Huskers Open Home Schedule Against Columbia

Columbia (0-4) at Nebraska (2-7)
March 6-8, 2020
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park • Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, March 6 • 1:35 p.m. (CT)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Kyle Perry (0-0) vs. Billy Black (0-1)

Saturday, March 7 (DH 1) • 12:05 p.m. (CT)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Colby Gomes (0-1) vs. Tim Post (0-0)

Saturday, March 7 (DH 2)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Cade Povich (1-2) vs. Will Geerdes (0-1)

Sunday, March 8 • 11:05 a.m. (CT)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
TBA vs. TBA

Fresh off a win in the series finale against 12th-ranked Arizona State last weekend, Nebraska (2-7) opens its home schedule with a four-game set against Columbia (0-4) this weekend at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. 

NU's home opener is set for Friday at 1:35 p.m., as the first 450 fans into the game will get a long sleeve Huskers script T-shirt. The series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader, starting at 12:05 p.m. The giveaway for the day is 700 drink tumblers. Sunday's series finale will begin at 11:05 a.m.

All four games of the series between the Huskers and Lions will be streamed live on BTN+. An annual pass to the streaming service is $79.95 per year to watch content for one school and $119.95 to watch all Big Ten schools. Monthly passes are priced at $9.95 per month for one school and $14.95 for all schools.

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action this weekend on the Learfield IMG College 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 four games this weekend will 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.

Last Time Out
After dropping the first two games of the series against No. 12 Arizona State by scores of 13-5 and 14-1 over the weekend in Phoenix, Ariz., the Huskers responded with an 18-10 win in Sunday's series finale, which included five home runs and 17 hits for the Big Red.

Next Up
The Huskers continue their five-game homestand with a pair of match-ups against Northern Colorado at Hawks Field. The games are scheduled for Tuesday, March 10 at 4:05 p.m., and Wednesday, March 11 at 1:35 p.m.

Scouting the Columbia Lions
• Columbia is 0-4 this season after opening its season at Fresno State last weekend. The Lions fell to the Bulldogs by scores of 9-1, 7-4, 10-2 and 12-3.

• Last season, Columbia went 19-23 overall and finished second in the Ivy League with a 13-8 mark in conference play.

• This weekend will be the first meetings in series history between Nebraska and Columbia.

• Head Coach Brett Boretti is 293-354-1 in his 15th season at Columbia. He holds a career record of 409-436-1 in his 20th year overall. Boretti is assisted by Dan Tischler, Erik Supplee and Jim Walsh.

• Players to Watch
    » #1 Julian Bury (Senior OF): Went 8-for-16 during opening weekend with one home run and three runs scored
    » #12 Josh Nicoloff (Junior INF): Went 8-for-18 against Fresno State with two RBIs
    » #9 Liam McGill (Senior C): Produced four hits and two RBIs last weekend

Banjoff Torches Sun Devils on Sunday, Earns Big Ten Honor
• Leighton Banjoff earned Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week accolades on Monday after leading Nebraska's offense during the Arizona State series over the weekend.

• Banjoff went 6-for-11 during the series against the 12th-ranked Sun Devils. In Sunday's 18-10 win, Banjoff went 4-for-6 with two home runs (one of which was a grand slam), one double, six RBIs and a stolen base.

• Banjoff also tallied a double in each of the first two games of the series, going 1-for-1 on Friday night as a pinch hitter. 

• In Saturday's game, he went 1-for-4 with a double.

Huskers Announce TV Slate and Time Changes
• The Huskers are scheduled to make seven television appearances during the 2020 regular season, including three on the Big Ten Network and three on NET.

• NU's first showing on BTN is slated for Tuesday, March 31 against Kansas State at Hawks Field, starting at 6:35 p.m. 

• BTN will also televise the April 26 game at Michigan, the 2019 College World Series runner-up. The match-up with the Wolverines has been moved one hour earlier to 11 a.m. (CT) to accommodate for the TV window.

• The Huskers' May 3 contest against Ohio State, the 2019 Big Ten Tournament champions, will also be shown on BTN. First pitch for the game has been pushed two hours later to start at 3:05 p.m. (CT) at Hawks Field.

• Nebraska's NET schedule features home games against Northwestern (March 28 at 2:05 p.m.), Creighton (April 21 at 6:35 p.m.) and Ohio State (May 1 at 6:35 p.m.) at Hawks Field.

• The April 28 game between Nebraska and Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. The start time for that game has been moved to 7 p.m. (30 minutes later than the originally scheduled time).

2020 Nebraska Baseball TV Schedule (Times are CT)
Saturday, March 28 vs. Northwestern – 2:05 p.m. (NET)
Tuesday, March 31 vs. Kansas State – 6:35 p.m. (BTN)
Tuesday, April 21 vs. Creighton – 6:35 p.m. (NET)
Sunday, April 26 at Michigan – 11 a.m. (BTN)
Tuesday, April 28 at Creighton – 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Friday, May 1 vs. Ohio State – 6:35 p.m. (NET)
Sunday, May 3 vs. Ohio State – 3:05 p.m. (BTN)

Five Newcomers Make Debuts in the Desert
• Five Husker freshmen made their collegiate debuts over the weekend during the Arizona State series.

    » Ethan Bradford pitched 0.2 inning in Saturday's game
    » Sayer Diederich pitched 2.0 innings and recorded two strikeouts on Friday
    » Aaron Dolney drew a walk and scored a run in Friday's game
    » Drew Mackie scored a run after a hit-by-pitch in Friday's game
    » Quinn Mason pitched 1.0 inning and struck out two Sun Devils on Friday

Povich Racking Up Strikeouts
• Sophomore left-hander Cade Povich ranks fifth nationally and leads the Big Ten in strikeout-to-walk ratio. In three starts, Povich has recorded a team-high 22 strikeouts and allowed only one walk.

• Povich has tallied seven-or-more strikeouts during each of his three outings, including a season-high eight K's against Arizona on Feb. 23.

NU's Offense Among Best in the Big Ten
• After launching five home runs in Sunday's win over 12th-ranked Arizona State, Nebraska leads the Big Ten in home runs with 11 through nine games. In addition, the Huskers rank third as a team in the conference in batting average (.277).

• Aaron Palensky shares the conference lead in RBIs (14) with Michigan State's Bailey Peterson and Peter Ahn. In addition, Palensky ranks tied for fourth in the Big Ten in doubles (4).

• Palensky and Cam Chick share the team high in home runs with three apiece, which ranks tied for third in the conference.

A Tale of Two Games
• In innings 1-3, Nebraska has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 30-19.

• In innings 4-9, opponents have outscored Nebraska by a combined score of 60-37. In extra innings, opponents hold a 1-0 edge.

• Nebraska has had a lead in eight of its nine games this season, and has held a two-or-more run lead on five occasions.

Numbers to Watch
• The longest hitting streak on the team entering the weekend is held by Jaxon Hallmark (4) and Leighton Banjoff (4). Hallmark, who sat out five games with an injury, has a hit in each of his appearances this season, including two multi-hit efforts. Banjoff has a hit in five of his last six games are going hitless in his first three games.

• 3 - Mojo Hagge (8) is three triples away from joining Nebraska's top-10 career triples list. Alex Gordon is 10th in program history with 11 career triples.

• 6 - Gareth Stroh (94) is six strikeouts away from reaching 100 career strikeouts on the NCAA Division I level. He spent two seasons at Purdue (2017, 2018) before transferring to Nebraska and sat out the 2019 campaign.

• 11 - Jaxon Hallmark (89) is 11 hits away from his 100th career hit.

• 17 - Aaron Palensky (83) is 17 hits away from his 100th career hit at Nebraska.

Hawks Field Celebrates 19th Year in 2020
• The 2020 campaign marks Nebraska's 19th 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 365-139-1 record at Hawks Field and has posted a winning record at home in each of the last 18 seasons. This season, the Huskers have 24 home games scheduled, beginning on Friday against Columbia.

• Nebraska has ranked in the top 15 nationally in average attendance in each of the past six years. Last season, the Huskers ranked ninth in the nation with an average of 4,426 fans per home game.

Nebraska's 2020 Schedule at a Glance
• The Huskers faced their first ranked opponent of the season last weekend when they won 1-of-3 at then-No. 12 Arizona State. The Sun Devils are tabbed 10th in this week's D1Baseball.com poll. Michigan, ranked 16th this week, is scheduled to face Nebraska later this season (April 24-26). 

• Nebraska's 2020 schedule features match-ups with seven NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season, including Baylor, Arizona State, Creighton, Omaha,  Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana.

• NU's home Big Ten series are against Northwestern, Rutgers, Ohio State and Penn State. The Huskers' road Big Ten series are against Maryland, Purdue, Michigan and Indiana. The Big Ten teams not included in Nebraska's 2020 regular-season schedule are Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan State.