Huskers Set to Open Season Series with Creighton

Nebraska (22-12, 5-4 Big Ten) vs. Creighton (14-15, 2-7MVC)
Tuesday, April 10 - 6:35 p.m.: Jon Keller, So., RHP (3-1) vs. Ty Blach, Jr., LHP (3-3)

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This Week: Fresh off a 2-1 series win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Huskers are set to host the Creighton Bluejays at Hawks Field on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. It will be the first of three meetings between the two programs this season, with the other two games coming at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. The game will be shown nationwide on the Big Ten Network and streamed live on BTN2Go.com.

The Huskers enter the game with a 22-12 overall record and a 5-4 Big Ten record, while the Bluejays are 14-15 overall and 2-7 in the Missouri Valley.

Winners of two straight, the Huskers are scheduled to start sophomore Jon Keller, who will look to improve on his 3-1 record in ninth start of the season. The Jays are set to counter with junior lefty Ty Blach, who is 3-3 on the year with a 3.00 ERA.

Tickets: Season and single-game tickets can be purchased at Huskers.com, by calling 1-800-8BIGRED or by visiting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office across the street from Memorial Stadium. The Huskers are also offering a nine-game ticket deal this season. Named the “Diamond-Deal” fans can pick any nine of the Huskers’ 31 home games and have the same seat for all nine games.

Television: Tuesday’s game will be shown nationally on the Big Ten Network and will be streamed live on BTN2Go.com..

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle 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 9.

Scouting Creighton
The Creighton Bluejays enter Tuesday's game with a 14-15 overall record and a 2-7 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Jays are one game under .500 on the road with a 7-8 record and have dropped three straight road games since beating Pacific in Stockton, Calif., on March 11.

The Jays have hit a rough stretch of late, as they have are 3-8 in their last 11 games.

Last Friday against Indiana State, Erik Mattingly threw nine innings of no-hit ball, but the Jays were unable to give their pitcher any support and ended up losing the game, 2-0, in 12 innings.

Offensively, only one of the Jays' regulars is hitting over .300, as Nick Judkins is hitting .342 (39-for-114). Creighton only has 10 home runs on the year, but CU's pitchers have only given up 12.

Nine CU pitchers have an ERA under 5.00, including four with an ERA under 3.00. The staff is holding opponents to a .247 batting average and has 178 combined strikeouts compared to just 86 walks.

Tuesday's scheduled starter is lefty Ty Blach, who enters the game with a 3-3 record and a 3.00 ERA. Blach leads the Bluejays with 54.0 innings pitched, while no other pitcher has top 30.0 innings.

Blach has given up 25 runs (18 earned) on 45 hits, while striking out 39 and walking 16. He has given up just one home run on the year and is holding opposing batters to a .233 average.

Packing the Park
Through April 8 the Huskers rank 16th in the country in average home attendance with 3,165 fans per game and are 13th in overall attendance with 63,318 fans through the gates at Hawks Field.

No other Big Ten team ranks in the top 50 of either category.

LSU leads both rankings with an overall number of 252,028 fans through 24 games for an average of 10,501 per game.

National Notice
The Husker enter the week ranked in the top-25 nationally in nine categories, including top-five ranking in hits, batting average and runs scored.

Through April 8, the Huskers rank second in the country in both runs (264) and hits (381), while New Mexico State, who the Huskers beat earlier this season, leads the nation in both categories with 332 runs and 387 hits.

NU sits fifth nationally with 7.8 runs per game and is ninth in batting average with a team average of .320.

The Huskers are also ranked in the top-25 in slugging (10th - .462),  home runs (18th - 28), home runs per game (24th - 0.82) and on-base percentage (19th - .400).

Defensively, the Huskers rank 19th in double plays with 32, while Miami (Ohio) and North Florida lead the country with 39 twin killings.

.385 Trio
Over Nebraska's last 10 games, three Huskers lead the team with a .385 average. Rich Sanguinetti, Richard Stock and Michael Pritchard are all swinging a hot stick and all are each 15-for-39, while the Huskers have posted a 7-3 record.

The trio has combined for 27 runs, seven doubles, two triples and 24 RBI's.

Setting the Pace
Sophomore Michael Pritchard has been one of the Huskers' most lethal weapons this season with a Big Ten-leading .405 batting average and an on-base percentage of .469, which is tied for fourth in the Big Ten. With Pritchard in the leadoff spot, the Huskers are 16-6 on the season.

Nine times this season Pritchard has either gotten a hit or walked in the Huskers' first at bat of the game and has come around to score six times.

Walk-Off Winners
After scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth against Iowa on Sunday, April 8, to win the game, 9-8, and take the series from the Hawkeyes, 2-1, the Huskers have posted two walk-off wins this season.

Earlier this year at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., junior Rich Sanguinetti completed a ninth-inning comeback against New Mexico State with a two-run walk-off home run.

The two-run shot on Saturday, March 3, was the first home run of Sanguinetti's Husker career and polished off a four-run ninth inning to seal a victory.

Fresh Start for Scheff
After struggling through a sophomore season that saw him hit .220 with four doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI's in 43 games, Josh Scheffert went back to the drawing board this summer and worked on his swing.

The Lincoln native's hard work has paid off so far in 2012, as he is second on the team with a .376 average (32-for-85), while also producing eight doubles, four home runs and 21 RBI's.

Scheffert has also been solid in the field at both corners of the diamond. He has just three errors on the season in 153 chances.

Pat on the Back
Freshman Pat Kelly has made a quick transition to college pitching, as the Red Wing, Minn., sits third on the team with a .366 batting average and has a team-high slugging percentage of .634.

His biggest hit of the season came on Sunday against Iowa, as he blasted a triple to the center field wall that scored two Huskers to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Kelly then scored the winning run on a walk-off single by Kale Kiser.

Kelly has hit throughout the Husker lineup, totaling 26 hits in 71 at bats, including three doubles, two triples and four home runs, while driving in 19 runs and scoring another 15.

Kelly is even better with a teammate on base, hitting .444 on the season with 16 hits in 36 at-bats.

Cory Cuts Them Down
Catch Cory Burleson has been one of the most important cogs of the Husker defense this season with 15 runners caught stealing, which tops his season total of 14 from 2011.

The senior backstop has slowed down the opposition's running game, as team's have stolen just nine bases in 24 attempts (.375) this season, with two of the eight steals coming from Illinois on a double steal.

During Big Ten play, Burleson has thrown out six runners in 10 attempts.

Overall on the season, Indiana's Kyle Schwarber is the only catcher in the Big Ten with more runners thrown out than Burleson with 19, but Schwarber has the most steals allowed in the league with 30. Eight catchers in the Big Ten have allowed 15 or more steals on the year, including four who have allowed 20 or more.

Burleson has worked hard in the offseason to improve his game after allowing 26 steals in 40 attempts a year ago.

90 Feet Away
When the Huskers get a runner to third base with less than two outs, it has nearly been a lock during conference play that NU will score a run. In nine Big Ten games, NU posted 31 RBIs in 40 opportunities (.775).

Chad Christensen is 6-for-8 (.750) on the year and Kale Kiser is 5-for-6 (.833)

Overall on the year, the Huskers have driven in 76 runs in 116 chances (.655).

Home Sweet Hawks
The Nebraska baseball program is celebrating its 11th year at Hawks Field in 2012. The Huskers are 243-84-1 (.742) since opening the park on March 5, 2002 with a 23-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

Nebraska plays a total of 31 games at Hawks Field in 2012, and are 14-6 at Hawks Field after wrapping up a 2-1 series win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, April 8, with a ninth-inning comeback win.

RBI Machine
Chad Christensen has turned into a run producer this season with a team-high 35 RBI's in 34 games. Over his first two seasons at NU, Christensen had just 31 RBI's in 86 games.

Rich Sanguinetti isn't far behind Christensen with 30 RBI's, while four other Huskers have at least 20 RBI's on the year to give NU six players with 20+ RBI's on the season.

At the end of last season, only five Huskers had 20+ RBI's on the season, including a team-high 56 from Cody Asche. Other included Kash Kalkowski (42), Kurt Farmer (32), Bryan Peters (30) and Cory Burleson (21).

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.

Through April 8, the Huskers rank 78th nationally this season in HBP with 39. Kale Kiser leads the team and ranks 48th in the nation with 10 HBP, while Peters is next on the squad with seven.

Peters and Kiser continue to climb the Husker career chart in HBP and rank third and fourth, respectively.

Peters entered the year with 36, which tied him for fifth with Jake Mort (2005-09). Peters took over sole possession of third place on the career list with a HBP against Kansas State on Tuesday, March 6. It broke a three-way tie between Peters, Alex Gordon and Nick Sullivan. Peters enters Friday's game with 43 career HBP.

Kiser is right on Peters' heels with 42 career HBP after being hit twice in two at-bats against Northwestern last weekend.

DJ Belfonte (2007-10) sits second on the career list with 59 hit-by-pitches and Daniel Bruce (2002-05) holds the NU career record with 67 hit-by-pitches.

Bolt on Energy
The Husker offense has seen major improvement under the direction of Associate Head Coach Will Bolt.

Looking at NU's numbers through 34 games in 2011 and 2012, the Huskers have struck out 63 fewer times, walked 11 more times, produced 52 more hits, scored 45 more runs and are hitting 35 points higher as a team at .320.

Buy That Stock
Transfer Richard Stock has been a welcome addition to the Husker offense in 2012. The junior from Westlake Village, Calif., is hitting .360 on the year and leads the team in doubles (9) and ranks third in RBI's (26).

Stock has been even better during conference play with a team-high average of .429 (15-for-35) to rank fourth in the league.

Stock has produced three hits in a game five times this year and has six multi-RBI 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.

Small Ball
Even though the Huskers lead the Big Ten Conference with 28 home runs through April 8, Nebraska has also put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses with their bunting.

On the year, the Huskers have 23 bunt singles through 34 games. In 55 games a year ago, the Huskers had just 16 bunt singles all season.

Chad Christensen, who leads the team in both home runs (6) and RBI's (35), also leads the team with seven bunt singles in eight attempts. Michael Pritchard and Bryan Peters are next with four bunt singles each, while Cory Burleson, Kurt Farmer and Rich Sanguinetti each have two.

Overall, the Huskers are 23-for-30 (.767) when bunting for a base hit and also have 30 sacrifice bunts on the year, including a Big Ten-high 10 from Sanguinetti.

20-20
Senior Kale Kiser is tough on opposing pitchers with his great eye at the plate. During his career at Nebraska, Kiser has walked 87 times and struck out just 64 times. His 87 career walks rank 10th on the Huskers' all-time charts, while Joe Simokaitis is ninth (90) and Associate Head Coach Will Bolt ranks eighth (91).

Kiser is hitting just .207 on the season, but continues to get on base for the Huskers with a .419 on base percentage. His team-high 24 walks are second most in the Big Ten.

Pitcher's Best Friend
Through 34 games the Huskers have turned 32 double plays. NU is on pace to turn just over 52 double plays this season after only converting 35 a year ago.

Tough With Two
The Huskers have come up with clutch hits all season with two outs, as the team has 82 two-out RBI's. Leading the way is Chad Christensen, who  has driven in 16 of his team-leading 35 RBI's with two outs. Last season Christensen played in all 55 games and totaled just four two-out RBI's.

Juniors Richard Stock and Kash Kalkowski each also have double-digit two-out RBI's with 14 and 11, respectively.

In 55 games a year ago, All-American Cody Asche led the team with 16 two-out RBI's, while only three players had 10 or more on the year, including Asche, Kalkowski (14) and Bryan Peters (12).

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.

Eight Draftees on 2012 Roster
For the third straight year, Nebraska's 2012 roster boasts a total of eight Huskers who have been previously selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including Kash Kalkowski and Travis Huber, who have each been picked twice.

What a Fourth
The Huskers strongest inning this season has been the fourth, where they've outscored opponents 43-7. The Huskers didn't give up a run in the fourth inning until Illinois plated one run against the Huskers in the team's 25th game of the season on Saturday, March 24.

Looking at just the first eight innings of a game, Nebraska has outscored or their opponents this season in every inning but the first, where they have just 16 runs on the year, while giving up 17.

In the first three innings of the game the Huskers hold a slim 79-60 advantage in runs, but have destroyed opponent pitching their second time through the order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with a 105-42 advantage.

In the seventh and eighth innings the Huskers kept up the pressure and hold a 60-36 advantage, including 40 runs in the eighth alone.

Huskers Across the Country
The 2012 Huskers hale from 12 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
Illinois - 1
Minnesota - 1
Missouri - 1
South Dakota - 1
Utah - 1

Chicks Dig It
After hitting 30 home runs in 55 games last season, led by Cody Asche's 12 home runs, the Huskers have nearly matched that total with 28 home runs through the first 34 games of 2012.