Huskers Open Series at Texas A&M Tonight

Following a seven-game homestand, the Nebraska baseball team returns to the road this weekend for a three-game Big 12 series at No. 14 Texas A&M. The Huskers and Aggies face off from College Station on Friday at 6:30 p.m., with afternoon games set for Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). All three games can be heard live across the state of Nebraska on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com. HuskersNside subscribers can also watch all of the action live this weekend. Live stats will also be available on Huskers.com.

Friday’s series opener will be broadcast locally in Omaha on Cox Cable (Channel 2) and in Lincoln and surrounding areas on Time Warner Cable Channel 102 (digital converter required).

The Huskers (15-9) wrapped up a 5-2 homestand on Wednesday with a 4-1 victory over Northern Colorado. In that game, the Huskers received a strong effort from sophomore left-hander Drew Bowman, who held the Bears to one run on three hits for his fourth win of the season. Left fielder Andy Gerch got the Husker offense going with a two-run single in the first inning, as NU jumped to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Gerch went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while shortstop Ryan Wehrle also had two hits in the victory.

 Bowman’s effort on Wednesday continued a string of solid performances from the Husker pitching staff, as the staff has an ERA of 1.43 over the last seven games. While Nebraska’s pitching has been consistent in recent weeks, the Husker defense has been much improved as well, going 29.1 innings without an error before the streak was snapped on Wednesday.

The Huskers will need strong performances in both areas, as they head to College Station this weekend. Friday’s series opener with the Aggies begins a treacherous stretch for the Huskers in Big 12 play, as their next four conference series are all against nationally ranked clubs. In fact, 13 of Nebraska’s next 16 games are against nationally ranked clubs.

Texas A&M has been one of the biggest surprises in the Big 12 this season, as the Aggies enter the series with a 23-5 mark after pounding TCU, 13-2, on Tuesday night. A&M, which is 3-3 in Big 12 play, is also looking to rebound in conference action after dropping a series at Oklahoma last weekend, including an 11-inning loss in Sunday’s finale. The Aggies have been tough at home, going 19-2 at Olsen Field this season.

Leading Off
?-Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson will be seeking his 200th career win this weekend as the Huskers travel to Texas A&M. Anderson has 197 wins in four-plus years at NU. When he reaches that plateau, he will be only the fourth coach in school history to reach 200 wins.
?-Nebraska’s triple play against Northern Colorado on Wednesday was the first one by the Huskers since the 1998 season and only the sixth one in Big 12 history (since 1997). The Huskers join Texas A&M as the only teams to turn more than one triple play, while the last two in league play have both involved the Huskers.
?-Nebraska’s 12 runs against Missouri in the sixth inning on Sunday were the Huskers’ highest single-inning total since putting up 13 runs in the fifth inning against Chicago State on March 16, 1999.
?-Nebraska has enjoyed its best success in two-out situations during the first part of the season. The Huskers have driven in nearly 37 percent of their runs with two outs. Craig Corriston has 11 of his 21 RBIs in two-out situations, while Andy Gerch has driven in all nine of his runs with two outs.
?-Three of NU’s four Big 12 losses have been by one run with the other coming in extra innings.
?-NU’s shutout against Western Illinois on March 21 marked the first shutout of the year for the Huskers, and the first since consecutive shutouts of Texas (6-0) and Wichita State (11-0) last April.
?-Eight of NU’s 24 games have been decided by one run, as the Huskers are 5-3 in one-run contests.
?-The Huskers are 11-0 when out-hitting opponents, but is just 4-9 when the opponent has more hits.
?-Nebraska’s bullpen has been solid in recent games, posting a team ERA of 1.74 over the last 10 contests, while holding foes to a .214 average.
?-Nebraska is looking to pick up its first extra-inning win of the year, as the Huskers are 0-2 so far this season. NU won all five of its extra-inning contests during the 2006 campaign.
?-NU is one of only seven teams in all of Division I baseball to post team ERAs below 4.00 in each of the last five years, joining Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts, Rice, Texas and Wichita State.

Mid-Week Recap
Wednesday (Nebraska 4, Northern Colorado 1): Drew Bowman allowed one run over six innings, while Andy Gerch’s two-run single sparked a three-run first inning as NU completed the sweep with a 4-1 win. Bowman turned in a strong performance, allowing three hits while matching his longest effort of the season. The sophomore left-hander struck out a season-high five Bears en route to upping his record to 4-1.  The Huskers were opportunistic early on, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after two innings, as Gerch provided the game’s big blow, a two-run RBI single in the first. Gerch finished with two hits and a pair of RBIs, while Ryan Wehrle also had two hits in the win.

Tuesday (Nebraska 5, Northern Colorado 3): Luke Wertz fired five strong innings of relief, while Craig Corriston’s solo homer broke a 3-3 deadlock, lifting NU to a victory on Tuesday. Wertz, who struck out a career-high seven hitters in the longest outing of his career, was helped by a triple play that snuffed out UNC’s third-inning rally. Corriston’s third homer of the season off of UNC reliever Dan Kazell gave the Huskers the lead for good, as they tacked on another run in the seventh and rode the relief work of Wertz and Thad Weber, who retired all six hitters he faced for his first save. Jake Opitz gave NU an early 3-2 lead with a three-run triple in the third inning, as he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Morris Returns to Hawks Field
The Huskers welcomed a special guest back to the ballpark last Sunday, as former All-American Jed Morris returned to watch the series finale between the Huskers and Tigers. Morris, who had not seen the Huskers play at Hawks Field since his playing days, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia last summer and underwent treatment throughout the fall. The condition is currently in remission, and Morris will travel to Arizona in early April to begin extended spring training in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Last fall, the Husker coaches and players raised money for Morris’ medical bills, culminating with a full day of batting practice for fans at Hawks Field. The event raised more than $11,000.
 
Scouting Texas A&M
Former Husker Pitching Coach Rob Childress is in his second year as the head coach at Texas A&M. Childress, an NU assistant from 1998 to 2005, has quickly turned around the fortunes of Aggie baseball as they are 23-5 and ranked in the top 20 nationally of all three major polls.

Offensively, Texas A&M has five everyday starters hitting over .300, including two of the top four hitters in the Big 12. Parker Dalton leads the Aggies with a .429 average and is 10-for-10 in stolen bases, while Blake Stauffer is fourth in the conference with a .417 average while topping the Big 12 with 41 RBIs. The Aggies use their speed to their advantage, as they top the Big 12 with 79 stolen bases and have four players with at least 10 steals. Ben Feltner and Brandon Hicks rank 1-2 in the league in stolen bases with 19 and 17, respectively.

On the mound, the Aggies feature two of the Big 12’s top performers in left-hander David Newmann and right-hander Kyle Nicholson. Newmann is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in seven starts and is holding opponents to a .188 average. Nicholson, who has been used as a starter and out of the bullpen, is the workhorse of the staff, logging a league-high 55.1 innings of work, while going 6-1 with a Big 12-low 1.46 ERA.

Nebraska has a 17-16 lead in the all-time series between the two teams following a three-game sweep in Lincoln last spring. The Huskers have won the last four meetings between the teams dating back to the finale in 2005 - NU’s first-ever series win in College Station. The Huskers are just 4-11 in College Station since the start of Big 12 play, but are 4-5 in their last three visits.