Huskers Travel to Des Moines to Take on UNI

Record (31-7, 8-4 Big 12) ? National Rankings: 7 (CB) ? 11 (BA) ? 9 (Sports Weekly) ? 8 (NCBWA)
Day Date Opp. Rank Opponent (Record) Location Time
Wed. April 20 at Northern Iowa (14-20) Des Moines, Iowa (Principal Park) 6:30 p.m.
Fri. April 23 Baylor (25-13, 12-3 Big 12) Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.
Sat. April 24 Baylor Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.
Sun. April 25 Baylor Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.
Polls are listed in the following order: Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America/Sports Weekly

Pitching Probables
Wed. NU - Phil Shirek, Sr, RHP (3-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. UNI - Kory Kelchen, Sr., RHP (2-2, 5.05 ERA)
Fri. NU - Joba Chamberlain, So, RHP (5-0, 1.94 ERA) vs. BU - Trey Taylor, Sr., LHP (4-3, 3.81 ERA)
Sat. NU - Zach Kroenke, Jr., LHP (4-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. BU - Mark McCormick, Jr., RHP (5-2, 3.02 ERA)
Sun. NU - Brian Duensing, Jr., LHP (5-0, 2.55 ERA) vs. BU - Cory VanAllen, So., LHP (6-2, 3.67 ERA)

Media Information
Radio: Pinnacle Sports Network (Wed., Fri.-Sun)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Television: Saturday (NET-1 (Ch. 12) and NET-HD Live; Tape Delayed on CSTV at 7 p.m.)
Internet Video Streaming: All three games vs. Baylor will be video streamed on HuskersNside. For more information, log on to Huskers.com

Huskers Travel to Des Moines to Take on UNI
The Nebraska baseball team steps out of Big 12 play on Wednesday, as the seventh-ranked Huskers take on Northern Iowa in a single-game matchup. The contest between the Huskers and Panthers takes place in Des Moines at Principal Park - the home of the AAA Iowa Cubs - with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The game will be carried on selected Pinnacle Sports Network stations, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, with John Bishop calling all of the action. It is part of a day-night twinbill, as the I-Cubs take on Round Rock at 12:05 p.m. The Huskers come into the week with a 31-7 record after taking 2-of-3 games against Texas A&M in College Station. The series win, the third in four weeks for the Huskers, marked NU’s first-ever series win at College Station. Prior to last week, NU was just 2-11 all-time in College Station, including 2-10 since the Big 12 was formed. Nebraska climbed to as high as seventh (Collegiate Baseball) in the national polls this week.

NU is 1-1 against teams from the MVC this season, splitting two meetings with Creighton. The Huskers will play Wichita State next Wednesday (April 27) and finish the three-game series with Creighton on May 10. Tickets for that game are available at Ticketmaster outlets throughout the state of Nebraska and on Ticketmaster.com.

Northern Iowa comes into the week with a 14-20 record after dropping 2-of-3 games to Wichita State last weekend. The Panthers are familiar with the Big 12, going 1-3 against Texas Tech (3 games) and Kansas State, winning a game against the Red Raiders in Lubbock. The Panthers also have a win over Big Ten co-leader Minnesota to thier credit.

NU Travels to Iowa for first time since 2001
The Huskers’ trip to Des Moines marks the first game Nebraska played in the state of Iowa since 2001 - back when the Big 12 had 11 teams. The Huskers were the last Big 12 team to travel to Iowa State and clinched their first regular-season conference title at ISU’s Cap Timm Field. The Cyclones, who took 2-of-3 from the then-No. 1 Huskers, disbanded their program following the 2001 season.

Husker Continue Triple-A Park Tour
Wednesday’s trip to Principal Park will mark Nebraska’s third visit to a Triple-A ballpark this season. The Huskers played at the Dell Diamond at the Round Rock College Classic in March and played Creighton at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium on April 5. The Huskers have one-more regular-season game at Rosenblatt while the Big 12 holds its annual tournament at the SBC Bricktown Ballpark next month.

Leading Off
?-At 31-7, the Huskers are enjoying one of their best starts in the program’s 100-plus year history. Only the 1979 and 1983 teams have enjoyed a better start at the 38-game mark than the 2005 Huskers.

Best 38-Game Starts in School History

No. 38-Game Record Final Record
1983 34-4 44-15
1979 32-6 49-15
2005 31-7 --
2001 30-8 50-16
2003 29-9 47-18

1999-2005 Records

Game 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
38 27-11 27-11 30-8 25-13 29-9 26-12 31-7
39 28-11 28-11 31-8 25-14 29-10 27-12
40 29-11 29-11 32-8 26-14 30-10 28-12
41 30-11 30-11 33-8 27-14 31-10 29-12
42 30-12 31-11 34-8 28-14 31-11 30-12

?-Wednesday’s game is a homecoming for a pair of Iowa natives on the 2005 squad. Redshirt freshman Tony Watson is a native of Grimes, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines, while junior closer Brett Jensen is from Eagle Grove, appoximately 73 miles northwest of Des Moines. Jensen is third in the Big 12 with five saves, while Watson is 4-1 in 11 appearances. NU has a third Iowa native in outfielder Deric Manrique who is redshirting this season.

?-NU is one of only two teams nationally ranked in the top five in both ERA (2.43) and fielding percentage (.978) in the NCAA rankings released Tuesday.

?-Nebraska is ranked third nationally in fielding at a .979 clip. The Huskers are one of three Big 12 teams in the top five, joining Texas A&M (.980, first) and Texas (.978, fifth)

?-The Huskers’ pitching has been a strength throughout 2005, as Nebraska leads the Big 12 and rank among the national leaders in ERA. Nebraska has held 33 of its 38 opponents to four runs or less.

National ERA Team Leaders

No. Team Team ERA
1 Long Beach St. 1.94
2 Nebraska 2.41
3 North Carolina 2.62
4 Texas 2.63
5 Missouri 2.63

?-The Huskers have also gotten off to quick starts, scoring at least one run in the first inning in 20 of 38 games and outscoring their opponents 35-8 in the first inning of games this season.

?-After having just one multi-homer game in 2004, Nebraska has eight already this season, including four by first baseman/catcher Curtis Ledbetter and two by All-American third baseman Alex Gordon.

2005 Multi-Homer Games

Player Opponent Date
Ledbetter vs. New Mexico 2/25
Fusilier vs. South Dakota State * 3/13
Ledbetter vs. South Dakota State * 3/13
Gordon vs. Northern Colorado 3/15
Nimmo vs. Seton Hall 3/19
Gordon at Kansas-1 3/26
Ledbetter vs. Iowa 4/6
Ledbetter at Texas A&M 4/15
* - Two homers in the same inning (Big 12 and NCAA record)

?-The Huskers are 19-2 at Hawks Field this season and 96-21 (.821) since the ballpark opened in 2002.

?-Earlier this month, Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson coached his 150th game at Nebraska, becoming only the fourth Husker coach to reach that mark in program history. His winning percentage is the second-highest among any Husker coach at the 150-game mark. Here are the totals of the other three Husker skippers at the 150-game plateau.

Husker Coaches at 150-Game Mark
Coach 150-Game Record Pct.
John Sanders 108-42 .720
Mike Anderson 106-44 .707
Dave Van Horn 100-50 .667
Tony Sharpe 92-56-2 .620

?-Nebraska’s starting pitchers are a combined 22-1 this season and had won their first 19 decisions before Zach Kroenke’s loss to No. 1 Texas on April 9.

?- Six of Nebraska’s seven losses this season have been by one run, as the Huskers are 4-6 in one-run games this year.

?-With complete-game shutouts by Zach Kroenke and Brian Duensing, Nebraska became the first team to hand Oklahoma State consecutive shutouts since 1976. It also marked the first time since March of 2002 that Nebraska received back-to-back complete-game shutouts (Jamie Rodrigue and Aaron Marsden).

?-Nebraska is one of only 11 teams nationally - and one of only two schools in the Big 12 - to have team ERAs under 4.00 in each of the last three seasons.

?-NU has scored at least one run in 424 of the last 425 games dating back to the 1998 season. In 2004, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team not shut out.

?-Nebraska has scored three runs or more in an inning 30 times already this season, including an 11-run inning against South Dakota State on March 13.

?-Third baseman Alex Gordon is looking to become the first position player and only the second player in Big 12 history to repeat as conference player of the year. Baylor’s Jason Jennings is the only other player to win multiple Big 12 Player-of-the-Year awards (1998-99).

?-Nebraska has had two players honored as Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week this season. Alex Gordon was chosen on March 22, joining Joba Chamberlain, who earned the honor on Feb. 25.

Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa comes into Wednesday’s tilt with a 14-20 record after dropping a series against Wichita State over the weekend. The Panthers, who have played just nine of the 34 games on their home field, are led by catcher Nate Trumm, who is hitting .370 with three homers and 21 RBIs. Shortstop Patrick Moran leads UNI with 29 RBIs and joins Trumm as the major offensive threats.

Senior right-hander Kory Kelchen is expected to make his seventh start of the year on Wednesday against the Huskers. He is second on the team with 35.2 innings pitched and is second on the squad with 26 strikeouts. Earlier this month, seven Panther pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout of Big Ten co-leader Minnesota, and UNI has used at least six pitchers in each of its last two midweek contests.

NU is 22-2 all-time against UNI, sweeping the season series at Hawks Field last season (15-6, 5-2). The most famous meeting between the two programs came in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Buck Beltzer Stadium in 2001, a 16-6 NU victory. NU has won the last six meetings between the schools. UNI’s last victory in the series came in a 19-6 win in 1997.

Last Time Out
Friday (NU 2, Texas A&M 1): Curtis Ledbetter went 3-for-4 with two homers, while Joba Chamberlain fired a complete-game four-hitter, leading No. 10 Nebraska to a 2-1 victory over Texas A&M. Ledbetter provided Nebraska with all of the offense it needed, belting his 10th and 11th homers of the year to lead the Huskers’ 10-hit attack. Chamberlain turned in a dominant performance, striking out five without a walk in turning in the first complete game of his Husker career. The right-hander from Lincoln allowed only one run - Coby Mavroulis’ solo homer in the third - and faced one over the minimum through seven innings.

Saturday (Texas A&M 5, NU 4 - 10 inn): John Infante’s RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning broke a 4-all tie, as Texas A&M rallied for a 5-4 win over the Huskers. The Aggies trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but plated the tying run with two outs before Infante’s double to center off reliever Ryan Bohanan one inning later snapped Texas A&M’s five-game losing streak. Brett Jensen suffered the loss, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings of relief, as Nebraska lost for the first time in 24 games when taking a lead into the ninth. NU jumped to a 3-0 lead with RBIs from Brandon Fusilier and Brandon Buckman in the first before Alex Gordon hit his 12th homer of the season two innings later. Joe Simokaitis also added an RBI single in the loss.

Sunday (NU 6, Texas A&M 4): Daniel Bruce went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Johnny Dorn fired 4.1 shutout innings, as No. 10 Nebraska took the season series against Texas A&M, 6-4, Sunday afternoon. Bruce delivered key RBI hits in the second and third innings, as the Huskers jumped to a 5-1 lead and held on to clinch their first-ever series win in four tries in College Station. Dorn picked up the win in relief of starter Brian Duensing. Dorn allowed two hits while striking out three and kept  the Aggies off the scoreboard in the final four innings as he improved to 5-1 on the season. Curtis Ledbetter and Alex Gordon had two hits apiece, while Gordon also drew two walks and reached safely in all five plate appearances.

Gordon’s on a Tear
Probably no player in the Big 12 is as hot as NU third baseman Alex Gordon over the past six weeks. The first-team All-American is hitting .467 (43-for-92) with 10 homers, 31 RBIs and 36 runs scored in NU’s last 27 games. Gordon has had four three-hit games in that stretch, raising his season average from .270 to .411

Gordon was the Big 12’s Player of the Week for two straight weeks (March 21 & 28), earning national honors from Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America on March 21, after he hit .560 with four homers, 10 RBIs and 11 runs scored in six games. Three weeks ago, Gordon went 4-for-9 with three homers, four RBIs, eight runs scored and six walks in the series win against Kansas. He went 4-for-7 with a homer and four RBIs against No. 29 Oklahoma State, as he was walked twice and hit by four pitches. Against Texas A&M, Gordon went 5-for-10 with three walks and two hit by pitches, helping NU win a series in College Station for the first time ever.

Gordon in the Big 12 (stats as of April 18)

Category No. Big 12 Rank
Batting Avg. .411 1st
Walks 41 1st
Runs 48 1st
On-Base Pct. .575 1st
Slugging Pct. .798 1st
Homers 12 2nd
Total Bases 103 2nd
Stolen Bases 17 4th
RBIs 38 7th

Huskers Look for Extra Television Time
Over the last five seasons, Nebraska’s two longest games have one thing in a common - a television audience. The April 8, 16-inning contest against No. 1 Texas was the Huskers’ longest game in six seasons, taking 4:17 on an ESPN2 national telecast. Nebraska’s Big 12 Tournament semifinal against Baylor was the Huskers’ longest television broadcast, going 14 innings in May of 2004.

Longest Husker Games Since 2000
Opponent Date Innings Television
vs. Texas April 8, 2005 16 ESPN2
vs. Baylor May 22, 2003 14 Fox Sports Net
vs. New Mexico Feb. 15, 2002 13 None

Bruce Named Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year
Senior outfielder Daniel Bruce enjoyed one of the finest days of his four-year career on Sunday. Not only did he go 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the series-clinching win at Texas A&M, but he was honored later in the day as the Univeristy of Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year. It marks just the second time that a Husker baseball player had been chosen for the prestigious honor (Jeff Leise, 2003). An English major with a 3.86 GPA, Bruce is hitting a career-best .325 with 29 runs scored this season.

Fusilier Provides Spark for Husker Offense
After missing all of the 2004 season with a shoulder injury, fifth-year senior Brandon Fusilier has given the middle of the Husker lineup added protection. He enters the weekend hitting .313 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder from Coppell, Texas, ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in homers (10, sixth), RBIs (41, sixth) and slugging percentage (.595, 10th). Fusilier is also 10-of-11 on the basepaths, doubling his entire 2003 total of steals.

The Buck Starts Here
Junior college transfer Brandon Buckman ranks 17th in the Big 12 in hitting with a .344 average. He is third on the team with 13 multi-hit games, including a four-hit effort at Hawaii-Hilo on Feb. 17 and a three-hit game against Texas on April 8. Buckman drove in a season-high four RBIs against Northern Colorado on March 15 and had four RBIs in a doubleheader split against Kansas on March 26. Last season, he earned junior college All-America honors at Garden City Community College, when he hit .460 with 16 homers.

Mr. Twinbill
Redshirt freshman Andy Gerch has shined in the Huskers’ four twinbills this season. The Lincoln native is hitting .571 (12-of-21) with two homers and 13 RBIs while playing in seven of eight doubleheader games this season. Gerch had five hits in a doubleheader sweep of North Dakota State on April 13.

Bruce Leads Husker Hit-by-Pitch Parade
Senior outfielder Daniel Bruce continues to climb the NCAA record book. With his two hit-by-pitches against Texas two weeks ago, he moved past J.R. Revere (62, Georgia Southern, 1999-2002) for sole possession of fifth place in the NCAA record book.

Bruce, who set Nebraska’s single-season record with 28 HBP in 2002, has rebounded after a disappointing 2004 season, by hitting .325 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 35 contests. In Big 12 play, Bruce is hitting .340 with 13 runs scored, a total which is third in the conference.

NCAA All-Time Hit-by-Pitch Leaders

No. Name, School (Years) HBP
1. Tony Hurtado, San Francisco (1997-00) 92
2. Gabe Somarriba, Florida Atlantic (1999-02) 81
3. Jeff Ontiveros, Texas (1999-02) 74
4. Clay Schwartz, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1994-97) 68
5. Daniel Bruce, Nebraska (2002-present) 64

Homers Come in Bunches for Ledbetter
Throughout his Husker career, first baseman Curtis Ledbetter has shown the propensity to homer in bunches. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder has six career multi-homer games, including four this season. The trend began in his Husker debut in 2003 when he hit two homers against Texas State. Ledbetter has shown versatility, as he has played outfield, catcher and first base throughout his three seasons at Nebraska.

Ledbetter’s Multi-Homer Games
No. Opponent Date
2 vs. Texas State 2/14/03
2 vs. Kansas State 3/21/03
2 vs. New Mexico 2/25/05
2 vs. South Dakota State 3/15/05
2 vs. Iowa 4/6/05
2 at Texas A&M 4/15/05

Gordon Piles Up Numbers, Honors
After a season where he earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Year and unanimous first-team All-America honors, Gordon has already racked up a number of impressive honors heading into the 2005 season. He hit .365 with 18 homers and 75 RBIs in his sophomore campaign, a year where he ranked in the top four in the league in nine offensive categories. With Team USA last summer, Gordon hit .388 with four homers and 12 RBIs, while hitting .523 at the World University Games in Taiwan.

This season, Gordon is hitting .411 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs and leads the Big 12 in five offensive categories. His biggest hit of 2005 so far was a three-run eighth-inning homer to break a 3-all tie against No. 7 Rice on Feb. 27, NU’s first win over the Owls since the 2001 NCAA Super Regional.

Gordon’s 2005 Honors
? Baseball America National Midseason Player of the Year
? USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Nominee
? Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year
? Collegiate Baseball Natl. Player of the Week (3/21)
? NCBWA Natl. Player of the Week (3/21)
? Big 12 Player of the Week (3/21 & 3/28)
? First-Team preseason All-American (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Baseball America)
? Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year (Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America)
? Baseball America’s Top Junior in the Country
? Baseball America’s No. 1 College Prospect for the 2005 MLB Draft
? Wallace Award Watch List

The Lincoln native is considered the top collegiate prospect in the country and will look to become the fifth first-round pick in school history and the first since Darin Erstad and Alvie Shepherd in 1995. The following is a list of the previous first round Husker draft picks.

Previous First-Round Husker Picks
Player No. Team Year
Steve Stanicek 11 San Francisco 1982
Bill McGuire 27 Seattle 1985
Darin Erstad 1 LA Angels of Anaheim 1995
Alvie Shepherd 21 Baltimore 1995

Husker Pitchers Earn Passing Grade
Despite having five pitchers drafted in 2004 - the highest total of Husker pitchers taken in the draft in more than 20 years - Nebraska’s pitching staff has excelled during the first half of the season.

Nebraska pitchers currently...
? Leads the Big 12 and are second nationally with a 2.41 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a league-low .211 batting average. Nebraska has only posted a sub-3.00 ERA three times in school history (1965, 1966 and 1969).

? Have held 28 of 38 opponents to three runs or less as only three teams have scored more than four runs.

? Rank second in the Big 12 with nine saves and allowed just 10 of 48 inherited runners to score.

? Issue a league-low 2.41 walks/nine innings, while ranking third in the league with 7.75 strikeouts/nine innings.

Huskers’ Homegrown Rotation
Pitching Coach Rob Childress has built Nebraska’s pitching staff into one of the Big 12’s best on an annual basis, and 2005 is no exception. The Huskers are second in the Big 12 in ERA (2.33) and are holding opponents to a league-low .211 average. Of Nebraska’s top five starters, four are in-state products, including the entire weekend rotation of Joba Chamberlain (Lincoln), Zach Kroenke (Omaha) and Brian Duensing (Omaha), who are a combined 14-1.

Chamberlain Becomes Ace in the Hole
Sophomore Joba Chamberlain’s college career has been a whirlwind experience. The right-hander began his collegiate career at Division II Nebraska-Kearney, where he went 3-6 with a 5.23 ERA as a freshman, before transferring to NU last summer.

The 6-3, 225-pounder has made an immediate impact, going 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA in nine starts for the Huskers. The right-hander ranks among the Big 12 leaders in ERA (fourth), strikeouts/nine innings (10.89, third), total strikeouts (73, third) and opponent batting average (.165, third). Chamberlain has struck out nine or more hitters five times this spring.

Against New Mexico on Feb. 25, Chamberlain struck out 15 in seven shutout innings en route to Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and National Co-Player-of-the-Week honors from Collegiate Baseball. His 15 strikeouts were the most by a Husker pitcher since Shane Komine in 2000 and two shy of the Huskers’ single-game record. Chamberlain then shut down No. 7 Rice, holding the Owls to one unearned run on four hits while striking out nine over 6.1 innings. In his latest start, he tossed a complete-game four hitter, fanning five without a walk in a 2-1 win over Texas A&M on April 15.

Well Duensing
The return of junior left-hander Brian Duensing has solidified the Huskers’ weekend rotation. The Omaha native is 5-0 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 appearances, heading into Sunday’s start against Baylor. He is 16th in the Big 12 in ERA and is holding opponents to a .226 average since missing nearly two full seasons because of Tommy John surgery. Duensing went 16.2 innings - spanning four appearances - without allowing a run before allowing four runs against Northern Colorado on March 15. Duensing went a season-high 7.1 innings, scattering six hits in a 9-4 victory at Kansas on March 27. Against No. 29 Oklahoma State on April 3, Duensing tossed a complete-game three-hitter, fanning six Cowboys in a 10-0 triumph.

Zach Attacks No. 2 Starter Role
While the return of Brian Duensing and the emergence of Joba Chamberlain have been the big stories early on for the Huskers, junior Zach Kroenke has regained the form that has made him one of the Big 12’s best pitchers. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Omaha is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA, holding opponents to .224 average. Kroenke had won his last four outings before suffering the loss against Texas on April 9. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts in a complete-game three-hitter against Oklahoma State on April 2.

Jensen Shines at Closing Time
Another pleasant surprise this spring has been the emergence of junior Brett Jensen as the Huskers’ closer. The 6-foot-7, 195-pounder has converted five of his six save opportunities, as he is third in the Big 12 in that category. He is one save away from breaking into NU’s single-season top-10 list.

Johnny Be Good
Freshman right-hander Johnny Dorn has quickly adapted to the Big 12. The Grand Island, Neb., native is tied for the team lead in wins with five and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with a 2.51 ERA. He has made 10 apperances, splitting his time between the rotation and the bullpen. Against Creighton, he pitched 7.2 innings of no-hit ball in NU’s 10-2 win over the Bluejays. He fanned a career-high 10 CU hitters, the highest total by a Husker freshman in six seasons. Against Texas A&M on April 17, Dorn tossed 4.1 innings of shutout ball, earning not only his first win, but clinching NU’s first series win in College Station.

Bohanan is Mr. Versatility for NU
Freshman Ryan Bohanan has emerged as one of the Huskers’ most valuable players during the first half of the season. In addition to his pitching, where he has a 1-0 record with a save and a 0.79 ERA in nine appearances, Bohanan has seen time at designated hitter, as a defensive replacement in right field and at first base. Bohanan, who is hitting .167 with an RBI in six at-bats, was a two-way performer at Goddard High School in Kansas, where he played third base when he was not on the mound.

Simokaitis Makes Sacrifices
Shortstop Joe Simokaitis has made it a habit of turning sacrifices into an art form. The senior from St. Louis has 39 sacrifices during his career, a total which ranks ninth on the NCAA’s all-time list. He is second on the squad with seven sacrifices this season.

NCAA Sacrifice Bunt Chart
No. Player, Team Years Sacrifices
1. Rob Macrory, Auburn 1994-97 58
2. Jose Trujillo, Miami 1986-89 53
3. Damon Katz, Pepperdine 1997-00 49
4. Jack Jones, Cal Statr Fullerton 1994-96 47
5. Vince Pietro, Creighton 1997-00 46
6. Jason Smith, North Carolina State 1997-00 42
7. Mike Coss, Notre Dame 1988-91 42
8. Michael Dartt, Hawaii 1996-99 40
9. Joe Simokaitis, Nebraska 2002-present 39
Howie Shapiro, Miami 1976-79 39

Huskers Set Big 12 Homer Mark
Nebraska put together one of the most explosive innings in school history on March 13 against South Dakota State, putting up 11 runs, highlighted by five homers. The 11 runs were the most by Nebraska in an inning since 2002, while the five homers in the frame set a school and Big 12 record. In addition, a pair of Huskers found their way into the NCAA record book by hitting two homers in the same inning. Brandon Fusilier and Curtis Ledbetter became the third and fourth Huskers to hit two homers in one inning, and the first since the 2000 season.

Ledbetter Gets Defensive at First Base
One of the reasons for Nebraska’s school record .975 fielding percentage in 2004 was the performance of first baseman Curtis Ledbetter. A two-time All-Big 12 pick, Ledbetter committed one error in 473 chances, as his .998 fielding percentage was the best ever by a Husker with 400 total chances in a season. In addition to his defensive prowess, the senior from Lawrence, Kan., hit .297 with eight homers and 56 RBIs, while leading the squad with 12 game-winning RBIs.

This season, Ledbetter has been a major offensive force, hitting .349 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs, while ranking fourth in the conference in round trippers. He is second on the team in homers and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles. Against Texas A&M, Ledbetter hit .642 (6-for-13) with two homers, two doubles and three RBIs.

In addition to playing first base, Ledbetter has also seen time at catcher, a position he has not played since his freshman year at Garden City Community College. He is fiffh in school history with 881 putouts.

Nimmo Turns in Career Day vs. Seton Hall
Among all of the prolific offensive efforts during the first month of the season, one of the most surprising was the effort turned in by freshman outfielder Bryce Nimmo against Seton Hall on March 19. Nimmo, who had driven in just one run in his first 12 appearances, went 2-for-3 with two homers - the first two of his career- and six RBIs in a 11-2 win. The six RBIs were the most by a Husker since All-American Matt Hopper had seven in a 10-inning win against Missouri during the 2003 season.

13 Husker Games Picked for Television
Baseball fans throughout the state of Nebraska will have ample opportunity to see the Huskers on television this spring, as a total of 13 regular-season games will be shown on either a state-wide or national basis. Seven of the games will be shown on the ESPN family of networks, including the entire series against Oklahoma from Norman next week.

Husker Baseball on Television in 2005
Date Opponent Network First Pitch
April 5 at Creighton NET L, 3-4.
April 6 Iowa NET/CSTV W, 6-1
April 8 Texas ESPN2 W, 4-3 (16)
April 9 Texas ESPN L, 4-11
April 10 Texas ESPN L, 5-6 (8)
April 16 at Texas A&M Fox Sports Net L, 4-5 (10)
April 23 Baylor NET/CSTV* 2:05 p.m.
April 27 at Wichita State ESPNU 7 p.m.
April 28 at Oklahoma ESPN 6 p.m.
April 29 at Oklahoma ESPNU 6 p.m.
April 30 at Oklahoma ESPNU 1 p.m.
May 7 Missouri NET/CSTV 2:05 p.m.
May 21 Kansas State NET/CSTV 2:05 p.m.
*- Live on NETV, Tape Delayed on CSTV

Simokaitis Climbs Assists List
Earlier this season, shortstop Joe Simokaitis became the fourth Husker to ever record 500 assists and is closing quickly on the top three on the Husker chart. He enters the weekend with 590 assists and passed Bruce Wobken (548, 1986-89) for third place on the list against Oklahoma State earlier this month. Simokaitis has paced the Huskers in assists in each of the last two seasons, including a school-record 194 assists in 2003. He had a career-best nine assists in Sunday’s win over Texas A&M.

Career Assists
No. Mark Player Year
1. 639 Will Bolt 1999-02
2. 604 Darin Petersen 1992-95
3. 590 Joe Simokaitis 2002-present

May 10th Tickets vs. Creighton on Sale
Tickets for Nebraska’s rubber match against Creighton at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium on Tuesday, May 10, are now on sale at Ticketmaster locations across the state. Reserve seating prices for the May 10 contest are $12, $10 and $8, while children’s tickets are $6. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at Ticketmaster in Lincoln at 475-1212, in Omaha at (402) 422-1212 or on the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the Nebraska Ticket Office.

The Huskers won the first meeting of the series in Lincoln before Creighton evened the series earlier this month. The annual May matchup in Omaha is one of the biggest sporting events of the spring in the state, as the contest has drawn crowds of at least 10,000 in each of the last five seasons.