Huskers Host Catamounts for Weekend Series

LINCOLN – The Nebraska baseball team (5-6, 0-0 Big Ten) continues an eight-game homestand this weekend at Hawks Field when it hosts a three-game series against the Western Carolina Catamounts (5-7 (0-0 SoCon).

The series opens on Friday at 1:35 p.m., which is earlier than previously announced. Due to impending weather on Friday night the game from was moved from 4:05 p.m. to 1:35 p.m.

Friday’s series opener will be the second all-time meeting between the two teams. The first meeting took place last season in an elimination game at the NCAA Clemson Regional, with the Catamounts ending the Huskers’ season with a 4-1 victory.

Game two of the series is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. on Saturday, while the series finale is set for 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.

At the NCAA Tournament last season the teams were tied after the fourth inning, but Western Carolina broke the tie with a run in the sixth and tacked on two more in the eighth on its way to a 4-1 win. Nebraska had scoring opportunities all afternoon, but was unable to get the hit it needed, and also hit into five double plays.

The game was delayed twice due to weather. First with two outs in the bottom of the fifth there was a 61-minute delay due to lighting. Rain then entered the Clemson area in the top of the eighth and the game was delay for 64 minutes.

Jake Meyers started for the Huskers in Clemson last season and allowed one run over 5.0 innings. The junior is scheduled to start Sunday’s finale for the Huskers. Brendan Nail is scheduled to start opposite of Meyers on Sunday and the lefty tossed 3.0 innings of scoreless relief against the Huskers last season.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe, Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call all the action this season 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 will 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.

All three games against Western Carolina will be video streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required).

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 10 games, including nine starts, and was named to the all-tournament team at last weekend’s Frisco College Baseball Classic.

The Omaha Skutt Catholic product enters Friday with a team-high 10-game on-base streak, leads the team with a .389 average, leads the team in hits with 14 and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with seven.

The 5-7 left-handed hitting outfielder also carries a .489 on-base percentage with a team-best seven walks.

Angelo Arrival

After making only a pair of starts last season as a true freshman, Angelo Altavilla has become a key contributor in 2017. The sophomore infielder is tied for the team lead in doubles (4), while also ranking second on the team in average (.344), hits (11) and RBIs (8).

Altavilla has started nine of NU’s 11 games, and has shown versatility in the field with four starts at shortstop, four at third base and one at second base.

NCAA Rematch

This weekend the Huskers host Western Carolina for a three-game series, the same team that ended NU’s season a year ago with a 4-1 victory in an elimination game at the NCAA Clemson Regional.

Prior to this weekend, the Huskers have only once played a team the following season after the same team eliminated NU from the NCAA Tournament the previous year. Nebraska was knocked out of the 2014 NCAA Tournament by Cal State Fullerton and then spilt a two game series with the Titans in 2015 at Hawks Field.

Looking back the first 13 times NU was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, the Huskers have only played that same team again six times. In those six games the Huskers hold a 4-2 record.

Get a Lead for the Pen

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 16 straight games when leading after eight innings.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 142-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 148-9 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 158-5 record.

Double Digits

Nebraska has totaled 10 or more hits four times in 11 games entering Friday, including each of the last two games. Nebraska is 3-1 on the year when notching double-digit hits, the only loss came in a 7-5 defeat to Utah on Feb. 24.

Last season the Huskers totaled 10 or more hits 27 times in 59 games and were 21-6 in those games.

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.

So far this season the Huskers are 2-2 against teams that qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

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 last 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 Friday ranked fourth all-time at Nebraska in career saves.

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 Friday 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.