Huskers Continue Busy Stretch Against Bears

Northern Colorado (4-11) at Nebraska (5-8)
March 10-11, 2020
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park • Lincoln, Neb.

Tuesday, March 10 • 4:05 p.m. (CT)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
Braxton Bragg (0-1) vs. TBA

Wednesday, March 11 • 1:35 p.m. (CT)
Online Stream: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network
TBA vs. TBA

The Nebraska baseball team (5-8) continues its 10-games-in-10-days stretch with a pair of midweek contests against Northern Colorado (4-11) at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

The Huskers and Bears face each other Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. (CT) and Wednesday at 1:35 p.m. (CT). The first 500 fans into Tuesday's game will receive a coupon for a $1 hot chocolate at the concession stands at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska enters the week having won four of its last five games, including two wins by seven-or-more runs. Northern Colorado enters the series on a two-game losing streak. NU and UNC played each other for 15 consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2018, but didn't face off in 2019.

Both games will be streamed live online via BTN+, with a subscription required to watch. 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 Nick Handley call the action this week 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. 

Both games of the Northern Colorado series 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.

Fans can purchase tickets by visiting Huskers.com/tickets or by calling 800-8-BIG RED. Single-game tickets are $14 (club seats), $11 (reserved and home run terrace), $7 (adult general admission) and $5 (youth and seniors general admission). Diamond Deals are also available, which give fans the chance to pick nine home games for the 2020 season for $90.

Last Time Out
The Huskers won 3-of-4 games against Columbia at Hawks Field over the weekend. In Friday's series opener, NU's pitchers compiled 16 strikeouts to help the Huskers capture a 5-3 win. Nebraska split its doubleheader on Saturday, winning Game 1 by a 7-3 margin before dropping Game 2 by a 3-2 tally. In Sunday's series finale, NU defeated the Lions, 12-5, behind five runs over the Huskers' final two offensive innings.

Next Up
The Huskers travel to Wichita, Kan., this weekend for a four-game series against Wichita State at Eck Stadium. The Huskers and Shockers square off Friday, beginning at 3 p.m. (CT). On Saturday, the two teams face off in a doubleheader, starting at noon (CT). Sunday's series finale is slated for 1 p.m. (CT).

Leading Off
• Nebraska has had a lead in 12 of its 13 games this season, and has held a two-or-more run lead on eight occasions.

Scouting the Northern Colorado Bears
• Northern Colorado is 4-11 this season after splitting its four-game series against North Dakota State over the weekend. The Bears opened the 2020 campaign by going 2-2 in Lubbock, Texas and lost eight consecutive games before winning the series opener against the Bison.

• Last season, the Bears went 12-35 overall and tied for eighth in the WAC with an 8-19 record in conference play.

• Nebraska leads the all-time series against Northern Colorado, 46-7, dating back to the first meeting between the schools in 1986. The two teams didn't play each other last season, but UNC visited Lincoln every year from 2004 to 2018. NU holds a 40-6 advantage against the Bears at home.

• Head Coach Carl Iwasaki is 195-298 in his 10th season at Northern Colorado. He holds a career record of 298-438 in his 16th year overall. Iwasaki is assisted by Pat Jolley, Kyle Keith and Shane Opitz. 

• Players to Watch
    » #7 Jake Gitter (Junior UTL): Leads the team in batting average (.309), hits (17), home runs (4), runs scored (13) and stolen bases (5)
    » #4 Josh Glenn (Junior C): Batting .275 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs
    » #10 Matt Burkart (Senior OF): Hitting .212 with four doubles, one triple and one home run

Boynton Breaks Through
• After going 1-for-7 in his first four games as a Husker, freshman Luke Boynton went 7-for-12 in three games against Columbia to lead Nebraska's offense during the series over the weekend. 

• During the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Boynton went 3-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. During the second game, he notched one hit and drew one walk.

• In Sunday's series finale, Boynton tallied three RBIs as part of a 3-for-5 effort against the Lions. 

Strong Starts
• Through 13 games, Nebraska is outscoring its opponents in the first inning by a combined score of 15-3. The plus-12 margin is NU's largest cumulative run differential in any single inning. In the third inning, Nebraska has a plus-9 differential, its second-best inning, outscoring opponents by a score of 16-7.

• During the Columbia series, NU's starting pitchers went a combined 2-0. Despite a no-decision, Cade Povich logged a season-high 6.2 innings in the start during Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, marking the longest start by a Husker pitcher this season.

• Kyle Perry, who started Friday's game, went 5.0 innings and earned the win. Caleb Feekin picked up the win in Sunday's series finale, tossing 2.1 innings.

Bullpen Shows Progress
• During the Columbia series, Nebraska's relief pitchers combined to throw 17.2 innings and racked up 22 strikeouts and six walks, while allowing eight runs (six earned runs) over four games. NU's starters combined for 18.1 innings of work during the series and gave up six runs, while recording 15 K's and five walks.

• NU's relievers went 1-1 with two saves during the four-game set against the Lions. Five pitchers came out of the bullpen twice in a span of three days, including Max Schreiber, Paul Tillotson, Shay Schanaman, Sayer Diederich and Trey Kissack.

Chick Digs the Long Ball
• Sophomore Cam Chick slugged his team-high fourth home run of the season on Sunday against Columbia. He shares the conference lead in home runs with Indiana's Grant Richardson, Maryland's Maxwell Costes and Minnesota's Easton Bertrand.

• Three additional Huskers have multiple home runs this season, including Aaron Palensky (3), Leighton Banjoff (3) and Joe Acker (2). Palensky and Banjoff are tied for fifth individually in the Big Ten in home runs with Maryland's Benjamin Cowles and Rutgers' Chris Brito.

• As a team, Nebraska smashed four home runs during the Columbia series over the weekend. The Huskers have 15 home runs this season, tied for the most in the Big Ten with Maryland.

Povich Racking Up Strikeouts
• Sophomore left-hander Cade Povich ranks 19th nationally and leads the Big Ten in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 13.00. In four starts, Povich has recorded a team-high 26 strikeouts and allowed only two walks.

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

NU Leads Big Ten in Fielding Percentage
• Nebraska leads the Big Ten with a .977 fielding percentage through 13 games. NU has committed 11 errors, tied for the fewest in the conference with Iowa.

• Offensively, Nebraska's .287 team batting average ranks fourth in the conference behind Penn State (.295), Michigan State (.293) and Iowa (.291).

Numbers to Watch
• Joe Acker enters the week with the longest hitting streak on the team (5). 

• Leighton Banjoff has the longest reaching base streak for the Huskers (8).

• 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.

• 7 - Jaxon Hallmark (93) is seven hits away from his 100th career hit.

• 15 - Aaron Palensky (85) is 15 hits away from his 100th career hit at Nebraska.

Hawks Field Celebrates 19th Year in 2020
• Nebraska's fan base didn't disappoint during the opening weekend at Hawks Field for 2020. The Huskers welcomed an average of 3,624 fans during the four-game Columbia series, which ranks 15th nationally and leads the Big Ten. NU's largest crowd this season is 5,501 from the Columbia doubleheader on March 7.

• 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 368-140-1 record at Hawks Field and has posted a winning record at home in each of the last 18 seasons. 

• 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
• 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.

Huskers Seek Fifth NCAA Tournament Berth in Seven Years
• The Huskers look to continue their recent trend of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as the 2020 campaign continues. NU has made it to NCAA Regionals in four of the last six seasons (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019).

• In the past 21 seasons, Nebraska has made 13 NCAA Regional appearances. During the span, the Huskers have qualified for four NCAA Super Regionals and advanced to the College World Series on three occasions.