Huskers Return to Dairy Queen Classic

Friday, March 2 - 12:15 p.m. (CT): So. Zach Hirsch (LHP) vs. West Virginia - So. Marshall Thompson (LHP)
Saturday, March 3 - 12:05 p.m. (CT): So. Jon Keller (RHP) vs. New Mexico State - Jr. Ryan Beck (LHP)
Sunday, March 4 - 3:05 p.m. (CT): Jr. Tom Lemke (RHP) vs. Minnesota - Sr. Austin Lubinsky (RHP)

This Week: The Nebraska baseball team (4-3, 0-0 Big Ten) returns to the Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend for the first time since the 2006 season, when the Huskers went 3-0 with wins over Notre Dame, Arizona and Minnesota. Hosted at the Metrodome, the Huskers are set to face West Virginia, New Mexico and Minnesota.

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at mygophersports.com or by calling (612) 626-4110. All tickets are general admission and are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 4-12 and senior citizens.

Television: There will be no TV, but every game of the tournament will be streamed on video.btn.com via gophersports.com (subscription needed).

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen Greg Sharpe and Jeff Culhane call all of the action on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln - and on the Internet at Huskers.com or the Official Husker App. A complete list of HSN affiliates can be found on page 7.

Preview: Riding a four-game winning streak, the Huskers continue non-conference play this weekend with three games at the Dairy Queen Classic.

Nebraska opens play on Friday at 12:15 p.m. when it meets West Virginia from the Big East. The Huskers and Mountaineers have history at the Dairy Queen Classic, as the only other meeting between the two programs took place at the 2004 Classic, when NU won 13-6. The Huskers will send lefty Zach Hirsch to the mound and WVU will counter with sophomore lefty Marshall Thompson.

Saturday will mark the seventh all-time meeting (3-3) between Nebraska and New Mexico State and the first since the two teams opened the 1999 season in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Showdown in the Desert. Sophomore Jon Keller will take the mound at 12:05 p.m. for NU, while the Aggies will start junior Ryan Beck.

Even though the Huskers and Golden Gophers are both members of the Big Ten Conference, Sunday's showdown will be a non-conference match up. Set for 3:05 p.m., Nebraska will start junior Tom Lemke and Minnesota is set to start senior Austin Lubinsky.

Scouting West Virginia
The Mountaineers are 3-4 on the year and 3-0 against teams from the Big Ten Conference in 2012, as WVU opened the year at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. West Virginia opened the season with a 7-3 win over Northwestern, before beating Penn State (4-1) and Iowa (4-3).

The Mountaineers are coming off the Caravelle Resort's Baseball at the Beach Tournament, where they were swept by Virginia Tech, NC State and George Mason.

WVU was led offensively by left fielder Matt Frazer, who finished the weekend 3-for-13 with one double and an RBI. Right-hander Dan Dierdorff had the top pitching performance, as he came on in relief against George Mason and pitched four innings of one hit ball, striking out eight.

The Mountaineers are expected to throw sophomore lefty Marshall Thompson against the Huskers on Friday night. Thompson is 1-1 on year with a 3.00 ERA. He has shown great control with just one walk and 10 strikeouts in a team-high 12.0 innings of work

Series History: The Huskers and Utes have previously met once, with the Huskers winning 13-6 at the 2004 Dairy Queen Classic.

Scouting New Mexico State
The Aggies are 7-3 on the season and are fresh off a four-game sweep of Sacred Heart. In the four games, New Mexico State outscored Sacred Heart by a combined score of 71-22. After opening the year by winning 3-out-of-4 against Wake Forest, the Aggies lost a pair of games to No. 4 Rice.

New Mexico State currently has the second-highest batting average (.323) in the WAC, but leads the league in slugging percentage (.506), on-base percentage (.438), runs scored (106), hits (104) RBI (96), doubles (23), home runs (11) and walks (58).

Entering the weekend, five Aggies are hitting over .300, including four players that are hitting .345 or better. Parker Hipp leads the team with a .371 average (13-for-35) and has a team-high five doubles, as well as one home run.

The Aggies have been smart on the base paths with six steals in seven attempts.

Nebraska is set to see lefty Ryan Beck on Saturday afternoon. Beck is 2-0 on the year with a 1.80 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 15.0 innings of work.

Series History: The Huskers and Aggies have split the first six games in the series and Saturday will be the first meeting between the two programs since 1999. Nebraska won the last game by a score of 9-6, while New Mexico State won the first two meeting of the series during the 1995 season.

Scouting Minnesota
Even though the Huskers and Golden Gophers are both members of the Big Ten Conference, Sunday's meeting with non-conference game. The two teams will meet in Lincoln later this year for a three-game series at Hawks Field on May 11-13.

Head Coach John Anderson is in his 31st year at Minnesota and is a six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. His 2012 squad has gotten off to a rocky start with a 3-4 record following a 2-2 series split at home against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Nebraska will see senior righty Austin Lubinsky on Sunday, as the Gophers bullpen may be thin after playing their fourth game in four days. A 36th-round pick of the Giants last summer, Lubinsky is 0-1 on the year with a 4.15 ERA over 8.2 innings in two starts.

Offensively, Kurt Schlangen leads the Gopher attack with a .563 average (9-for-16) and a team-high three RBIs. Trip Schultz is the only Gopher with a home run on the year and it is his only hit as he is 1-for-12 (.083) on the year.

Minnesota is currently in a 27-game homestand, the longest in school history.

Series History: The Huskers will look to cut into Minnesota's 22-13-1 lead in the all-time series between the two programs. The Huskers have won six of the last eight games, including a 4-1 win at the 2000 Minneapolis Regional that helped propel the Huskers to the Stanford Super Regional. The two teams first met in 1901, with the Gophers winning, 5-3.

DQ History
This weekend marks the fifth time that the Huskers have made a trip to Minneapolis for the Dairy Queen Classic. Now in its 28th year, West Virginia is making its third trip to the Dairy Queen Classic and New Mexico State will be making its first appearance.

Over their previous four appearances, the Huskers have compiled a 7-5 record and are making their first trip north since 2006. Nebraska has won the tournament in two of its last three appearances, including sweeps in 2003 (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Minnesota) and 2006 (Notre Dame, Arizona, Minnesota). In 2004, the Huskers went 1-2 on the weekend with a pair of losses to Florida State and Minnesota, but did beat West Virginia in the only previous meeting between the two teams.

The 1997 season marked the Huskers' first trip to the Dairy Queen Class and the team left with and 0-3 record, as they dropped games to UCLA, Minnesota and Washington.

The Classic returns to the Metrodome after being hosted at Kino Complex in Tucson, Ariz., last season due to the roof collapse at the Metrodome on Dec. 12, 2010.

Stock Rising
Transfer Richard Stock has been welcome addition to the Husker offense in 2012. The junior from Westlake Village, Calif., is hitting .400 on the year and leads the team in doubles (3), while also ranking second on the teams in hits (10) and total bases (13).

After playing in just one game of the Huskers' season-opening series against Gonzaga, Stock was named the Kleberg Bank College Classic All-Tournament team designated hitter. He went 9-for-20 on the weekend with a pair of three-hit games.

A 45th-round pick out of high school by the Brewers, Stock has found new life at Nebraska after playing his freshman season at USC and last season at Pierce College in Los Angeles.

In the Zone
Junior Chad Christensen seems to be locked in right now as the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native leads is tied for the team lead in nine offensive categories, including hits (12), RBIs (8), runs (8) home runs (2) and total bases (20).

Nearly a career .300 hitter entering the year at .292, Christensen is hitting a scorching .414 on the season and was recently named the MVP of the Kleberg Bank Classic after leading the Huskers to victory with a two-out two-RBI double in the top of the ninth to give NU a 8-7 lead.

More impressively, Christensen has shined at the plate while playing both the outfield and infield. After starting 55 games at shortstop in 2011, Christensen moved to the outfield in 2012 and started their before freshman Pat Kelly was injured in the second game of the season. Christensen has started the past four games at shortstop. He has moved right back into the position with no errors and six double plays in 35 chances.

Pitchers Best Friend
Through seven games in 2012 the Huskers have turned 10 double plays, an average of 1.43 per game. NU is on pace to turn to 80.08 double plays this season after only converting 35 a year ago.

Take it for the Team
In 2011 the Huskers were hit by pitch 89 times, which tied them for 13th nationally. The team was led by Bryan Peters, who was hit 18 times to tie for 20th nationally.

A junior in 2012, Peters continues to climb the Husker career chart in hit-by-pitches and entered the year with 36, which tied him for fifth with Jake Mort (2005-09). Peters recently jumped into a tie for third on the all-time list with Alex Gordon and Nick Sullivan when he was hit-by-pitch against Utah on Feb. 25. Senior Kale Kiser is also on the career top-10 list with 34 hit-by-pitches.

Daniel Bruce (2002-05) holds the NU career record with 67 hit-by-pitches.

He Can Swing It
Texarkana CC transfer Rich Sanguinetti had been a key cog in the the Husker offense so far this year. Slotted as the team's No. 2 hitter in all seven game this season, Sanguinetti is the only Husker with a hit in every game.

Sanguinetti has done a bit of everything on offense for the Huskers with two doubles, two sacrifice bunts and one steal.

He has also been solid in the field as the team's starting center fielder.

Kale's on First
Senior outfielder Kale Kiser started the 2012 season with a 26-game on-base streak that reaches back to April 3, 2011. Kiser struggled to produced hits against Gonzaga to open the year, but the senior found other ways to get on base and extended his streak to 29 games.

He added three more games to extend the streak to 32 games at the Kleberg Bank College Classic with a hit in each of the first two games and two walks in the weekend finale against UNLV.

Kiser is hitting just .174 on the year from the leadoff spot, but has produced a .406 on-base percentage with teams highs in both walks (7) and HBPs (2).

In 2011, Kiser ranked second on the team in on-base percentage at .417, trailing All-American Cody Asche, who produced a .424 on-base percentage. Kiser led the team with a .467 on-base percentage as a sophomore in 2010 and hit .345.

Huskers Picked Fourth by League Coaches
The Big Ten coaches have picked Nebraska to finish fourth out of the league's 11 teams in 2012. Three Husker juniors were also named to the 'Players to Watch List', including right-handled pitcher Travis Huber, right-handed pitcher Tom Lemke and first baseman/designated hitter Kash Kalkowski.

After winning a share of the of the Big Ten title last season for the first time since 1979, Michigan State was picked as the league favorite. The Spartans were followed by Purdue, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Illinois, as only the top six teams were released by the conference office.

No Place Like Hawks
After playing its first 10 games of the season on the road, the Nebraska baseball team will open up a 17-game home stand at Hawks Field on Tuesday, March 6.

The stretch starts and ends with games against Kansas State, as the Wildcats will come to Lincoln on Tuesday, March 6, and  make a return trip on Tuesday, March 27.

During the non-conference part of the home stand, the Huskers will play a pair of four-game series with California, who qualified for the CWS last season, and Louisiana Tech. Northern Colorado will come to Lincoln for two games, while Nebraska-Kearney and South Dakota will also make one-game stops.

Prior to the second game with Kansas State, the Huskers will open play in the Big Ten Conference when Illinois come to Hawks Field for a three-game series that starts on Friday, March 23.

The last time the Huskers had a 17-game home stand was during the 1992 season. During the stretch, the Huskers went  11-6 at Buck Beltzer Field.

New Blood
Head Coach Darin Erstad preaches open competition and it showed during the Huskers' season-opening series with Gonzaga, as six position and two pitching newcomers saw action.

On the mound, freshman Kyle Kubat started for the Huskers on Sunday, while junior college transfer Travis Huber saw two relief appearances.

Freshmen infielders Pat Kelly and Blake Headley each earned starts, while junior college transfer Rich Sanguinetti started all three games in center field and fellow JC transfer Richard Stock earned at start at catcher. Freshman Austin Darby pinch hit twice and sophomore Ty Kildow stole a base in one of his two pinch-running appearances.

Two more freshman took the field for the first time in a Husker uniform at the Kleberg Bank College Classic, as pitchers Jeff Stovall and Aaron Bummer threw in relief.

One Field to the Other
After playing two seasons of football under Head Coach Bo Pelini, sophomore Ty Kildow will now use his talents on the baseball field at Nebraska.

Kildow joined the baseball team in the fall as a walk-on and worked his way onto the roster. Arguably the fastest player on the team, Kildow's speed will be an asset on the basepaths and in the outfield. Kildow has already been used as a pinch runner twice this season and stole a base against Gonzaga.

Kildow was a three-time first-team Super-State pick as an outfielder at Millard South High School. He hit over .400 each of his final three seasons, including a .447 average as a junior. He stole 29 bases as a senior and hit .431.

Husker TV Schedule
The Big Ten Network has announced its broadcast schedule for Nebraska baseball's inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Huskers will be seen nationally on BTN three times at Hawks Field, including Nebraska's Big Ten opener against Illinois on Friday, March 23, and once on the road when NU travels to Indiana on Sunday, May 6. Nebraska's other two home games on the BTN schedule include a meetings with Creighton (April 10) and Purdue (April 20). The Huskers' four appearances on BTN are tied for the most in the conference, as Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan all will also have four games on the network.

Every game that is available on BTN is also available on BTN2Go, a 24/7 live feed of all BTN television programming. Full online access of BTN2Go is only available to subscribers of participating cable, satellite or telco providers. The online service is available at no additional cost to subscribers who already receive BTN as part of their channel lineup. For more information, visit http://www.BTN2go.com.

Following the announcement by the Big Ten Network, NET was able to announce that fans in the state of Nebraska will continue to see Nebraska baseball on NET in 2012. NET has permission from the Big Ten Network to broadcast four games at Hawks Field and will also broadcast both meetings with Creighton at TD Ameritrade Park. NET's coverage will kickoff on Friday, April 6, when the Iowa Hawkeyes come to Lincoln to open the first Big Ten series between the two programs. NET will also broadcast the series opener against Minnesota (May 11), as well as non-conference games against CSU Bakersfield (April 28) and Wichita State (May 15).

2012 BTN Nebraska Baseball Television Schedule

Fri., March 23 - Illinois at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Tues., April 10 - Creighton at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Fri., April 20 - Purdue at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Sun., May 6 - Nebraska at Indiana - 11 a.m.

2012 NET Nebraska Baseball Television Schedule

Fri., April 6 - Iowa at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Tue., April 24 - Nebraska at Creighton - 6:30 p.m.

Sat., April 28 - CSU Bakersfield at Nebraska - 2:05 p.m.

Tues., May 8 - Nebraska at Creighton - 7 p.m.

Fri., May 11 - Minnesota at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Tue., May 15 - Wichita State at Nebraska - 6:35 p.m.

Back in Red
Along with Head Coach Darin Erstad, two other former Huskers will be putting on the Nebraska baseball jersey once again in 2012 as former players Will Bolt (1999-02) and Jeff Christy (2005-06) are part of Erstad's coaching staff.

Bolt is the Huskers' associate head coach and returned to his alma mater after serving as the head coach at Texarkana College the past four years. Bolt works with the Husker infielders and helps direct the offense, while also coaching third base.

Prior to his time at Texarkana, Bolt was a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M for two seasons after serving as a volunteer on the Huskers' 2005 College World Series Team.

As a player, Bolt was a member of then-Head Coach Dave Van Horn's first recruiting class. The Conroe, Texas, native was a four-year starter and team captain on Nebraska's 2001 and 2002 College World Series teams.

Christy returns to Nebraska as the team's volunteer assistant after working in the same position at Wichita State in 2011. One of the top catchers in program history, Christy works with the catchers and coaches first base.

After playing his first two seasons at Barton County CC, Christy caught a school-record 64 games as a junior in 2005, hitting .236 with 32 RBIs, while throwing out 45 percent of opposing runners, including 8-of-11 runners in the postseason. An honorable-mention All-Big 12 pick in 2006, Christy hit .284 with eight homers and 32 RBIs, while leading the Huskers to 42 wins and a No. 6 national seed.

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins, Christy reached Triple-A Rochester in both 2008 and 2009.

Huskers Across the Country
The 2012 Huskers hale from 11 different from all across the nation. Nebraska natives make up 12 of the 32 players on the 2012 roster, while Texas has the second most representatives at five. Other states with more than one player include, Iowa (3), Colorado (3), Arizona (2) and Kansas (2).

State-Players
Nebraska - 12

Texas - 5

Colorado - 3

Iowa - 3

Arizona - 2

Kansas - 2

California - 1

Minnesota - 1

Missouri - 1

South Dakota - 1

Utah - 1

9-Game Package Available for Fans
Two new nine-game packages are now available for fans who want to see the Huskers' first baseball season in the Big Ten Conference under new Head Coach Darin Erstad. Named the Diamond Deal, fans can either purchase reserved tickets for nine games in the lower grandstand (sections 110 and 112) or in the Homerun Terrace (behind right field).

Fans are able to choose nine games from any of the Huskers' 31 home games in 2012. The non-conference season includes games with Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Colorado, Creighton, CSU Bakersfield, Wichita State and 2011 College World Series participant California. The Huskers will open the conference season against Illinois on Friday, March 23, before also hosting Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota at Hawks Field.

Total price of the pa­­ckage is just $90 for either the grandstand or Homerun Terrace. Outside of season tickets, the Diamond Deal gives fans the opportunity to buy reserved tickets before single-game tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 7. For more information on season tickets or the Diamond Deal, visit Huskers.com/Tickets or call 800-8-BIG RED during business hours.