Huskers Travel to Texas for Frisco Classic

LINCOLN – After not stepping foot in the state of Texas last season, the Nebraska baseball team (2-4, 0-0 Big Ten) returns to the Lone Star State this weekend for the inaugural Frisco Classic Presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy and Research at the STAR. The three-day event will take place at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas, which is home to the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

Four of the five Power Five Conferences will be represented this weekend, including the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC and Big 12 Conferences. The Huskers will be joined in Frisco by the Arizona Wildcats (8-0, 0-0 Pac-12), Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-4, 0-0 Big 12) and Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1, 0-0 SEC). The field will include two teams that played in the 2016 College World Series, as the Cowboys went 2-2 in Omaha and the Wildcats finished runner-up to Coastal Carolina.

After Arkansas and Arizona open the tournament on Friday at 4 p.m., the Huskers and Cowboys will play in the night cap at 7:30 p.m. Former Big 12 foes Nebraska and Oklahoma State met last season in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Cowboys winning 6-0 at the Clemson Regional on their way to the College World Series.

In a series that started on May 2, 1958, with an 8-1 victory by the Cowboys, Friday marks the 183rd all-time meeting between Nebraska and Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys hold a 112-70 advantage over the Huskers. The Cowboys have won the last three meetings, all neutral site contests. Nebraska’s last win came at home on April 3, 2011, the last time the teams played each other as Big 12 Conference members.

The Huskers will play the night game again Saturday, meeting the Arkansas Razorbacks at 7:30 p.m. The Huskers hold a two-game lead (11-9) in 20 all-time meetings against the Razorbacks. The series started in 1975 when the Huskers played a four-game series at Arkansas, dropping the series 1-3. The first nine games of the series took place in Fayetteville, before the teams played a neutral site game in Arlington, Texas, during the 2000 season. Overall, 16 of the 20 games in the series have taken place in Fayetteville.

Nebraska’s last no-hitter took place against Arkansas in Lincoln on April 16, 2013. Kyle Kubat, Tyler Niederklein and Dylan Vogt combined to no-hit the Razorbacks in a 3-0 win.

Nebraska and Arizona wrap up the weekend on Sunday at Noon. Of the three teams Nebraska will see this weekend it has the shortest history with Arizona, as the teams have met five times and the Wildcats hold a 4-1 advantage.

Nebraska and Arizona met last season at the inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego, Calif., and the Wildcats prevailed in extra innings, 11-10. Prior last season the teams last met in 2006 at the Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Huskers notched their lone win in the series, 3-1. The series started in 1939 when the Huskers opened the season at Arizona and the Wildcats swept the three-game series.

Weekend Schedule

Here are the match ups this weekend in Frisco. All games will be carried on ESPN3 and Arkansas’ games will also be carried on Cox Sports TV.

Friday, March 3
4 p.m. Arkansas vs. Arizona
7:30 p.m. Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State

Saturday, March 4
4 p.m. Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
7:30 p.m. Nebraska vs. Arkansas

Sunday, March 5
Noon Arizona vs. Nebraska
3:30 p.m. Oklahoma State vs. Arkansas

Frisco Ticket Information

Tickets are available at the Dr Pepper Ballpark ticket office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., online at www.friscoclassic.com/tickets.html or by phone at 469-400-4125.

A Day Pass, which includes two games, is just $10 for general admission or $25 for a reserved seat. Fans also can buy a Weekend Pass, which includes admission to all six games of the tournament. Those are $25 for general admission or $60 reserved. All parking is $5.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call all the action on the Husker Sports Network. Every game this season can be heard on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

All three games this weekend are scheduled to be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha. Fans can also listen to all three games on TuneIn.com or the TuneIn App on the Husker IMG Sports Network channel.

Fans will also be able to watch all three of Nebraska’s games this weekend online on ESPN3. Fans can watch on WatchESPN via computer, smart phone, tablet, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV or Roku.

Cox Sports is also caring all of Arkansas’ games, so fans that have access to Cox Sports with their TV provider can watch Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game against the Razorbacks.

Offensive Mojo

Freshman Mojo Hagge made his Husker debut in the second game of the season against UC Riverside and went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Hagge has played in each of Nebraska’s last four games, including three starts, and is coming off a 3-for-5 game against Utah where he moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup.

The Omaha Skutt Catholic product leads the Huskers in with a .444 average and is tied with Luis Alvarado for the team lead in hits with eight. The 5-7 left-handed hitting outfielder also carries a .545 on-base percentage with a team-best four walks.

Get the Pen a Lead

During Darin Erstad’s tenure at Nebraska, the Husker bullpen has done its job when it has a lead. Prior to ninth-inning walk-off loss last season at Rutgers on Friday, April 29, the Huskers had won 73 straight games when leading after the eighth inning. Since the loss at Rutgers, the Huskers have won 13 straight games when leading after eight innings.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 139-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 145-9 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 155-5 record.

Jake of All Trades

Junior Jake Meyers wore many hats for the Huskers last year, including outfielder, starting pitcher and 3-hole hitter.

Meyers led the 2016 Huskers in both batting average (.326) and ERA (1.42). Meyers hit in 57 of NU’s 59 games and also made nine starts on the mound.

The last time a Husker started at least nine games on the mound and hit in 40 more games was Alvie Shepherd in 1994. That season Shepherd went 2-5 with a 5.71 in 11 starts, while hitting .278 in 57 games at the plate.

In 1993, Troy Brohawn went 13-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts and hit .329 over 58 games at the plate. Brohawn was a first-team All-American in 1993, was drafted in the fourth round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Giants and played three seasons in the Majors.

One of Meyer’s most impressive games last season came in a victory over Nicholls State on April 24. Meyers tossed 7.0 shutout innings and got the win on the mound, while also driving in the eventual game-winning run with a three-run homer. Meyers was the first Husker to homer and record a pitching win in the same game since April 21, 2009, when Adam Bailey hit a solo home run and tossed 2.2 innings of relief in his only pitching win as a Husker.

In NU’s six games this season, Meyers has started all six games and is hitting .192. He has also made one start on the mound and is scheduled to start this Sunday against Arizona.

Leave it to Luensmann

Chad Luensmann had a tough task last season as a true freshman, he had to replace career saves holder Josh Roeder as NU’s closer. Luensmann went on to save 13 games in 14 chances, a NU freshman record, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Husker baseball player to win the award.

Luensmann’s 13 saves tied Brett Jensen (2006) for third place in NU’s single-season record book and Luensmann ranked fourth nationally in saves. Among freshmen, Luensmann tied Long Beach State’s Chris Rivera for the most saves in the country.

Luensmann picked up his 14th career save in Nebraska’s first win of the year during the opening weekend and is now tied for fourth place on NU’s career saves list.

How High Can He Climb

Ben Miller was taken in the 32nd round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but turned down professional baseball to instead return to Nebraska for his senior season. The Clive, Iowa, native now has a chance to cement his name near the top of Nebraska’s all-time hits list.

Miller enters the week with 177 hits, putting him 23 hits shy of becoming the 25th member of Nebraska’s 200-hit club. Over the past two seasons Miller has averaged 68.5 hits and with that average he would end his career just outside of NU’s all-time top 10.

If Miller can match his 77 hits from last season, he would tie Michael Pritchard for fifth all-time at Nebraska with 251 hits.

The Huskers have had at least one player join the 200 hit club in each of the past four seasons, including 2016 second-round pick Ryan Boldt last year.