Huskers Return Home to Host Purdue

Purdue (10-17, 4-1 Big Ten) at Nebraska (14-9, 4-2 Big Ten)
April 5-7, 2019
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park • Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, April 5 • 6:32 p.m. (CT)
TV: NET
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Matt Waldron (3-0) vs. Patrick J. Smith (3-1)

Saturday, April 6 • 2:05 p.m. (CT)
Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Nate Fisher (4-1) vs. Andrew Bohm (0-3)

Sunday, April 7 • 12:02 p.m. (CT)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Reece Eddins (1-2) vs. Ryan Beard (0-3)

The Nebraska baseball team (14-9, 4-2 Big Ten) returns to Hawks Field for Military Appreciation Weekend when the Huskers host Purdue for a three-game series.

Friday’s series opener is set for 6:32 p.m. (CT) on NET and the fan giveaway is 1,000 raglan shirts. Saturday’s match-up is slated for 2:05 p.m. (CT) on BTN Plus. Sunday’s series finale begins at 12:02 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPNU. Fans who present a valid military I.D. to any of the three games this weekend will receive one free general admission ticket.

Single-game tickets are now available at Huskers.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-8-BIGRED. In addition, fans can still purchase a Diamond Deal package, which allows the ticket holder to build their own nine-game package for $90.

Nebraska is ranked 46th in the latest RPI, released by the NCAA on Monday. Purdue is ranked 137th in the RPI.

Last Time Out
The Huskers shut out Kansas State, 7-0, on Tuesday night in Manhattan, Kan., to pick up their eighth win in the last 10 games. 

Next Up
The Huskers host intrastate rival Creighton on Tuesday night at Hawks Field. The game is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers

• Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Nick Handley call the action for all three games this weekend on the Learfield/IMG Husker Sports Network.

• All three games can be heard on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

• They will each be carried on TuneIn.com and the TuneIn App on the Husker Sports Network channel.

• Fans in Lincoln can listen on 1400 AM and fans in Omaha can listen on 590 AM.

• Friday night’s game will be televised on NET and streamed live on BTN2Go.

• Saturday’s game will be streamed live on BTN Plus, with a paid subscription required to watch.

• Sunday’s game will be televised on ESPNU with Mike Couzens and Mike Rooney on the call.

Scouting the Purdue Boilermakers

• Nebraska leads the all-time series against Purdue, 11-9, dating back to 1899. The Boilermakers hold a 4-2 edge in Lincoln against the Huskers.

• The two teams last met on May 24, 2017 at the Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Ind., when Nebraska won a 15-9 decision.

• Purdue is 10-17 this season with a 4-1 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers had won four games in a row before a 4-3 setback against Indiana State on Wednesday. Purdue opened conference play by taking 2-of-3 at Northwestern. Last weekend, the Boilermakers went 2-0 against Penn State before the finale was canceled.

• Last season, Purdue went 38-21 overall and finished second in the Big Ten with a 17-6 record in conference games. The Boilermakers finished runner-up at the Big Ten Tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they went 1-2 at the Chapel Hill Regional.

• Head Coach Mark Wasikowski is 77-65 in his third year at Purdue. His overall coaching record is 78-66. Wasikowski is assisted by Elliott Cribby, Cooper Fouts and Greg Goff.

• Players to Watch

•     » No. 4 Skyler Hunter (Junior OF): Leads the team in batting average (.340), runs scored (15), hits (32) and triples (2)
•     » No. 7 Zac Fascia (Junior C): Batting .263 with 25 hits and a team-high 11 RBIs
•     » No. 32 Cole McKenzie (Junior OF/1B): Hitting .260 with 27 hits and seven RBIs

Strong Starts Set the Tone

• Nebraska’s starting pitchers have paved the way for the team’s success in each of the last 10 games. NU’s starters have gone 6-0 during that stretch.

• During the 10-game span, Nebraska’s starters have combined to pitch 62.0 innings, an average of more than 6.0 innings per start.

• The starters have allowed only nine runs (an average of less than one run per game), while amassing 53 strikeouts and only eight walks.

• Over his last two starts, Matt Waldron has thrown 17.0 innings and allowed only three runs, while striking out 13 batters and given up one walk.

• In Nate Fisher’s last two starts, he has compiled 15.1 innings and 10 strikeouts, while allowing two runs and one walk.

• Reece Eddins has made three starts during the nine-game stretch and compiled 15.0 innings. He has allowed two runs, while striking out 14 batters and walking three.

• Freshman Kyle Perry has made three starts during that span and holds a 2-0 record. He has thrown 14.2 innings and recorded 16 strikeouts, while giving up two runs and three walks in his last three appearances.

Waldron Racking Up Strikeouts

• Senior right-hander Matt Waldron, who has made four starts and six appearances overall, leads the Huskers with 39 strikeouts this season.

• Waldron has allowed only three walks, and his 13.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks first in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation.

• Waldron leads the Husker pitching staff in ERA (1.95) and innings pitched (37.0). He is 3-0 this season, one shy of the team high (4), set by Nate Fisher.

• Waldron has 199 career strikeouts, which ranks ninth in program history. Jamie Rodrigue (200) ranks eighth on the Nebraska’s career strikeouts list.

Palensky Powers Husker Offense

• Sophomore Aaron Palensky, a junior college transfer, has made a big impact as a newcomer for the Huskers this season.

• Palensky has at least one hit in 21 of 23 games this season, including nine multi-hit efforts, tied for the most on the team.

• Palensky’s .344 batting average ranks second on the team and seventh in the Big Ten.

• Palensky leads the Husker offense in hits (31), doubles (9) and triples (2). He is tied for fourth in the conference in doubles, two shy of the best in the Big Ten.

• Palensky shares the team high in runs scored (17) and is tied for fourth on the team in RBIs (14).

• Palensky opened the year on an 11-game hitting streak, the longest by a Husker in 2019.

Acker Enjoying Breakout Season

• Junior Joe Acker has been red-hot at the plate, and leads the Huskers with a .365 batting average.

• Acker shares the team high with nine multi-hit efforts this season.

• Acker has two hits in five of his last six games. During that stretch, he is 11-for-25 with five RBIs, two doubles, one triple, four runs scored and five stolen bases.

• Acker entered the season with 12 career hits in 39 games. This season, he has 23 hits in 17 games.

There’s No Place Like Home

• Nebraska is off to a perfect 5-0 start at home after sweeping Air Force and Michigan State two weeks ago at Hawks Field.

• Nebraska played its long-awaited home opener on March 19 after each of the first eight scheduled home games had either been canceled, postponed or moved to a new location due to weather and/or field conditions.

• It marked Nebraska’s latest home opener since 1978 when the Huskers first played a home game that season on March 28. The 1978 squad played 17 games away from Lincoln before its home opener. This season, the first 13 games were played away from home.

• The Omaha game, originally scheduled as the home opener for March 5, was postponed. The North Dakota State game, scheduled for March 13, was also postponed. The teams are looking for a date later in the season to make up those games.

• The Baylor series, March 8-10, was moved from Lincoln to Waco, Texas due to cold weather and snowy conditions.

• The New Mexico State series, originally slated for March 15-17, was canceled due to field conditions.

Huskers Scheduled to Make Eight TV Appearances

• The Huskers are scheduled to make eight television appearances across five different networks during the 2019 regular season.

• NU will be on NET three times this season, including April 5 (Purdue), April 27 (Illinois) and May 10 (Arizona State).

• The Huskers will make two appearances on the Big Ten Network, including April 20 (Iowa) and April 26 (Illinois).

• Nebraska’s lone ESPNU showing will be April 7, when Purdue visits Hawks Field.

• The two remaining match-ups with Creighton this season will be televised. The April 9 game at Hawks Field will be on Fox Sports 1, while the April 23 match-up will be on CBS Sports Network.

• Seven of NU’s TV games will take place in the month of April before its one scheduled TV appearance in May.

Newcomers Making Their Mark

• Nebraska’s nationally ranked recruiting class has played a key role for the Huskers so far this season.

• Seven of the 19 players (37 percent) to make plate appearances for Nebraska this season are newcomers. In addition, five newcomers have made pitching appearances.

• D1 Baseball ranked NU’s class 16th nationally and the best among all Big Ten teams, six spots ahead of second-best Illinois.

• Baseball America tabbed the group among its top-35 recruiting classes. After announcing its top 25, Baseball America released its “Next 10” in alphabetical order. Nebraska was one of two Big Ten teams on the list, along with No. 24 Illinois.

• Rawlings/Perfect Game ranked Nebraska’s recruiting class 37th nationally and third in the Big Ten, behind No. 32 Purdue and No. 36 Indiana.

• The Huskers welcome 15 newcomers to the roster this season, including 11 freshmen, as the entire recruiting class made it to campus.

• Two newcomers - Spencer Schwellenbach and Bo Blessie - were drafted in June 2018, but chose to come to Nebraska to play college baseball. Schwellenbach was selected in the 34th round by the Cleveland Indians, while Blessie was drafted in the 36th round by the Washington Nationals.

Huskers Working Through Rigorous Schedule

• Nebraska has the No. 70 strength of schedule in the nation, according to WarrenNolan.com.

• Nebraska played eight of its first 13 games against top-25 opponents away from home. Five of those games were against 2018 College World Series teams (Oregon State and Texas Tech).

• As a whole, Nebraska’s schedule features games against five NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season, including two College World Series participants.

• Before cancellations, Nebraska was scheduled to play 2018 CWS qualifier Mississippi State (March 3) and 2018 NCAA Tournament team New Mexico State (March 15-17), which would’ve given NU a schedule with seven NCAA teams, three of which made the CWS last season.

• The Huskers also face each of the top four teams from last year’s Big Ten standings. Last weekend, Nebraska won 1-of-3 at Minnesota, a team which advanced to Super Regionals last season after winning the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles.

• The other 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifiers on Nebraska’s schedule are Baylor and Purdue. NU won 2-of-3 against Baylor, March 8-10, in Waco, Texas. The Boilermakers finished second in the Big Ten regular-season standings and took runner-up honors at the conference tournament.

• Michigan and Illinois, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in the Big Ten last season each visit Hawks Field this season.

• Nebraska’s penultimate regular-season series is against Arizona State (May 10-12) at Hawks Field. The series history between the Huskers and Sun Devils includes NU’s first win in a College World Series game in 2005.

• The Big Ten teams not included in Nebraska’s 2019 regular-season schedule are Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State and Rutgers.

• The conference tournament returns to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, May 22-26, after previously hosting the event in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Big Ten Tournament will return to TD Ameritrade Park from 2020 to 2022.

Closing Time

• One of Nebraska’s strengths under Head Coach Darin Erstad has been the bullpen. This season, the Huskers have recorded five saves, led by Colby Gomes, who has four saves individually.

• Last season, Nebraska earned 16 saves, marking the eighth consecutive season the Huskers have recorded double-digit saves.

• Nebraska has had a pitcher earn 10 or more saves in each of the last five seasons after no Husker pitcher reached the 10-save milestone during the previous seven seasons (2007-13).

Nebraska’s Record with the Lead Since 2012

• » After six innings: 196-20 (10-0 this season)
• » After seven innings: 211-10 (14-0 this season)
• » After eight innings: 223-6 (14-0 this season)

Erstad Among Winningest Coaches in NU History

• Head Coach Darin Erstad (249-178-1) became the fourth-winningest head coach in program history last season after reaching the 200-win milestone in 2017. He is one win away from the 250th win of his career.

Most Wins by a Head Coach in Nebraska Baseball History

1. John Sanders: 767 wins (1978-97; 20 seasons)
2. Tony Sharpe: 399 wins (1947-77; 31 seasons)
3. Mike Anderson: 337 wins (2003-11; 9 seasons)
4. Darin Erstad: 249 wins (2012-present; 8th season)
5. Dave Van Horn: 214 wins (1998-2002; 5 seasons)

Hawks Field Celebrates 18th Year in 2019

• The 2019 campaign marks Nebraska’s 18th year playing home games at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. The Huskers moved to Hawks Field in 2002 after playing at Buck Beltzer Stadium for 23 years from 1979 to 2001.

• Nebraska holds a 357-133-1 record at Hawks Field, which includes a 5-0 mark this season. NU has posted a winning record at home in each of the last 17 seasons.

• Nebraska has won 60 percent or more of its home games 14 times over the last 17 seasons.

• Since Head Coach Darin Erstad took over in 2012, the Huskers are 128-55 at Hawks Field. He has posted 20-win seasons at home in three of his first seven years at Nebraska, including 21-win seasons at home in 2015 and 2016.

• Nebraska has ranked in the top 30 nationally in average attendance in each of the past 17 years. Last season, the Huskers ranked 12th in the nation with an average of 4,203 fans per home game (over a span of 25 games).

• In 2017, the Huskers welcomed an average of 5,395 fans per home game, which ranked sixth in the nation. NU also ranked sixth nationally in 2016 when a school-record average of 5,423 fans attended home games for the Huskers.