Huskers Open Big Ten Play at Purdue

Friday, March 25 (5:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (1-1) vs. RHP Lutz (1-0)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, March 26 (1 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP McSteen (1-0) vs. RHP Bryant (0-1)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, March 27 (Noon)
Probable Starters: RHP Matt Waldron (3-1) vs. RHP Andrews (0-3)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

With 10 wins in its last 11 games, including a two-game sweep of Indiana State earlier this week, the Nebraska baseball team (13-7 0-0 Big Ten) opens its Big Ten schedule on Friday with the first game of a three-game series against the Purdue Boilermakers (4-14, 0-0 Big Ten) in West Lafayette, Ind.

Friday will be the Big Ten opener for both teams and the Boilermakers lead the all-time series, 9-7. Friday will mark the fourth time the two teams have met for a league series since the Huskers joined the Big Ten prior to the 2012 season. The only year they didn’t meet during league play was during the 2014 season. Purdue took 2-of-3 in Lincoln last year, while the Huskers last visited Alexander Field in 2013 and swept a three-game series.

Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (CT), while Saturday’s game is set for 1 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is scheduled for Noon.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers
Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call all the action on the Husker Sports Network this week, including on Huskers.com and the Official Husker App.

All three games this weekend can be heard in Lincoln on 1400 AM and in Omaha on 590 AM. Every game is also scheduled to be carried on TuneIn Radio.

Saturday’s game at Purdue is scheduled to be carried on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Longball
Nebraska’s home run totals are up in a big way this year, as they have hit 23 in 20 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season.

Eight different players have hit a home run this season, including a team-high six from Scott Schreiber, five from Jake Placzek and four from Ben Miller. Entering Friday, Placzek has homered in each of the last three games. Miller and Tanner Lubach tied for the team lead last season with four each.

Nebraska already has eight multi-homer games this season after notching two all of last year.

The Huskers did change equipment prior to this season, as the team is swinging adidas bats this year after using Rawlings bats each of the last four years.

Get a Lead for the Bullpen
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 115-15 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 121-8 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 130-4 record.

The last time the Huskers lost a game when leading going into the ninth inning was March 21, 2014, in Iowa City, Iowa. The Huskers held a 1-0 leading going into the bottom of the ninth, but the Hawkeyes rallied for a 2-1 walk-off victory.

Big Ben
Junior Ben Miller enters Friday with a team-high .378 batting average, with five doubles, four home runs and 16 RBIs. He has a team-high 12 multi-hit games in 2016, including a pair of three-hit performances

Slotted as the Huskers’ No. 3 hitter in 18 of the first 20 games, opposing pitchers have not been able to pitcher around Miller with slugger Scott Schreiber hitting behind him.

After failing to reach base in the first game of the season, Miller has reached in all 19 games since. If he reaches on Friday, it would set a career high.

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 25 bases in its first 20 games, an average of 1.25 per game. Last year the Huskers totaled 40 stolen bases in 57 games, an average of 0.7 stolen bases per game.

Count on Chesnut
Senior Jeff Chesnut enters Friday with 73 career appearances, including 31 last season. His 31 appearances in 2015 are tied for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

With 11 appearances in 2016, Chesnut needs one more appearances to tie Zach Herr (1994-97) for seventh place on NU’s career list.

Steve Hale holds the school record with 87 career appearances from 1999-2003.

Career Appearances
1. 87 Steve Hale 1999-03
2. 82 Casey Hauptman 2008-11
3. 80 Brett Jensen 2004-06
4. 79 Dylan Vogt 2010-13
5. 78 Erik Bird 2006-09
78 Jeff Anderson 1981-84
7. 74 Zach Herr 2006-08
8. 73 Jonas Armenta 1994-97
73 Jeff Chesnut 2013-present
10. 70 Jarod Bearinger 1996-99
70 John Lepley 1985-88

Hit the Road
For the third time in four season the Huskers will open Big Ten play on the road. In 2013 Nebraska took 2-of-3 at Illinois to start the year and then lost 2-of-3 at Iowa in 2014. Last season Nebraska opened league play at home against Michigan and swept the Wolverines.

Filthy Freshman
After career saves holder Josh Roeder graduated last year, the Huskers needed to find a new closer. It wasn’t a problem early on, as the Huskers didn’t have a save opportunity during the first 13 games of the year.

That changed on Saturday, March 12, when the Huskers entered the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead and NU went to freshman Chad Luensmann. The 6-4 right hander worked a scoreless ninth for his first career save. The Huskers then had a 5-4 lead the following day and with a four-game sweep on the line, NU again went to Luensmann, who tossed a 1-2-3 inning against the top of Loyola Marymount’s lineup.

On the season, Luensmann has thrown 13.1 innings over eight appearances and is yet to allow an earned run. He has given up seven hits and walked three, while striking out nine.

McSteen Back on the Mound
Jake McSteen was issued a medical hardship in 2015 after he had season-ending shoulder surgery following the third week of the regular season.

A redshirt freshman this season, McSteen has had a prominent role on the pitching staff, as will make his third straight weekend start on Saturday.

The lefty has a 2.61 ERA over 20.2 innings of work, and has allowed six runs on 19 hits and five walks while striking out 11.

Last week against Wichita State he went a career-high 5.0 shutout innings.

Boldt Keeps Hitting
Ryan Boldt broke onto the collegiate scene as a freshman in 2014 with a .311 average and 74 hits. He avoided a sophomore slump in 2015 by hitting .344 with 75 hits.

Entering the Friday, Boldt is hitting .303 (27-for-89) with eight multi-hit games, including five games with three-hits.

Boldt needs 24 more hits this season to become the 24th player in school history with 200 career hits.

Just a junior, Boldt would be just the 15th player to reach the mark in three seasons, and the first since his cousin, Pat Kelly, notched 212 hits from 2012-14.

Other Huskers who have reached 200 or more hits in three seasons include: Darin Erstad (261), Paul Meyers (250), Matt Hooper (249), Mark Kister (242), Alex Gordon (240), Todd Sears (234), Ken Ramos (229), Curtis Ledbetter (223), John Cole (222), Jeff Leise (217), Pat Kelly (212), Will Bolt (205), Ken Harvey (203), Francis Collins (201).

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. 226 Austin Darby 2012-15
19. 223 Curtis Ledbetter 2003-05
20. 222 John Cole 1999-01
21. 212 Pat Kelly 2012-14
22. 203 Ken Harvey 1997-99
23. 201 Francis Collins 1995-97

-- 176 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present

Placzek’s Power
Senior Jake Placzek entered 2016 with one career home run in 328 at bats over 110 games, including 88 starts. In 61 at bats this season Placzek has exploded for five home runs, including homers in each of the last three games entering Friday.

Placzek has also roped eight doubles and driven in 17 runs, already topping the 14 RBIs he had last season. The La Vista, Neb., native also had eight doubles in 2014 and drove in 25 runs.

Draft History
Eight members of the 2016 Husker baseball team have previously been drafted:

Luis Alvarado - 2014 (Boston Red Sox, 33rd Round)
Ryan Boldt - 2013 (Boston Red Sox, 22nd Round)
Derek Burkamper - 2013 (Boston Red Sox, 20th Round)
Sean Chandler - 2015 (Milwaukee Brewers, 32nd Round)
Colton Howell - 2015 (San Diego Padres, 27th Round)
Garett King - 2014 (New York Mets, 36th Round)
Chad Luensmann - 2015 (New York Mets, 39th Round)
Jesse Wilkening - 2015 (Arizona Diamondbacks, 28th Round)

Meyers Makes an Impact
After seeing a majority of his time on the mound as a freshman in 2015, sophomore Jake Meyers has been making a name for himself at the plate in 2016.

Meyers enters Friday with a .321 batting average, five doubles, four stolen bases and a team-high four triples. He has made one appearance on the mound in 2016, his first career start against Northern Colorado on March 9.

Meyers made 16 appearances out of the bullpen last year and was 3-1 with a 2.38 ERA over 34.0 innings. He ended the year with 10.1 scoreless innings.

In the field he made 12 appearances, including six starts, and hit .167 (3-for-18) with no extra-base hits and two RBIs.

Meyers is the son of Nebraska 1986 first-team All-American Paul Meyers, who was taken in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB Draft by San Francisco.

New Blood on the Mound
Multiple newcomers have seen time on the mound through 20 games. Out of the 18 pitchers that have seen time this season, nine are true or redshirt freshmen

The nine young arms have combined to throw 78.0 innings, including a team-high 26.0 innings from Matt Waldron. The nine newcomers have accounted for over 43% of Nebraska’s innings pitched.

Schreiber Finds His Stroke
Sophomore Scott Schreiber has been putting together quite the season so far in just 16 games played.

Schreiber is hitting .318 with 16 runs, five doubles, six home runs and 18 RBIs. In 40 games as a freshman last year, Schreiber hit .271 with 25 runs, two doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs.

With six home runs on the year, Schreiber already has more home runs than any Husker had in 57 games last season. Ben Miller and Tanner Lubach tied for the team lead last year with four each.

Schreiber’s older brother, Brad, was a pitcher at Purdue and is currently in the Tampa Bay Rays organization

Burkamper Bounce Back
After missing the first two weeks of the season, junior Derek Burkamper has made a three starts.

Burkamper was dominating Wichita State last week until the fifth inning. Burkamper cruised through the first four innings, extending his season scoreless streak to 16.0 innings. After retiring his eighth straight batter to start the fifth, the wheels then fell off for Burkamper when he couldn’t find the strike zone and he walked the bases loaded. Coming into the game Burkamper had never walked more than three batters in his previous 19 appearances, let alone three in one inning.

The Huskers went on to walk 17 Shockers on the night, the most walks by a NU pitching staff in at least 15 years.

Burkamper started against Purdue last year and was tagged for four runs on eight hits and no walks over 5.0 innings.