Huskers Conclude Fall Drills with Red-White Series

Lincoln -- After three weeks of drills, the Nebraska baseball team will conclude the fall schedule this week with the annual Red White Series beginning Tuesday afternoon. The series, which will take place in Haymarket Park, marks the Huskers' final full practices until next January. Single games will take place Tuesday thru Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader scheduled for Friday afternoon.

For the Red team, coached by Rob Childress, sophomore right-hander Jason Burch (1-0, 7.65) will take the hill in the opener, while the White team, coached by Mike Anderson, will start fellow sophomore Dustin Timm (0-0, 8.31) Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday's match-up features a pair of talented freshmen, as left-hander Brian Duensing will toe the rubber for the Red squad and will be opposed by right-hander Phil Shirek.

Several players are being held out of this week's series as they recover from injuries, including two-time All-America pitcher Shane Komine, outfielder Jeff Leise, pitchers Justin Pekarek and Jeff Bieker and catcher/outfielder Chad Steele.

Despite the injuries, the Huskers return four everyday starters from a lineup that ranked in the top-10 nationally in both runs and batting average, while leading the Big 12 in 11 offensive categories, including homers, runs scored, walks and stolen bases.

The returnees are headed by first-team All-American Matt Hopper, who batted .358 with 12 homers and 85 runs batted in in 2001. The junior from Morrison, Colo., is a two-time All-Big 12 selection, while his 85 RBIs ranked third nationally and is the highest among any returning collegiate player. In just two seasons, the 6-4, 210-pound first baseman ranks eighth in school history in homers (33, eighth) and RBIs (156, eighth).

In additon to Hopper, NU returns a trio of players who earned All-Big 12 honors last spring. Junior catcher Jed Morris (.341-7-42) and junior outfielder Jeff Leise (.380-7-48) both earned second-team all-conference honors, while senior third baseman Jeff Blevins (.313-2-44) was an honorable-mention selection last spring. Leise, who was named Most Outstanding Player in the Lincoln Regional, was a second-team Verizon Academic All-American as a sophomore. Three-year starter Will Bolt (.265-2-30) ranks among the top 10 on school charts in hits and games played, while Justin Seely (.357-4-28), Brandon Eymann (.307-3-31) and Drew Anderson (.293-1-10) all saw extensive playing time last year.

The Huskers pitching staff is headed by one of the nation's premier hurlers in senior right-hander Shane Komine, who returned to NU this fall after being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 19th round over the summer. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native compiled a 14-2 record and a 3.35 ERA in a school-record 131.1 innings last season. The 5-10, 175-pound senior won a school-record and league-best 14 games, while also leading the Big 12 in strikeouts (159) and complete games (seven) en route to conference pitcher-of-the-year honors for the second straight season. A two-time All-American, he holds every major pitching record in school history, going 31-8 with a 2.99 ERA in his collegiate career. He also holds school records for most wins (31), strikeouts (395) and innings pitched (334.1).

Including Komine, the Huskers return 34 wins from a year ago. Junior left-hander Jamie Rodrigue has been in the weekend rotation for the past two seasons, winning nine games as a freshman before following up with a 6-3 record last season. The St. Clair, Mo. native has started 30 games in his Husker career and needs just three wins to break into the school's top-10 list. Despite losing a trio of draftees, including All-Big 12 closer Thom Ott and R.D. Spiehs, the pitching cupboard is far from bare with relievers Steve Hale (5-0, 4.24 ERA), Waylon Byers (3-0, 3.43), Derrick Conte (2-1, 3.05), Jeff Blaesing (0-0, 0.87) and Mike Sillman (2-1, 4.84) all returning after combining for 64 appearances last season. In addition, look for the continued development of sophomores Justin Pekarek (0-1, 3.86), Burch and Timm (0-0, 8.31).

Van Horn Welcomes Talented Incoming Class
National Coach of the Year Dave Van Horn welcomes one of the top recruiting classes in school history this fall, including 16 freshmen, seven junior college transfers and one transfer from Division II Morningside College. The 24-man class includes four state players of the year (Joe Simokaitis-Missouri; Daniel Bruce-Nebraska; Casey Jorgensen-South Dakota and Phil Shirek-North Dakota), five players who were previously drafted in the Major League Baseball Amateur draft, seven players who earned all-state honors last season and junior outfielder Adam Riddle, who was a first-team NJCAA All-American in 2001.

Huskers Baseball: A Hot Ticket
After last season's record-breaking campaign, demand for Husker baseball tickets has reached unprecedented levels. On Oct 9, University of Nebraska Ticket Manager John Anderson announced that over 2,900 deposits have been placed for season tickets for the upcoming season. The total is more than doubles the previous school record of 1,149 set last spring, a total that was 100 percent more than any other season total on record. Under Dave Van Horn, the Huskers have increased their attendence every season and ranked 11th nationally with an average of 2,707 fans per game. Five Big 12 teams ranked among the top 15 nationally in attendence last season, while NU's average was the highest of the eight College World Series teams.

Huskers Release 2002 Baseball Schedule
The Nebraska baseball team will play 22 regular-season games against teams that qualified for last season's NCAA tournament. The schedule, which includes nine NCAA tournament teams from last season, features 28 home games for the first season at Haymarket Park.

The Huskers will be tested right out of the chute, playing 12 of their first 13 games away from Lincoln, as they will face four NCAA tournament teams over the first month of the campaign. The Huskers will open up in Houston at in the Crowne Plaza-Holiday Inn/Rice Invitational, where they will have a Super Regional rematch with the host Rice Owls (Feb. 17) and will also take on 2001 NCAA participant Wake Forest and New Mexico. The Huskers continue non-conference play as they travel to Lake Charles, La., for a three-game tournament Feb. 22-24, before heading west for a three-game series at Fresno State March 1-3.

The Huskers will christen Haymarket Park on March 5, with a contest against Nebraska-Kearney, scheduled for 2 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the contest - which would be the first collegiate contest in the facility - would be moved to the following day.

The Huskers then open Big 12 play with a three-game series at Baylor from March 7-9, in a matchup between the last two Big 12 regular-season champions. The following weekend, Texas A&M comes to Lincoln for a three-game series, marking the first conference series in the new ballpark. The Big 12 home opener against the Aggies begins a stretch where the Huskers play eight of 10 games at home. In fact, the only time the Huskers leave Lincoln in that stretch is for a two-game series against Minnesota in the Metrodome (March 19-20).

The April schedule is highlighted by the return of two long-time non-conference rivals to Lincoln. On April 10th, Minnesota will make its first appearance in Lincoln since 1985 to conclude a three-game series with the Huskers, while perennial power Wichita State makes its first appearance in Lincoln in 12 years on April 30. In addition to those non-conference tilts, NU will also play 12 conference contests in April, including series at Missouri (April 12-14) and Oklahoma State (April 19-21), while playing host to Oklahoma (April 5-7) and Kansas (April 26-28).

The Huskers end Big 12 action early in May, as NU travels to Austin, Texas, for a three-game series against the Longhorns (May 3-5). This will mark the first season with nine conference series, as Iowa State dropped its program at the conclusion of last season. The three-game trip to Austin will be the Huskers' final regular-season trip out of the state, as NU plays six of its final seven games at home. The only trip out of Lincoln is the Huskers' trip to Rosenblatt Stadium to take on Creighton on May 15th.

For the first time, the Big 12 Tournament will take place at The Ballpark in Arlington May 22-26, ending five-year run in Oklahoma City. NCAA Regionals are scheduled from May 31 to June 2, while Super Regionals run from June 7-9. The 56th annual College World Series takes place in Omaha from June 14 to June 22 at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium.