Huskers Renew Rivalry with Texas

Friday, March 27 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Sinclair (3-3) vs. RHP French (2-1)
TV: NET
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, March 28 (2:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP Kubat (4-0) vs. Clemens (2-1)
TV: BTN
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN2Go
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, March 29 (12:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (3-1) vs. Hollingsworth (3-1)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - This weekend the Nebraska baseball team (18-7, 3-0 Big Ten) will host the No. 16 Texas Longhorns (17-8, 5-1 Big 12) at Hawks Field for the first time since 2011, when both teams were still members of the Big 12 Conference. This weekend’s series, which opens on Friday night at 6:35 p.m., will mark the second series between the two teams since the Huskers left for the Big Ten Conference following the 2011 season, as the Huskers made a trip to Austin for a three-game series in 2013.

During the 15 years from 1997 to 2011 that both teams were in the Big 12, the Huskers and Longhorns were league’s top two teams, combining to win 10 (Texas - 7, Nebraska - 3) regular-season titles and eight tournament titles (four each).  The teams also combined for 10 appearances at the College World Series.

Two of Nebraska’s home series with Texas rank among the top five in conference series attendances at Hawks Field - the 2005 series ranks third with an attendance of 22,595 and the 2007 series ranks fourth at 21,898.

Both teams enter the series playing good baseball, as the Huskers are 9-1 over their past 10 games, while the Longhorns have posted a 8-2 record. The Huskers are in the backend of a 16-game homestand and have posted a 11-1 record over the first 12 games of the stretch.

The Longhorns are just 5-5 away from Austin this season. In two road series the Longhorns are 4-4, as they went 2-2 at both Rice and Stanford. UT’s other two road games were midweek contests in the state of Texas, including a win at Texas State and a loss at UT Arlington.

Senior Chance Sinclair will get the ball for the Huskers on Friday night and will look to win his third straight start following wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Michigan. The third-team preseason All-American has gone at least 6.0 innings in each of his last three starts and has 10 strikeouts to two walks. The Longhorns are scheduled to counter with senior Parker French, who started against the Huskers on Friday night two years ago in Austin. The 6-2 Dripping Springs, Texas, native enters Friday with a 2-1 record and a 1.69 ERA in six starts. As a sophomore in 2012, French earned the win after allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts over 6.1 innings in a 8-2 Texas victory.

Senior Kyle Kubat will climb the hill on Saturday and will be in search of 20th career victory. Kubat is coming off a win over Michigan where he struck out a career-high nine batters and is now 4-0 on the year with a 1.60 ERA. UT is scheduled to start sophomore Kacy Clemens, son of seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens. The 6-2 right hander is 2-1 on the year with a 4.68 ERA in six appearances, including five starts. Over 25.0 innings, Clemens has struck out 11, but walked 13. Clemens started 63 games at first base last season as a freshman and didn’t make an appearance on the mound.

Sunday’s pitching matchup is scheduled to be Nebraska’s Derek Burkamper against Texas’ Chad Hollingsworth. Burkamper is 3-1 on the year and the sophomore has gone at least 5.0 innings in each of his five starts this season. Hollingsworth is also 3-1 on the year with a 2.97 ERA in five starts, with 12 strikeouts to eight walks in 30.1 innings. Hollingsworth earned the win in the second game between the Huskers and Longhorns in 2013, as he got the last out of the top of the ninth before the Longhorns posted a walk-off win in the bottom of the frame.

On the Radio
Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln - and live on Huskers.com, the Official Husker App or the TuneIn Radio App.

TV Coverage
Friday’s game will be shown statewide on NET, and it will also be streamed online on BTN Plus (subscription required). Saturday’s game will be shown nationwide on the Big Ten Network.

Web Streams
Friday’s and Sunday’s games will be streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required), while Saturday’s game will be shown on BTN2Go.

Experienced Lefty
Senior Kyle Kubat has six starts under his belt in 2015 and enters his start on Saturday against Texas with 34 career starts on the mound, which ranks 11th all time at Nebraska. The lefty from Waterloo, Neb., started eight games in each of his first two seasons at NU before making 12 starts last year.

Kubat will tie Tony Watson (2005-07) and Cliff Faust (1977-80) for ninth on the career list when he makes his 35th career start.

If Kubat starts at least 12 games in 2015 he will become the first Husker since Johnny Dorn to make at least 40 career starts. Dorn ranks second all-time at Nebraska with 58 career starts from 2000 to 2003.

Since 2000, only four pitchers at Nebraska have made at least 40 career starts, including Shane Komine (59), Dorn (58), Jamie Rodrigue (53) and Zach Kroenke (41).

Going for 20
Senior Kyle Kubat improved to 19-3 during his career last Saturday in 5-1 victory over Michigan.

Kubat is now trying to become just the 11th player in program history to notch 20 wins during their career.

If Kubat reaches 20 wins, he would tie Zach Kroenke (2003-05) and Jim Sandstedt (1946-49) for ninth place in the NU’s career record book.

Shane Komine holds the school record for wins with 41 during his career from 1999 to 2002.

Confidence in the Pen
During Darin Erstad’s tenure at Nebraska, the Husker bullpen has done its job when it has a lead.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 94-11 since 2012 when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 97-6 when leading after seven innings and nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 106-4 record.

Year  Lead after 6     After 7      After 8

2012              31-5         29-3          31-2

2013              20-3         25-2          28-1

2014              28-3         27-1          31-1

2015              15-0         16-0          16-0

Keep Them on Base
The Husker bullpen has inherited 36 runners this season and only six have scored. Junior Jeff Chesnut leads the way with 14 runners inherited, and only one has scored.

192 and Counting
After Michael Pritchard and Pat Kelly each joined Nebraska’s 200-hit club last season, senior Austin Darby is eight hits away from becoming the program’s 23rd member.

If he joins the club, Darby would be the fourth Husker to join over the past three seasons, as Chad Christensen ended his career with 247 hits in 2013.

Prior to Christensen, Jake Opitz was the last Husker to join the club in 2008.

Matt Hopper holds the school record with 338 career hits and is one of just two players in school history to have topped 300 hits.

NU 200-Career Hit Club

1.   338    Matt Hopper      2000-03

2.   305    Jeff Leise          2000-03

3.   281    Will Bolt            1999-02

4.   261    Darin Erstad      1993-95

5.   251    Michael Pritchard 2011-14

6.   250    Paul Meyers      1984-86

7.   249    Joe Simokaitis  2002-05

8.   248    Jed Dalton        1992-95

9.   247    Chad Christensen 2010-13

10. 246    Darin Petersen   1992-95

11. 242    Mark Kister        1985-87

12. 240    Alex Gordon      2003-05

13. 238    DJ Belfonte       2007-10

14. 234    Todd Sears       1995-97

15. 231    Daniel Bruce      2002-05

16. 229    Ken Ramos       1987-89

17. 227    Jake Opitz         2005-08

18. 223    Curtis Ledbetter 2003-05

19. 222    John Cole         1999-01

20. 212    Pat Kelly           2012-14

21. 203    Ken Harvey       1997-99

22. 201    Francis Collins   1995-97

Like Your Chances with Sinclair
Even though Chance Sinclair has taken three losses this season, after losing just one game last season, fans should feel confident with him on the mound Friday night.

A third-team All-American and unanimous first-team All-Big Ten performer last season, Sinclair has a career record of 15-4, including a perfect 7-0 record during Big Ten play following a win over Michigan last weekend.

During his career, the right-hander has gone 6.0 or more innings in 16 of his 22 starts, including 11 outings of at least 7.0 innings or more, including a 9.0-inning complete game against Ohio State in 2014.

Last season in eight starts during league play, Sinclair went less than 6.0 innings just once, while going at least 7.0 innings six times.

Early Leads
After scoring just 38 first-inning runs last season in 62 games, the Huskers have gotten their starting pitchers leads early and often in 2015.

Through 25 games, the Huskers are outscoring the opposition 40-16 in the first inning of games this season.

Last season the Huskers outscored their opponents 123-95 in the first three innings of games, while this year NU holds a commanding 55-18 advantage.

Tanner Heating Up
Tanner Lubach didn’t get off to the start he wanted in his senior year, going 0-for-18 to start the season. Lubach broke the dry spell with a double that nearly left the park against BYU on Saturday, Feb. 21.

In his 15 games since, Lubach is hitting .370 (20-for-54) with three doubles, two home runs and seven multi-hit performances. Over the last 10 games, Lubach ranks second on the team with a .370 average.

More importantly, Lubach has struck out six times over his past 15 games, after notching nine strikeouts through his first six games of the season.

Cruise with Chesnut
Not only does Omaha native Jeff Chesnut have one of the best mustaches in college baseball, but he has also been nearly flawless out of the bullpen in 2015.

Chesnut is 3-0 on the year and holds a 1.00 ERA over 18.0 innings in a team-high 12 appearances. He has allowed two runs on the year, with 11 strikeouts to two walks.

Miller’s Time
Sophomore Ben Miller has been a key cog in NU’s offense this season. A left-handed hitter from Clive, Iowa, Miller is tied with Blake Headley for the team lead in RBIs with 23 in 25 games, 10 more than the 13 RBIs he totaled in 29 starts last season.

Miller and Headley are tied for third in the Big Ten in RBIs behind Maryland’s Jose Cuas (26) and Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti (25).

Over the past 10 games Miller leads the team with a .395 average, while adding five doubles and one triple.

Topping 100
Senior Austin Darby is three RBIs away from becoming the 44th Husker since 1986 to notch 100 RBIs for their career.

With a team-high tying 23 RBIs so far in 2015, Blake Headley (81 career RBIs) also has a chance to join the club this year, needing 19 more RBIs in 2015. Headley produced a career-high 27 RBIs last season.

Pat Kelly joined the club last year and ended his three-year career with 125 RBIs, while Michael Pritchard fell four RBIs short of 100 career RBIs.

Matt Hopper is the only Husker to ever top the 200-RBI mark, with a school-record 271 career RBIs.

Howell Dialed in
After struggling with control in his first two seasons, Colton Howell has found the zone in 2015 and has been a terror to opposing batters late in games. The junior right hander has notched 15 strikeouts in 14.0 innings over 11 appearances, while walking only two batters.

Last season, Howell struck out 19, but walked 10 over 19.2 innings after recording 12 walks to nine strikeouts as a freshman in 2013.