Husker Host Colonels at Hawks Field

Friday, April 22 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (3-1) vs. RHP Sinibaldi (4-3)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: HuskersNSide
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, April 23 (2:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP McSteen (2-1) vs. RHP Stapler (2-5)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, April 24 (1:05 p.m.)
Probable Starters: TBA vs. LHP Ernestine (2-2)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN Plus
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - The Nebraska baseball team (23-14, 7-5 Big Ten) takes a break from Big Ten play this weekend and will host a non-conference series against the Nicholls State Colonels (16-22, 7-11 Southland) at Hawks Field. Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., while Saturday’s game is set for 2:05 p.m. and the series wraps up on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

The Huskers and Colonels have previously met just once, with the meeting coming during the 1999 season. The two teams participated in the Marriott West Loop Invitational in Houston, Texas, and the Huskers won 10-2 on Friday, Feb. 19. Two-time first-team All-American Shane Komine was on the mound for the Huskers and the then freshman notched his first career win. Komine went on to win a school record 41 games during his Husker career.

The Huskers snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory in 11 innings at Kansas State and will look to continue its winning ways at home this weekend. Nebraska is 13-4 at Hawks Field this year, including weekend series wins over Loyola Marymount, Wichita State, Illinois and Northwestern.

Nicholls State is just 5-12 away from Thibodaux, La., this year, including a 4-10 record in true road games. The Colonels lost at Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday night, 4-3, but did take 2-of-3 at Incarnate Word two weekends ago.

The Colonels haven’t flashed much power this year with just three home runs, but they have gone gap-to-gap with 53 doubles and 11 triples. They have also been active on the bases with 55 stolen bases in 73 attempts, including a team high 12 from Ethan Valdez.

The Colonels’ pitching staff relies on Friday starter Justin Sinibaldi and Saturday starter Cole Stapler. Tabbed as the 2015 Southland Conference Pitcher, Sinibaldi has tossed a team high 65.0 innings over 10 appearances (nine starts) and has recorded three complete games. The senior right hander has struck out a team high 60 batters, while walking just 15.

Stapler has thrown 56.0 innings over 11 appearances (nine starts). He has struck out 31 and walked 11, but opponents are hitting .312 off the junior right hander

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

All three games can be heard in Lincoln on 1400 AM and in Omaha on 590 AM. The games are also scheduled to be carried on TuneIn Radio.

Friday’s series opener is scheduled to be video streamed on HuskersNSide (subscription required). Saturday and Sunday’s games will be video stream on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Good to Be Home
With a 4-6 record in their last 10 games, the Huskers are glad to be back at Hawks Field, where they are 13-4 this season. Prior to Tuesday’s extra-innings win at Kansas State, the Huskers had lost five straight and playing at home may be just want the team needs to get back on the winning track.

After Sunday’s finale against Nicholls State, the Huskers will play one of their toughest stretches of the year with eight straight games on road. NU plays at Creighton on Tuesday night and then visits Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Wednesday night for a meeting with the Kansas Jayhawks. NU finishes the road stretch with back-to-back Big Ten series at Rutgers and Michigan State.

On the flip side, the Huskers end the regular season with seven straight home games, including a midweek game against Omaha, and Big Ten series against Penn State and Indiana.

Walk this Way
As of Wednesday morning, senior Jake Placzek was tied for fourth nationally with 41 walks. Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti ranked second in the Big Ten and was tied for 14th nationally with 34 walks. UNC Aschville’s Pete Guy led the nation with 46 walks.

Adding in his five hit-by-pitch, Placzek leads the Huskers with an on-base percentage of .456

Placzek has accounted for just under 29% of NU’s 143 walks this year. Six other Huskers have drawn double digit walks in 2016, but none have more than 13 walks on the year.

Placzek has drawn multiple walks in 12 games entering Friday, including three walks in a game four times this year.

Placzek needs 21 more walks this year to tie Todd Sears (62 - 1997) for 10th place on NU’s single season walks list. Placzek has 97 career walks and needs 18 more walks in 2016 to enter NU’s career walks list. Rich King and Steve Stanicek are tied for 10th with 115 career walks.

Count on Chesnut
Senior Jeff Chesnut enters Friday ranked second all-time at Nebraska with 84 career appearances, including 22 this season and 31 last year. His 31 appearances in 2015 are tied for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

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

Career Appearances
1. 87 Steve Hale 1999-03
2. 84 Jeff Chesnut 2013-present
3. 82 Casey Hauptman 2008-11
4. 80 Brett Jensen 2004-06
5. 79 Dylan Vogt 2010-13
6. 78 Erik Bird 2006-09
78 Jeff Anderson 1981-84
8. 74 Zach Herr 2006-08
9. 73 Jonas Armenta 1994-97
10. 70 Jarod Bearinger 1996-99
70 John Lepley 1985-88

Boldt Keeps Hitting
Recently named one of 60 players on the 2016 Gold Spike Award Midseason Watch list, Ryan Boldt became the 24th member of Nebraska’s 200-hit club on Sunday, April 10, with a single in the ninth inning against Northwestern. Boldt enters Friday tied for 22nd all time at Nebraska with 203 career hits.

Boldt is just the 15th player in school history to reach the mark in three seasons or less, and the first since his cousin, Pat Kelly, notched 212 hits from 2012-14.

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.

This season, Boldt is hitting .318 (54-for-170) with 16 multi-hit games, including 10 games with three hits.

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
203 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present
24. 201 Francis Collins 1995-97

Double Digits
Nebraska has amassed double digit hits 20 times in 37 games entering Friday and is 15-5 when reaching the mark.

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

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 46 bases in its first 37 games, an average of 1.24 per game.

Ryan Boldt leads the team with 16 steals, the most by a Husker since 2006 when Bryce Nimmo stole 16 bases all season.

Last year the Huskers totaled 40 stolen bases in 57 games, an average of 0.7 stolen bases per game.

Nebraska last topped 60 stolen bases in a season in 2011 when they were 62-for-81.

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 their first 13 games.

That changed on Saturday, March 12, when the Huskers entered the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead and NU went to true freshman Chad Luensmann. The 6-4 right hander worked a scoreless ninth for his first career save. Luensmann now has seven saves on the year in seven chances.

Luensmann already holds the freshman record at Nebraska for saves and has entered Nebraska’s single-season top-10 list. His next save would tie him with Dylan Vogt (2013) and Casey Hauptman (2011) for eighth at NU.

Fives of Luensmann’s seven saves have come during Big Ten play, which leads the league.

Single Season Saves at Nebraska
1. 16 Brett Jensen (Jr.) 2005
2. 15 Josh Roeder (Sr.) 2015
3. 13 Brett Jensen (Sr.) 2006
4. 12 Josh Roeder (Jr.) 2014
5. 11 Thom Ott (Jr.) 2001
6. 10 Mike Bellows (Sr.) 1994
7. 9 Steve Boyd (Jr.) 1992
8. 8 Dylan Vogt (Sr.) 2013
8 Casey Hauptman (Sr.) 2011
10. 7 Travis Huber (Jr.) 2012
7 Matt Foust (Jr.) 2007
7 Tevis Arnold (Sr.) 1998
7 Dave Matranga (Sr.) 1991
7 Gary Nolting (So.) 1978
7 Chad Luensmann (Fr.) 2016

Longball
Nebraska’s home run totals are up in a big way this year, as they have hit 31 in 37 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season.

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

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

Nebraska already has 10 multi-homer games this season after notching two all of last year.

Nebraska is 15-5 on the year when they hit a home run.

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. Dating back to the 2014 season, the Huskers have won 70 straight games when leading after the eighth inning.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 123-16 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 129-8 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 139-4 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.

Costly Free Passes
In Nebraska’s 14 losses this season, walks by the NU pitching staff have been a big factor.

Entering Friday, Nebraska’s pitchers have walked 88 batters in NU’s 14 losses, an average of 6.3 walks per game. In the 14 losses, Nebraska has walked four batters or less just four times.

In NU’s 23 wins the NU pitching staff has issued 85 walks, an average of 3.7 walks per game.

When NU pitching walks four batters or less in a game, the Huskers are 17-4. Two of the four losses were one-run defeats.

Stretching the Pen
Nebraska’s bullpen has had to eat up innings on the weekend this year.

Through 37 games, Nebraska has had a starting pitcher go 7.0 innings of more just once. Derek Burkamper went 7.0 innings against Loyola Marymount on March 11.

Last season in 57 games, Nebraska had four starters combine to go 7.0 innings or more 17 times, including Kyle Kubat (8), Chance Sinclair (5), Burkamper (3) and Garett King (1).

Score Early
In 37 games this year the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning 13 times. The Huskers are 11-2 on the year when they score a run in the first inning.

The Huskers are 18-4 this year when they score first in the game.

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)

Huskers in MLB
As of Wednesday, April 20, six former Huskers were on MLB rosters. While many others are part of MLB organizations in the minor leagues

Cody Asche - Philadelphia Phillies (15-Day DL)
Joba Chamberlain - Cleveland Indians
Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
Dan Jennings - Chicago White Sox
Michael Mariot - Philadelphia Phillies (15-Day DL)
Tony Watson - Pittsburgh Pirates