent of the team's RBI total, as each has drove in at least 20 runs this season. Staehley is hitting at a .351 clip with 16 doubles.

On the mound, Ty Blach has produced a perfect 5-0 record in seven starts. He has a 2.25 ERA by giving up 10 earned runs in 40.0 innings. Six Bluejays have at least a pair of wins, including Jonas Dufek (4-0, 1.62) and Reese McGraw (3-1, 4.20).

Series History: Nebraska leads the all-time series, 71-39-2, and has won 17-of-25 meetings since Mike Anderson took over as Nebraska's head coach in 2003.  The Huskers have won eight of the past 12 series dating back to 1999.

After dropping the first two games of the series last year, Nebraska pounded out 26 hits and set a school record with 11 doubles in the series finale at Rosenblatt Stadium, a 21-5 Husker win.

Last Time Out:
Huskers Win Series Finale Over Oklahoma State
Cody Asche hit his sixth homer of the season and Casey Hauptman allowed only an unearned run in the final 6.2 innings to lead Nebraska (19-11, 2-4) to a 6-4 series finale win over Oklahoma State (21-7, 5-4) on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field.

Asche was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a two-run shot in the fifth inning before producing the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Hauptman's 6.1 innings marks the longest relief appearance by a Husker since Luke Wertz went 7.1 innings on April 22, 2007 against Texas.

"They showed up for everything today and I couldn't be more proud of them," head coach Mike Anderson said. "Their spirit, their energy, everything was very good. Had we lost that baseball game, I would've been able to say the same thing. Not only did they bring their energy, but they brought their clutch tendon too."

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Asche stepped to the plate with one out and a runner on second base. Facing a 1-2 count, Asche had fouled off three pitches, including the final one that was nearly caught by OSU catcher Jared Womack before it was dropped. Asche took advantage of the opportunity and belted the next pitch in the right field bullpen for a two-run homer that put Nebraska ahead 4-3. Following the home run, Oklahoma State head coach Frank Anderson was ejected from the game as he argued Womack had caught the foul tip.

Hauptman needed little help from the offense as he improved to 5-2 and threw a season-high 83 pitches while striking out five and allowing five hits. He gave up only an unearned run in the seventh, but Asche delivered a sacrifice fly in the eighth for the game-winning run before Kash Kalkowski also nabbed an RBI on a fielders choice to make it 6-4.

A senior from Omaha, Neb., Hauptman sat down seven straight Cowboys from the third to fifth innings. He did not walk any batters, which improves his season strikeout-to-walk ration to 36:1. The one walk was intentional against UCLA on March 6.

"Coming in after two losses, everyone was real determined and ready to get after it," Hauptman said. "We played good defense and hit the ball. Coach Anderson talked to me before the game and said, 'If we get in any trouble, be ready.' I was going to go as long as I possibly could. I hadn't pitched all weekend, so I was ready to go."

Hauptman took over for starter Dylan Vogt, who went 2.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits.

Offensively, Nebraska won its first game of the season when being outhit by its opponent, as Oklahoma State led the hit total, 9-6. The Huskers put the leadoff man on base in every inning except the first, but came up empty in four of those frames. Nebraska did cash in its first such opportunity in the second inning when Cory Burleson ripped a 2-RBI single up the middle to give NU a 2-1 lead.

The Huskers also drew a season-high six hit-by-pitches on the afternoon, including three to the leadoff batter. Nebraska entered last week ranked fourth nationally in hit-by-pitches and it has now been plunked 57 times this season. For the second time this year, Kale Kiser was hit three times.         

Leading Off

    -Cory Burleson hit at a .400 clip last week (4-for-10) as he started all three games at catcher for the Huskers against Oklahoma State. The switch hitter, who entered the week with two career home runs, homered twice from each side of the plate in Friday's 12-7 setback to Oklahoma State and produced a career-high four RBIs. Dating back to at least 1999, it is the first time in school history that a Husker has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.

    After going 1-for-2 in Saturday's game, Burleson came up with a key 2-RBI single in the second inning of Sunday's finale as the Huskers eventually claimed a 6-4 victory.

    -Kash Kalkowski enters Tuesday night having reached base in 11 straight games, the longest active streak on the team.

    -Four Huskers have double-digit multiple-hit games this season, led by Cody Asche with 15. Kurt Farmer, Kash Kalkowski and Chad Christensen all have 10 each.

    -Over the past 10 games, Cody Asche, Kurt Farmer and Cory Burleson have combined for 33 of Nebraska's 64 RBIs.

    -The Huskers have hit 21 home runs this season, which ranks second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma (24). Cody Asche is tied for second individually with six, while Kash Kalkowski is tied for fifth with four.

    Here is how Nebraska's home run total through the first 30 games of the 2011 season has compared to previous years. Prior to this spring, the NCAA issued a new BBCOR bat standard.

 

Nebraska Home Runs Through 30 Games
    2011  21
    2010  36
    2009  30
    2008  19
    2007 20
    2006 42
    2005 41

    -Nebraska ranks fifth in the Big 12 in team fielding with a .974 percentage. The Huskers have only had multiple errors two times in the past 18 games. The infield, anchored by sophomores Chad Christensen (SS) and Bryan Peters (2B), has led NU in turning 16 groundball double plays.   

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

    -Nebraska has had eight 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 133 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.

    -Nebraska has thrived in the middle innings this season, scoring 70 percent of its runs from the third to seventh innings.  The Huskers' have scored 36 runs in the seventh frame, while also hitting strong in the third with 35 runs.

-The Huskers are 88-11 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 6-23 when held to nine hits or less.

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

-Nebraska has been hit by 57 pitches this season and ranked fourth nationally in that category when the latest NCAA statistics were released last Tuesday. Kash Kalkowski has been plunked a team-leading 14 times, which ranks him third individually in the NCAA. Kurt Farmer and Bryan Peters each rank second on the team with 10. Peters has now been hit 28 times during his two-year career.

    NU Career Hit-by-Pitch Top 10
    1.   67    Daniel Bruce  2002-05
    2.   59    DJ Belfonte   2007-10
    3.   37    Alex Gordon  2003-05
          37    Nick Sullivan 2006-09
    5.   36    Jake Mort      2006-09
    6.   34    Dave Crain    1994-95
    7.   28    Bryan Peters  2010-present

Asche Ranks Among Big 12, National Leaders

    As of the latest NCAA rankings (March 29), Cody Asche ranked as the national leader in doubles with 17. He is currently second in the Big 12 with 32 RBIs and six home runs.

    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 32 RBIs and 15 multiple-hit games. He has hit all six homers since March 13. From March 16-27, he hit .487 with 14 RBIs in a 10-game stretch while also going on a 12-game hit streak.

Asche's longest hit streak of 2010 was 12 games, making him the first Husker since Alex Gordon (2004 and 2005) to put together at least a 12-game hit streak in consecutive seasons.

A native of Fallon, Mo., Asche was a 2010 honorable-mention All-Big 12 selction as he hit .311 with 10 homers.

Hauptman Anchors Husker Bullpen
Nebraska's pitching staff is holding opponents to a .252 batting average and holds a 3.66 ERA.

Casey Hauptman is coming off one of the best performances in his career as he improved to 4-2 with a 6.1 inning effort Sunday against Oklahoma State, the longest relief outing by a Husker since 2007. Hauptman ranks fourth in Big 12 ERA at 1.23. His most impressive statistic is walks allowed, where he ranks fourth nationally by allowing just 0.25 walks per nine innings.

Due in large part to the strong relief pitching, the Huskers are 14-0 when leading after six innings.

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 week ranked fourth in the Big 12 with a .379 batting average (36-for-95). 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 from March 25-27. He ranks second on the team with 25 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 .359 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.

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 second-highest batting average at .356 and he is one of four Huskers to have started all 30 games. He is hitting .451 with runners on base and .389 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 in the series finale 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 before it ended at nine.

Freshmen King, Pierce Quietly Strong in Bullpen
A pair of freshmen hurlers have given the Huskers quality depth in the bullpen with the additions of left hander Tyler King and right thander Brandon Pierce.

King has posted a 1.65 ERA and ranks second on the team with 12 appearances behind Casey Hauptman. The Republic, Mo., native has only given up an earned run in two of his 12 appearances while throwing 16.1 innings.

Pierce, who is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA, was used as a starter through the majority of March, but has shown his best performances as a reliever. When coming out of the bullpen, the Gunter, Texas native has allowed only two runs in 7.0 innings. He has struck out 22 hitters in only 18.1 innings this season.