No. 18 Huskers Host Creighton, Visit Mavericks

Tuesday, March 30 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP King (2-0) vs. LHP Albrecht (1-1)
TV: NET World (previously NET-2)
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Wednesday, April 1 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Engelken (1-0) vs. TBA
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - The No. 18 Nebraska baseball team (21-7, 3-0 Big Ten) is set to finish its 16-game homestand on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. when the Creighton Bluejays (15-7, 0-0 Big East) visit Hawks Field for the first of three  meetings between the two programs in 2015. The Huskers are 15-1 on the homestand, with the only loss coming last Wednesday to Cal State Fullerton, 4-3. The Huskers then head east on I-80 to Werner Park, home of the Omaha Storm Chasers, on Wednesday for a 6:35 p.m. showdown with the Omaha Mavericks (13-11, 6-3 Summit).

The Huskers come into the game fresh off a three-game sweep of then No. 16 Texas and NU is 9-1 in its last 10 games. The Jays have been playing great baseball as well, as they are also 9-1 over their last 10 games, and ride a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday. The Jays have played well on the road this season, posting a 7-4 record, with two of the losses coming in New Orleans to Tulane.

On Wednesday, the Huskers will play their first game away from Hawks Field since March 8 and will take on a Maverick squad that is 8-1 this season in Omaha. Wednesday will be the first game this season the Mavericks play at Werner Park, as they have played three games at Millard North High School and six games at the Ballpark at Boys Town. The Mavs are set to play 18 of their 23 games at the Ballpark at Boys Town in 2015, while their games against Nebraska and Kansas State will be played at Werner Park.

Freshman Garett King is scheduled to start against the Jays on Tuesday night. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., native has gone at least 5.0 innings in each of his past two starts, including a season-long 5.1 innings last week in a win over Cal State Fullerton. King also struck out a season-high five Titans last week, while walking none.

The Jays are scheduled to start sophomore Jeff Albrecht, who is 1-1 on the year with a 1.80 ERA in six appearances, including three starts. The Creighton Prep product was worked 20.0 innings, with 13 strikeouts and eight walks. Albrecht started against the Huskers last season on April 8 at TD Ameritrade Park and went 5.1 innings in a no decision. The lefty limited the Huskers to one run on five hits and three walks, while striking out five, in a game the Huskers came back to win 4-2.

Freshman Zack Engelken is set to start for the Huskers on Wednesday at Werner Park and will be looking to rebound off a season-low 1.1 inning start against Cal State Fullerton last Wednesday. Engelken struggled with command early, giving up two hits and three walks. In his previous start against Indiana State on March 18, Engelken struck out five and didn’t issue a walk over 4.1 innings.

The Mavs have yet to announce a starter for Wednesday.

On the Radio
Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the game on Tuesday, while Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action on Wednesday 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
Tuesday’s game will be shown statewide on NET World (previously NET-2), and it will also be streamed online on BTN Plus (subscription required). Fans should check with their cable or satellite provider for channel number. NET World is channel 17 on Time Warner in Lincoln and channel 16 on Cox in Omaha. It is not carried by DirecTV or Dish Network.

Web Streams
Tuesday’s game will be carried on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Rack Up the Wins
The Huskers enter Tuesday with a 21-7 record and have a chance to win 22 games before the end of the month of March. The Huskers also won 21 games during the first two months of the season in 2008, while the last time NU won 22 games before the start of April was in 2005 when they started the season 22-3.

Three or Less
In 23 of Nebraska’s 28 games this season the Husker pitching staff has allowed three runs or less.

The Huskers are 21-2 when holding the opposition to three runs or less, but are 0-5 on the year when teams score four or more runs.

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 96-11 since 2012 when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 99-6 when leading after seven innings and nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 108-4 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              17-0         18-0          18-0

Keep Them on Base
The Husker bullpen has inherited 38 runners this season and only six have scored.

Junior Jeff Chesnut leads the way with 16 runners inherited, and only one has scored. Fellow junior Colton Howell has inherited seven runs and none have scored.

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 28 games, the Huskers are outscoring the opposition 29-8 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 61-18 advantage.

197 and Counting
After Michael Pritchard and Pat Kelly each joined Nebraska’s 200-hit club last season, senior Austin Darby is three 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

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

With a team-high tying 24 RBIs so far in 2015, Blake Headley (82 career RBIs) also has a chance to join the club this year, needing 18 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.

Husker Nation Packs the Park
During NU’s 16-game homestand, Husker Nation has once again shown why they are best fans in the country. Fans have set two of the top three marks for attendance during a non-conference series at Hawks Field.

Fans posted a three-day attendance of 17,083 during NU’s series with Florida Gulf Coast, which easily broke the previous facility record of 14,885 for a non-conference series at Hawks Field. Then this past weekend 14,866 fans came out over three days during NU’s series with Texas, setting the mark for the third-largest non-conference attendance mark in facility history. 

During the first 15 games on NU’s 16-game homestand the Huskers have posted an attendance mark of 58,845 (avg. 3,923). Last season over 25 dates the Huskers posted a home attendance of 81,044 (avg. 3,241).

This season, Nebraska holds the the top 10 single-game attendance marks in the Big Ten, and 12 of the top 15 marks, with Indiana holding the other three spots.

Keep Hanging Zeros
On Saturday, March 28, four Husker pitchers combined for a 15-inning shutout of the Texas Longhorns that also included a mid-game 9.0 inning no hitter.

Starter Kyle Kubat, along with relievers Jake Hohensee, Colton Howell and Jeff Chesnut limited the Longhorns to four hits and three walks on the day, while piling up 19 strikeouts. It was the most strikeouts by a Husker staff since 2009 when NU notched 22 punch outs in a 15 inning game against Louisiana-Lafayette.

After the Longhorns produced three hits through the first three innings, they then didn’t record another hit until Ben Johnson led off the 14th with a single. Texas totaled just seven base runners and had a runner in scoring position only twice all game.

The feat is tied for the longest shutout this season, as USC and Washington each also tossed 15 shutout against each other in a game USC won, 3-2, in 16 innings. The game took place on the same day the Huskers notched their 15-innings shutout.

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 18 games since, Lubach is hitting .324 (22-for-58) with three doubles, two home runs and eight multi-hit performances.

More importantly, Lubach has struck out eight times over his past 18 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 4-0 on the year and holds a 0.89 ERA over 20.1 innings in a team-high-tying 13 appearances. He has allowed two runs on the year, with 13 strikeouts to two walks.

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 21 strikeouts in 17.0 innings over 13 appearances, while walking only six 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.

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 ranks second on the team with 23 RBIs and enters Tuesday with a nine-game hitting streak and an 19-game on-base streak.

Over the past 10 games Miller leads the team with a .333 average, while adding four doubles.