Ben Klenke Season 2019

Honors & Awards
• Three Letters (2017, 2018, 2019)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Spring 2016)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016) 

2020: Ben Klenke (pronounced KLAYN-key) did not play in any games in 2020.

2019: Klenke made 10 relief appearances on the mound and twice played in the field with no official at-bats • Went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14.2 innings • Recorded a season-high four strikeouts in 2.0 innings in the season opener at UC Riverside on Feb. 15 • Managed a pair of strikeouts in four other appearances • Went a season-long 3.0 innings against Oregon State on Feb. 22 • Tossed 2.0 scoreless innings on two occasions, against Purdue (April 5) and Kansas State (April 16).

2018: Klenke started 21 of his 30 appearances with 11 starts in right field, nine starts in center field and one start in left field, while making a pair of relief pitching appearances • Hit .197 (15-for-76) with four doubles, one triple, 14 RBIs and eight runs scored • Season-long reaching base streak spanned 11 games from March 30 to April 22 • Pitched 1.0 inning at Creighton on May 8 • Went 2-for-6 during the Maryland series with a double, four RBIs and one run scored • Made his pitching debut on April 24 when he threw 1.0 inning of relief against Creighton and allowed one run (zero earned runs) • Managed a hit in both of his starts during the Rutgers series, going 2-for-6 in two games against the Scarlet Knights • Drove in two runs and had one stolen base as part of a 1-for-3 day at Michigan State on April 7 • Managed a hit in all three games during the Ohio State series, going 3-for-6 with one RBI, one double and one triple • Recorded a career-high five RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 performance with two doubles and two runs scored in the first game of a doubleheader against Cal Poly on March 10 • Went 2-for-4 against No. 2 Oregon State on Feb. 24, tying for the most hits by a Husker in the game.

2017: Klenke made 11 appearances, including three starts in right field • Batted .077 (1-for-13) • First career hit came against Omaha on April 25 • Made Husker debut in the season opener against UC Riverside on Feb. 17.

2016: Klenke redshirted his first season at Nebraska.

Before Nebraska: Klenke joined the Huskers from Seward High School in Nebraska, where he helped the Bluejays earn the No. 4 seed at the 2015 Class B state tournament after the Bluejays were the No. 6 seed in 2014 • Was named first-team Super-State by the Lincoln Journal Star in 2015 after hitting .455 with eight doubles, six home runs, 22 runs scored and 26 RBIs • Was 4-2 on the mound with a 1.52 ERA • Hit .431 during his career with nine home runs and 67 RBIs • Well-rounded athlete who excelled in football and basketball as well • Played in the 2015 Shrine Bowl, an all-star game for the state’s top senior football players • Left Seward as the school’s all-time scoring leader in basketball.

Personal: Born on Dec. 7, 1996 • Parents are Timothy and Kelly Klenke • Majored in management and earned his bachelor’s degree from Nebraska in December 2019.