Huskers Finish Homestand by Hosting Kansas State

Tuesday, April 5 (6:35 p.m.)
Probable Starters: LHP Meyers (1-0) vs. RHP Erickson (0-0)
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: HuskersNSide
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Wednesday, April 6 (6:30 p.m.)
Probable Starters: TBA vs. TBA
TV: None
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: None
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - Following a series victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini this past weekend at Hawks Field, the Nebraska baseball team (19-8, 5-1 Big Ten) will finish a five-game homestand on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. when it hosts the Kansas State Wildcats (12-17, 0-6 Big 12).

The Huskers hold a 165-113 advantage all-time against the Wildcats and have won the last three meetings, including both games last season. The Wildcat’s last win was a 10-6 victory in Lincoln on April 9, 2014.

The Huskers have won 16 of their last 18 games after starting the year 3-6. Nebraska is 9-1 in its last 10 games, while the Wildcats are 1-9, including four straight losses entering Tuesday. KSU’s last victory came against Omaha, 11-3, in Manhattan on March 29.

Tuesday will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season, as the teams are also scheduled to meet in Manhattan on Tuesday, April 19.

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

All five games this week 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.

Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on HuskersNSide (subscription required). As now, there will be no video stream of Wednesday’s game against Omaha at Werner Park.

All three games against Northwestern this weekend will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required. Saturday’s game will also be carried statewide on NET.

Walk this Way
Jake Placzek enters the week with a team-high 31 walks, which ties him for sixth nationally. Ohio State’s Troy Montgomery ranks second in the Big Ten with 27 walks.

Placzek has accounted for nearly 31% of NU’s 103 walks this year. Only two other Huskers have drawn double digit walks in 2016, including Ben Miller (11) and Ryan Boldt (10).

Placzek has drawn multiple walks in nine games entering Tuesday, including each of his past four games. He has drawn three walks in a game three times this year.

Placzek needs 31 more walks this year to tie Todd Sears (62 - 1997) for 10th place on NU’s single season walks list. Placzek has 87 career walks and needs 28 more walks in 2016 to enter NU’s career walks list. Rich King and Steve Stanicek are tied for 10th with 115 career walks.

Double Digits
Nebraska has amassed double digit hits 17 times in 27 games entering Tuesday and is 13-4 when reaching the mark.

Entering Tuesday, Nebraska has reached double digit hits in eight of its last nine games. The only game it didn’t over the nine-game stretch was the series-opening loss to Illinois.

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. Dating back to the 2014 season, the Huskers have won 67 straight games when leading after the eighth inning.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 120-16 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 126-8 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 136-4 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 30 in 27 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season. Entering the week NU ranks 19th in the country and second in the Big Ten in home runs. Mercer leads the nation with 45 homers and Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 33.

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 seven from both 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 15-4 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.

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.

Boldt is hitting .344 (42-for-122) in 2016 with 13 multi-hit games, including nine games with three-hits.

Boldt needs nine 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

-- 191 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 35 bases in its first 27 games, an average of 1.3 per game. Ryan Boldt leads the team with 14 steals, the most by a Husker since 2008 when DJ Belfonte stole 14 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 top 60 stolen bases in a season in 2011 when they were 62-for-81.

Big 12 Foes
Since leaving the Big 12 Conference after the 2011 season, the Nebraska baseball team has continued to play teams from its former league. Since leaving the Big 12, the Huskers are 9-10 against teams currently still in the Big 12.

The Huskers have played the Kansas State Wildcats the most since leaving, as the teams met 11 times over the past four seasons and will meet twice in 2016. The Huskers have also played the Texas Longhorns six times and Oklahoma State Cowboys twice. Later this season the Huskers are scheduled to play the Kansas Jayhawks for the first time since leaving the Big 12, the two teams meet at Kauffman Stadium on April 27.

The Huskers played Texas A&M last year, but the Aggies joined the SEC prior to the 2013 baseball season.

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

Nebraska’s pitchers are walking an average of 7.3 batters per game in its eight losses, while in the 19 wins the NU pitching staff it only issuing an average of 3.7 walks per game.

Get to Third
When the Huskers get a runner on third base with less than two outs, they are putting runs on the board.

On the year NU has 56 RBIs in 95 chances with a runner on third and less than two outs, a success rate just under 59%.

Count on Chesnut
Senior Jeff Chesnut enters Tuesday ranked seventh all-time at Nebraska with 77 career appearances, including 31 last season. His 31 appearances in 2015 are tied for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

With 15 appearances in 2016, Chesnut’s next appearance will tie him with 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. 77 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

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 312-111-1 (.737) record at the facility entering, including a 11-2 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).

Score Early
In 27 games this year the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning 11 times. The Huskers are 9-2 on the year when they score a run in the first inning.

The Huskers are 16-2 this year when they score the game’s first run.

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 true freshman Chad Luensmann. The 6-4 right hander worked a scoreless ninth for his first career save. Luensmann now has five saves on the year following saves in both wins over Illinois last weekend.

On the season, Luensmann has a 1.37 ERA and didn’t allow an earned run until his 10th appearance of the season. In 19.2 innings of work opponents are hitting .169 off the right hander from Altoona, Pa.

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 Monday, April 4, six former Huskers are 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

Big Ben
Junior Ben Miller enters Tuesday with a team-high .377 batting average. The Clive, Iowa, native has eight doubles, five home runs and 23 RBIs. He has a team-high 16 multi-hit games in 2016, including a five 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 seeing time on the mound through 27 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 107.2 innings, including a team-high 37.0 innings from true freshman Matt Waldron.

The nine newcomers have accounted for over 44% of Nebraska’s innings pitched.