Huskers Return Home, Host Northwestern

Friday, April 8 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP King (3-1) vs. LHP Mason (2-2)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, April 9 (2:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP McSteen (2-0) vs. RHP Kubiuk (0-2)
TV: NET
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, April 10 (1:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Matt Waldron (4-1) vs. TBA
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - After splitting a pair of midweek games against Kansas State and Omaha, the Nebraska baseball team (20-9, 5-1 Big Ten) returns to Hawks Field on Friday for the first game of a three-game series against the Northwestern Wildcats (7-22, 1-5 Big 12), with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 2:05 p.m., while the finale is set for Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

The Huskers enter the weekend with a 5-1 Big Ten record, including a series sweep at Purdue and a series victory over Illinois last weekend. The Huskers are 8-2 over their last 10 games and have won 11 of their last 13 games.

The Wildcats are 1-5 in the Big Ten, with their lone victory coming in their Big Ten opener at Ohio State on March 25. They then lost the next two games to the Buckeyes and were swept at home by Michigan last weekend. The Wildcats are 2-8 over their last 10 games and enter Lincoln on a four-game losing streak.

In a series that dates back to 1897, the Huskers and Wildcats have split 18 games. Northwestern won the first two meetings in 1897 (9-5) and 1902 (11-3), the teams didn’t meet again until 1989, with the Huskers winning, 5-2.

Nebraska’s first Big Ten road series took place at Northwestern in 2012, and after the Huskers won the opener, the Wildcats won the series with victories in the final two games. The Huskers swept the Wildcats at Hawks Field in 2013, but then lost 2-of-3 at home in 2014. Nebraska took the series, 2-1, in Evanston last season. Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, the Huskers are 7-5 against the Wildcats entering Friday’s series opener.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers
Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe, Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call all the action on the Husker Sports Network this weekend, including on Huskers.com and the Official Husker App.

All three games this weekend can be heard in Lincoln on 1400 AM and in Omaha on 590 AM. The games are also scheduled to be carried on TuneIn Radio.

All three games this weekend will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required). Saturday’s game will also be carried statewide on NET.

Limit the Free Pass
In its past two Friday home games the Huskers have walked a total of 29 batters, an average of 14.5 walks per game. Nebraska walked 17 against Wichita State on Friday, March 18, and then walked 12 last Friday, April 1, against Illinois. The Huskers lost both games, accounting for two of NU’s three losses over the last 20 games.

Walk this Way
As of Thursday morning, senior Jake Placzek was tied for fourth nationally with 34 walks. Ohio State’s Troy Montgomery ranks second in the Big Ten and is tied for 15th nationally with 27 walks. UNC Asheville’s Pete Guy led the nation with 37 walks.

Adding in his five hit-by-pitch and his .302 average, Placzek leads the Huskers with an on-base percentage of .500

Placzek has accounted for over 30% of NU’s 112 walks this year. Only three other Huskers have drawn double digit walks in 2016, including Ben Miller (11), Ryan Boldt (10) and Jake Meyers (10). Those three combined have three fewer walks than Placzek.

Placzek has drawn multiple walks in 10 games entering Friday, including three walks in a game three times this year.

Placzek needs 28 more walks this year to tie Todd Sears (62 - 1997) for 10th place on NU’s single season walks list. Placzek has 90 career walks and needs 25 more walks in 2016 to enter NU’s career walks list. Rich King and Steve Stanicek are tied for 10th with 115 career walks.

Stretching the Pen
Nebraska’s bullpen has had to eat up innings on the weekend this year, and has received a big boost from sophomore Reece Eddins. The right hander has 13 appearances, all out of the pen, and has a 0.57 ERA over 31.2 innings, which ranks second on the team entering Friday.

Through 29 games, Nebraska has had a starting pitcher go 7.0 innings of more just once, as Derek Burkamper went 7.0 in the second game of a doubleheader against Loyola Marymount on March 11.

Last season in 57 games, Nebraska had four starters combine to go 7.0 innings or more 17 times, including Kyle Kubat (8), Chance Sinclair (5), Burkamper (3) and Garett King (1).

Double Digits
Nebraska has amassed double digit hits 18 times in 29 games entering Friday and is 14-4 when reaching the mark.

Entering Friday, Nebraska has recorded double digit hits in nine of its last 11 games.

Last season the Huskers totaled 10 or more hits 23 times in 57 games.

Get a Lead for the Bullpen
During Darin Erstad’s tenure at Nebraska, the Husker bullpen has done its job when it has a lead. Dating back to the 2014 season, the Huskers have won 68 straight games when leading after the eighth inning.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 121-16 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 127-8 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 137-4 record.

The last time the Huskers lost a game when leading going into the ninth inning was March 21, 2014, in Iowa City, Iowa. The Huskers held a 1-0 leading going into the bottom of the ninth, but the Hawkeyes rallied for a 2-1 walk-off victory.

Boldt Keeps Hitting
Ryan Boldt, a member of the 2016 Golden Spike Award watch list, broke onto the collegiate scene as a freshman in 2014 with a .311 average and 74 hits. He avoided a sophomore slump in 2015 by hitting .344 with 75 hits.

This season, Boldt is hitting .331 (44-for-133) with 13 multi-hit games, including nine games with three-hits.

Boldt needs seven more hits this season to become the 24th player in school history with 200 career hits.

Just a junior, Boldt would be just the 15th player to reach the mark in three seasons, and the first since his cousin, Pat Kelly, notched 212 hits from 2012-14.

Other Huskers who have reached 200 or more hits in three seasons include: Darin Erstad (261), Paul Meyers (250), Matt Hooper (249), Mark Kister (242), Alex Gordon (240), Todd Sears (234), Ken Ramos (229), Curtis Ledbetter (223), John Cole (222), Jeff Leise (217), Pat Kelly (212), Will Bolt (205), Ken Harvey (203), Francis Collins (201).

NU 200-Career Hit Club
1. 338 Matt Hopper 2000-03
2. 305 Jeff Leise 2000-03
3. 281 Will Bolt 1999-02
4. 261 Darin Erstad 1993-95
5. 251 Michael Pritchard 2011-14
6. 250 Paul Meyers 1984-86
7. 249 Joe Simokaitis 2002-05
8. 248 Jed Dalton 1992-95
9. 247 Chad Christensen 2010-13
10. 246 Darin Petersen 1992-95
11. 242 Mark Kister 1985-87
12. 240 Alex Gordon 2003-05
13. 238 DJ Belfonte 2007-10
14. 234 Todd Sears 1995-97
15. 231 Daniel Bruce 2002-05
16. 229 Ken Ramos 1987-89
17. 227 Jake Opitz 2005-08
18. 226 Austin Darby 2012-15
19. 223 Curtis Ledbetter 2003-05
20. 222 John Cole 1999-01
21. 212 Pat Kelly 2012-14
22. 203 Ken Harvey 1997-99
23. 201 Francis Collins 1995-97

-- 193 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present

Longball
Nebraska’s home run totals are up in a big way this year, as they have hit 30 in 29 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season. As of Thursday morning NU was tied for 25th in the country and second in the Big Ten in home runs. Mercer leads the nation with 48 homers and Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 34.

Nebraska last topped 30 home runs in a season in 2012, when they hit 47.

Nine different players have hit a home run this season, including a team-high seven from both Scott Schreiber, six from Jake Placzek and five from Ben Miller. Miller and Tanner Lubach tied for the team lead last season with four each.

Nebraska already has 10 multi-homer games this season after notching two all of last year.

Nebraska is 15-4 on the year when they hit a home run, with all four losses coming in the first four games where NU hit a homer.

The Huskers did change equipment prior to this season, as the team is swinging adidas bats this year after using Rawlings bats each of the last four years.

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 40 bases in its first 29 games, an average of 1.4 per game. Ryan Boldt leads the team with 14 steals, the most by a Husker since 2008 when DJ Belfonte stole 14 bases all season.

Last year the Huskers totaled 40 stolen bases in 57 games, an average of 0.7 stolen bases per game.

Nebraska last topped 60 stolen bases in a season in 2011 when they were 62-for-81.

Count on Chesnut
Senior Jeff Chesnut enters Friday tied for fifth all-time at Nebraska with 78 career appearances, including 31 last season. His 31 appearances in 2015 are tied for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

With 16 appearances in 2016, Chesnut’s next appearance will tie him with Dylan Vogt (2010-13) for fourth place on NU’s career list.

Steve Hale holds the school record with 87 career appearances from 1999-2003.

Career Appearances
1. 87 Steve Hale 1999-03
2. 82 Casey Hauptman 2008-11
3. 80 Brett Jensen 2004-06
4. 79 Dylan Vogt 2010-13
5. 78 Erik Bird 2006-09
78 Jeff Anderson 1981-84
78 Jeff Chesnut 2013-present
8. 74 Zach Herr 2006-08
9. 73 Jonas Armenta 1994-97
10. 70 Jarod Bearinger 1996-99
70 John Lepley 1985-88

Get to Third
When the Huskers get a runner on third base with less than two outs, they are putting runs on the board.

On the year NU has 59 RBIs in 104 chances with a runner on third and less than two outs, a success rate just under 57%.

Costly Free Passes
In Nebraska’s nine losses this season, walks by the NU pitching staff have been a big factor.

Entering Friday, Nebraska’s pitchers have walked 63 batters in NU’s nine losses, an average of 7.0 walks per game.

In NU’s 20 wins the NU pitching staff has issued 76 walks, an average of 3.8 walks per game.

Home Sweet Hawks
The Nebraska baseball team is celebrating its 15th season at Hawks Field in 2016. Since playing their first game at the park in 2002, the Huskers have posted a 312-112-1 (.735) record at the facility entering, including a 11-2 record this season.

The Huskers notched a .778 winning percentage at home last year, the highest home winning percentage since 2008 when Nebraska posted a .843 winning percentage with a 29-5-1 record.

Nebraska has won 60% or more of its home games 12 times over the past 14 seasons, including each of the past six seasons. NU’s worst home season came in 2009 when the Huskers posted a 16-14 record (.533).

Score Early
In 29 games this year the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning 11 times. The Huskers are 9-2 on the year when they score a run in the first inning.

The Huskers are 16-2 this year when they score the game’s first run.

Filthy Freshman
After career saves holder Josh Roeder graduated last year, the Huskers needed to find a new closer. It wasn’t a problem early on, as the Huskers didn’t have a save opportunity during the first 13 games of the year.

That changed on Saturday, March 12, when the Huskers entered the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead and NU went to true freshman Chad Luensmann. The 6-4 right hander worked a scoreless ninth for his first career save. Luensmann now has five saves on the year following saves in both wins over Illinois last weekend.

On the season, Luensmann has a 1.31 ERA and didn’t allow an earned run until his 10th appearance of the season. In 20.2 innings of work opponents are hitting .162 off the right hander from Altoona, Pa.

Draft History
Eight members of the 2016 Husker baseball team have previously been drafted:

Luis Alvarado - 2014 (Boston Red Sox, 33rd Round)
Ryan Boldt - 2013 (Boston Red Sox, 22nd Round)
Derek Burkamper - 2013 (Boston Red Sox, 20th Round)
Sean Chandler - 2015 (Milwaukee Brewers, 32nd Round)
Colton Howell - 2015 (San Diego Padres, 27th Round)
Garett King - 2014 (New York Mets, 36th Round)
Chad Luensmann - 2015 (New York Mets, 39th Round)
Jesse Wilkening - 2015 (Arizona Diamondbacks, 28th Round)

Huskers in MLB
As of Thursday, April 7, six former Huskers are on MLB rosters. While many others are part of MLB organizations in the minor leagues

Cody Asche - Philadelphia Phillies (15-Day DL)
Joba Chamberlain - Cleveland Indians
Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
Dan Jennings - Chicago White Sox
Michael Mariot - Philadelphia Phillies (15-Day DL)
Tony Watson - Pittsburgh Pirates

Young Arms
The Huskers have had a youth movement on the mound this year, with multiple newcomers seeing time on the mound through 29 games. Out of the 18 pitchers that have seen time this season, nine are true or redshirt freshmen.

The nine young arms have combined to throw 112.1 innings, including a team-high 37.0 innings from true freshman Matt Waldron.

The nine newcomers have accounted for over 43% of Nebraska’s innings pitched.