Huskers Host Bears for 2017 Home Opener

LINCOLN – After playing its first nine games of the season on the road, the Nebraska baseball team (3-6, 0-0 Big Ten) is set to host its 2017 home opener on Tuesday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. when the Huskers host the Northern Colorado Bears (6-7, 0-0 WAC).

Nebraska’s game against Northern Colorado will be the first game of an eight-game homestand that will run through Sunday, March 19. The Huskers and Bears will also meet on Wednesday, then the Huskers welcome the Western Carolina Catamounts to Hawks Field this weekend for a three-game series. The following weekend the College of Charleston Cougars will be in Lincoln for a three-game series that starts on Friday, March 17.

The Huskers and Bears have met 49 times dating back to 1986 and the Huskers hold a 43-6 lead in the all-time series. The Huskers have swept a pair of games from the Bears each of the past two seasons, while Northern Colorado’s last victory came in 2014 when it won the second game of a two-game series, 9-2.

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. Every game this season can be heard on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

Tuesday’s home opener will be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha, but will not be carried on TuneIn Radio.

Wednesday’s game will only be carried on 105.3 FM in Lincoln due to coverage of Nebraska’s men’s basketball game at the Big Ten Tournament.

Both games against Northern Colorado will be video streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Season-Opening Streak

Nebraska has won its last 38 home openers dating back to the 1979 season. The last time the Huskers lost a home opener was in 1978 when St. Cloud State won 15-6 on March 28. Nebraska is 15-0 all-time in home openers at Hawks Field.

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 eight games, including seven starts, and as named to the all-tournament team at last weekend’s Frisco College Baseball Classic.

The Omaha Skutt Catholic product enters Tuesday with a team-high eight-game on-base streak and leads the team in hits with 11, while ranking second on the team with .464 average. The 5-7 left-handed hitting outfielder also carries a .486 on-base percentage with a team-best five walks.

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. 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 14 straight games when leading after eight innings.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 140-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 146-9 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 156-5 record.

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 has a pair of saves this season, including his 15th career save on Sunday when the Huskers shut out previously unbeaten Arizona, 1-0. Against the Wildcats Luensmann matched a career high with 4.0 innings on the mound and struck out a career-high four batters.

Luensmann enters Tuesday ranked fourth all-time at Nebraska in career saves.

Home Sweet Hawks

The Nebraska baseball program is celebrating its 16th year at Hawks Field.

Entering Tuesday’s 2017 home opener with Northern Colorado, the Huskers are 322-115-1 (.736) since opening the park on March 5, 2002 with a 23-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

The Huskers have posted a winning home record in each of the last 15 seasons.

Since Head Coach Darin Erstad took over in 2012, the Huskers are 93-37 (.715) at Hawks Field.

Nebraska has won 60% or more of its home games 13 times in the past 15 seasons, including each of the past seven seasons. NU’s worst home season at Hawks Field came in 2009 when the Huskers posted a 16-14 record (.533).

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 nine games this season, Meyers has started all nine and is hitting .139. He has also made two starts on the mound, including last Sunday against Arizona when he threw the first 5.0 innings of a 1-0 shutout of No. 14 Arizona, who was 10-0 on the year entering the game.

Play the Best

The Husker are scheduled to play 13 games against teams that participate in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including a pair of games against teams that were in last season’s College World Series.

Nebraska has already played 2016 NCAA runner-up Arizona and CWS qualifier Oklahoma State at the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas. Nebraska lost 1-0 to the Cowboys and shut out Arizona, 1-0.

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 180 hits, putting him 20 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.