Huskers Visit Texas for Houston College Classic

Texas A&M | Friday, March 6 – 3:35 p.m. (CT) 
Probable Starters: RHP Sinclair (1-2) vs. LHP Minter (2-0)
TV: ROOT Sports Southwest
Stream: Free Radio (Huskers.com) | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Hawaii | Saturday, March 7 – 12:05 p.m. (CT)
Probable Starters: LHP Kubat (1-0) vs. RHP Brashears (2-1)
TV: ROOT Sports Southwest
Stream: Free Radio (Huskers.com) | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

LSU | Sunday, March 8 – 11:05 a.m. (CT)
Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (1-0)  vs. RHP Godfrey (2-0)
TV: ROOT Sports Southwest & Cox Sports
Stream: Free Radio (Huskers.com) | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Huskers Continue Road Swing with Trip to Houston
Following a 2-1 series victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions in Los Angeles, the Nebraska baseball team (6-4, 0-0 Big Ten) heads back on the road for the fourth straight weekend with a trip to Houston, Texas, for the Houston College Classic. One of the premier tournaments of the college baseball season, the event is held at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.

Nebraska will be joined in Houston this weekend by Texas A&M, Baylor, LSU, Houston and Hawaii, but will not play Houston or Baylor.

The Huskers have a tough slate this weekend, starting on Friday afternoon at 3:35 p.m. when they take on undefeated and No. 14 nationally-ranked Texas A&M (13-0, 0-0 SEC). It will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2011, when they were both members of the Big 12 Conference.

Senior Chance Sinclair is scheduled to start the opener and will look to snap a two-game losing streak after posting a 10-1 record last season.

Nebraska and Hawaii then open the second day of the tournament on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. The Rainbow Warriors hold a 15-7 advantage over the Huskers all-time, but this will be the first time the two teams have ever met in the Continental United States.

Senior Kyle Kubat is scheduled to get the ball on Saturday. The lefty is 1-0 on a year and has gone at least 7.0 innings in each of his last two starts.

The Huskers wrap up the tournament on Sunday at 11:05 a.m. against the No. 7 nationally-ranked LSU Tigers (11-1, 0-0 SEC), the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Sophomore Derek Burkamper is scheduled to start on Sunday for the second straight weekend and is coming off his best outing as a Husker. Last Sunday against Loyola Marymount, Burkamper allowed only two hits and one walk over 7.0 innings of work, while striking out five.

Fans interested in attending the Houston College Classic can buy tickets in advance through the Houston Astros. Single-day and tournament passes are available.

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
ROOT Sports Southwest will carry all nine games of the Houston College Classic. Cox Sports will also carry all of LSU’s games, including Sunday’s game between the Huskers and Tigers.

Web Streams
None of the games this weekend will be streamed.

Head of the Class
Two-time All-Big Ten performer Blake Headley has totaled 13 RBIs in the first 10 games of the season, setting a pace for 72.8 RBIs in 2015. That number though would not crack the top-10 single-season record book at Nebraska, as current Head Coach Darin Erstad holds the No. 10 spot with 76 RBIs in 1995.

Hitting in the No. 4 spot behind Ryan Boldt, who is hitting a team-best .459 on the season, Headley has taken advantage of runners on base. The Omaha native is hitting .800 with runners in scoring position this season and has produced RBIs in five out of six opportunities with a runner on third base and less than two outs.

With 13 RBIs this season, Headley is nearly halfway to his career-best total of 27 RBIs set last season.

Pitcher’s Best Friend
Since 2012, the Huskers ranked 11th in the nation with 175 double plays turned, including 11 this season though 10 games. Mississippi State leads the nation since 2012 with 211 double plays.

Double Plays Since 2012

1.  Mississippi State 211

2.  Georgia Tech    200

3.  Southern Miss   196

4.  Arkansas          190

5.  Washington State 190

6.  Oregon State    189

7.  Florida State     183

8.  New Mexico      182

9.  Tulane              180

10. Fresno State     177

11. Nebraska          175

Turning the Corner
Tanner Lubach didn’t get off to the start he wanted in his senior year, going 0-for-18 to start to the season.

Lubach broke the dry spell with a double that nearly left the park against BYU on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Since the double against the Cougars, Lubach is hitting .428 (6-for-14) with a home run and a pair of multi-hit games.

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

Banking on Boldt
Sophomore outfielder Ryan Boldt has been on an offensive tear to start the season, posting a .459 (17-for-37) average through 10 games with two-doubles, one triple and a team-high 10 runs scored.

Slotted third in the Husker lineup, Boldt already has one Big Ten Player of the Week (Feb. 23) award this season. His approach at the plate has been tough on opposing pitchers, with only three strikeouts to five walks. Boldt has posted an on-base percentage of .512.

Last season, Boldt was named the No. 2 freshman in country by Baseball America, while also earning All-Big Tournament and NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors, as well as Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America accolades.

23 Hits to Go
After Michael Pritchard and Pat Kelly each joined Nebraska 200-hit club last season, senior Austin Darby is 23 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 2001-14

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

Young Guns
Through 10 games this season the Huskers have seen six freshmen pitchers take the mound. The six newcomers have combined for 18.1 innings of work over 12 relief appearances.

The six freshmen have shown early success as well, as five of them have yet to allow a run, while the group holds an ERA of 0.50..

Over the past three seasons combined the Huskers had a total of nine freshmen see time on the mound, including three in 2012, two in 2013 and four in 2014.

Aggie Staff Tied to Huskers
Friday will be somewhat of a reunion when the Huskers and Aggies meet.

All three of Texas A&M’s coaches have ties to Nebraska. Aggie Head Coach Rob Childress was an assistant coach at Nebraska from 1998 to 2003, where he coached his two assistants, Justin Seely and Will Bolt.

Bolt, who was an assistant at Nebraska for the past three seasons, was a four-year starter at Nebraska from 1999 to 2002 and was a member of Nebraska’s first two College World Series teams. Bolt was also a volunteer assistant on NU’s 2005 College World Series team.

Seely transferred to Nebraska after two seasons at Northeast Texas CC, he went on to play on NU’s College World Series teams in 2001 and 202. Seely was also a volunteer assistant at Nebraska in 2006 and 2007.

Close the Door
After playing his freshman season at Louisburg College in North Carolina, Josh Roeder joined the Huskers in 2013 and helped solidify the back end of NU’s bullpen.

During the 2013 season, Roeder saw most of his action in a setup role to Dylan Vogt, but did collect six saves. Roeder took over the closer role in 2014 and saved 12 games.

With three saves in three chances this season, Roeder enters Friday’s game against Texas A&M ranked second in NU history with 21 career saves and needs 11 more saves in 2015 to break Brett Jensen’s school record of 31 saves.

Veteran Group
Nebraska’s senior class includes eight members who all played a role in Nebraska’s return to the NCAA Tournament last season.

The eight member class is made up of five position players who have combined for 443 starts, while three pitchers have made 103 combined appearances, including 50 starts.

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 82-11 since 2012 when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 84-6 when leading after seven innings and nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 93-4 record.

Welcome Home
After one season at Hutchinson CC, sophomore infielder Jake Schleppenbach returned to Lincoln to play for the Huskers.

The Pius X graduate has been a welcome addition to the 2015 squad, as he has filled a defensive hole at second base left by Pat Kelly and he ranks second on the team with a .361 (13-for-36) batting average.

Schleppenbach hit in the bottom third of the lineup over the first six games of the year, before moving to the leadoff spot in on Saturday, Feb. 21, a 9-1 win over BYU. The sophomore made the most his opportunity with a 3-for-5 performance and a pair of runs scored.

Since moving to the leadoff spot, Schleppenbach has scored six runs in four games.

Experienced Lefty
Senior Kyle Kubat has three starts under his belt in 2015 and enters his start on Saturday against Hawaii with 31 career starts on the mound, which ranks 13th all-time at Nebraska. The lefty from Waterloo, Neb., started eight games in each of his first two seasons before making 12 starts last year.

His 32nd career start on Saturday will tie him for 11th on the career list with Joba Chamberlain (2005-06) and Patrick Leinen (1987-89).

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).