Huskers Host Jays Tuesday on BTN

Tuesday, March 29 (6:32 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP Knutson (0-0) vs. RHP Miller (0-0)
TV: BTN
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN2Go
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - Fresh off a 5-0 road trip that included a conference opening sweep at Purdue, the Nebraska baseball team (16-7 3-0 Big Ten) returns to Hawks Field on Tuesday night for a 6:32 p.m. meeting with the Creighton Bluejays (16-4, 0-0 Big East). It will be the first of three games between the two teams this year, with the final two games played at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.

The Huskers have been hot of late with 13 wins in their last 14 games, including a 9-1 record over their last 10 games. The Bluejays have been just as hot, as they enter Tuesday on a 10-game winning streak, with all 10 games coming at TD Ameritrade Park. Nebraska is 8-1 at Hawks Field this year, while the Bluejays are 6-4 on the road.

Nebraska has won the last six meetings in the series, with the Jays’ last victory coming on April 26, 2013. The Jays last won in Lincoln in 2010, when the pounded the Huskers, 13-5, on April 6, 2010.

Nebraska is scheduled to start junior left hander Max Knutson, who will be making his first start of the season. Knutson last started a game last season, when he threw 3.1 innings in a no decision against BYU on Feb. 21. Over 7.1 innings in eight relief appearances this season Knutson has been tough on batters with 13 strikeouts, but he has also had trouble finding the plate with 13 walks.

Creighton is scheduled to start senior right hander Connor Miller, who will make his ninth appearance of the year and his third start. In 17.0 innings this season Miller has held opponents to a .121 batting average and has allowed just two runs on seven hits and eight walks, while striking out 18.

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

Tuesday’s game can be heard in Lincoln on 1400 AM and in Omaha on 590 AM. The game is also scheduled to be carried on TuneIn Radio.

Tuesday’s game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network and will also be streamed live on BTN2Go. Kevin Kugler will call the game, while former Iowa baseball and football player Danan Hughes will provide color.

Double Digits
Nebraska has amassed double digit hits 14 times in 23 games this year and is 10-4 when reaching the mark.

Nebraska has reached double digit hits in each of its last five games, including a season-high 16 hits twice last weekend at Purdue.

Last season the Huskers totaled 10 or more hits 23 times in 57 games.

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 118-15 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 124-8 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 133-4 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.

Longball
Nebraska’s home run totals are up in a big way this year, as they have hit 26 in 23 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season.

Nebraska last topped 30 home runs in a season in 2012, when they hit 47.

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

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

Nebraska is 12-4 on the year when they hit a home run, with all four losses coming in the first four games where NU hit a homer.

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.

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 28 bases in its first 23 games, an average of 1.2 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 Tuesday ranked seventh all-time at Nebraska with 75 career appearances, including 31 last season. His 31 appearances in 2015 are tied for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

With 13 appearances in 2016, Chesnut needs three more appearances to tie Erik Bird (2006-09) and Jeff Anderson (1981-84) fifth 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. 75 Jeff Chesnut 2013-present
8. 74 Zach Herr 2006-08
9. 73 Jonas Armenta 1994-97
10. 70 Jarod Bearinger 1996-99
70 John Lepley 1985-88

Score Early
In 23 games this year the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning 11 times, including eight times in their last 12 games.

The Huskers are 9-2 on the year when they score a run in the first inning.

Placzek’s Power
Senior Jake Placzek entered 2016 with one career home run in 328 at bats over 110 games, including 88 starts. In 71 at bats this season Placzek has exploded for six home runs, including four home runs over his last six games.

Placzek has also roped eight doubles and driven in 19 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.

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. Luensmann picked up his third save of the year when he closed out NU’s sweep clinching victory at Purdue, stranding the tying run at third base to end the game.

On the season, Luensmann has a 0.52 ERA and didn’t allow an earned run until his 10th appearance of the season. In 17.1 innings of work opponents are hitting .155 off the right hander from Altoona, Pa.

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.

Following a nine-hit weekend at Purdue, Boldt is hitting .343 (36-for-105) in 2016 with 11 multi-hit games, including eight games with three-hits.

Boldt needs 15 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

-- 185 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present

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)

Home Sweet Hawks
The Nebraska baseball team is celebrating its 15th season at Hawks Field in 2016. Since playing their first game at the park in 2002, the Huskers have posted a 309-110-1 (.737) record at the facility entering, including a 8-1 record this season.

The Huskers notched a .778 winning percentage at home last year, the highest home winning percentage since 2008 when Nebraska posted a .843 winning percentage with a 29-5-1 record.

Nebraska has won 60% or more of its home games 12 times over the past 14 seasons, including each of the past six seasons. NU’s worst home season came in 2009 when the Huskers posted a 16-14 record (.533).

Reveles Returns
Steven Reveles was 16 games into his senior season in 2015 when he broke his finger attempting a bunt against Michigan on March 20. The shortstop ended up missing the rest of the season and was granted a medical hardship, giving him another shot at his senior year in 2016.

To be eligible for a medical hardship Reveles needed to have played in no more than 30% of NU’s regular-season games for the year and it had to take place in the first half of the season. Reveles’ game total was 29.1%, if he had played in one more game he would have went over 30% and would not have been eligible to apply for a medical hardship.

Reveles has been a welcome return in 2016, as he has started 22 of NU’s 23 games and is hitting .275 with three doubles, four home run and 15 RBIs from the No. 9 hole in the lineup.

Reveles hit a walk-off home run against Loyola Marymount on March 11 and hit a grand slam against Indiana State on March 22.

Big Ben
Junior Ben Miller enters Tuesday eighth in the Big Ten with a with a team-high .385 batting average. The Clive, Iowa, native has seven doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs. He has a team-high 14 multi-hit games in 2016, including a four three-hit performances

After failing to reach base in the first game of the season, Miller reached in a career-high 20 games before the streak was snapped on March 26 at Purdue.

Young Arms
The Huskers have had a youth movement on the mound this year, with multiple newcomers have seen time on the mound through 23 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 94.0 innings, including a team-high 31.2 innings from Matt Waldron. The nine newcomers have accounted for over 45% of Nebraska’s innings pitched.