Huskers Open Big Ten Tournament Against Spartans

Wednesday, May 25 (1:03 p.m.)
Probable Starters: RHP Burkamper (6-2) vs. LHP Vieaux (6-4)
TV: BTN
Audio Stream: Huskers.com | Video Stream: BTN2Go
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Lincoln - The No. 2 seed Nebraska baseball team (37-18, 16-8 Big Ten) is set to open the 2016 Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at TD Ameritrade Park when it plays the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans (34-18, 13-11) at 1:03 p.m. The winner or Wednesday’s game will play at 5 p.m. on Thursday against Indiana or Maryland, while the loser will play at 9 a.m. on Thursday against Indiana or Maryland.

Wednesday will mark the fourth time the Huskers and Spartans have met at the conference tournament since the Huskers joined the Big Ten prior to the 2012 season. The Huskers and Spartans met in the opening round of the 2012 tournament in Columbus, Ohio, and the Spartans held off a late Husker rally, winning 10-9. Nebraska beat Michigan State, 3-2, in the second round of the 2014 tournament at TD Ameritrade Park, while the Spartans ended NU’s season a year ago with a 9-7 comeback win in an elimination game at Target Field.

Nebraska and Michigan State have met 12 times dating back to 1937 and the Huskers hold a 8-4 advantage. The first ever meeting took place in 1937, with the Huskers ending their season with a 6-0 loss in East Lansing. Nebraska took a pair or neutral site meetings in 1982 and then the teams didn’t meet again until the opening round of the 2012 Big Ten Tournament.

Nebraska and Michigan State met for a Big Ten series in early May and the Huskers took the series, 2-1, at McLane Stadium in East Lansing.

Since being swept by the Michigan Wolverines on April 17, Nebraska has won 15 of its last 19 games. The Huskers ended the season with Big Ten series wins at Rutgers and at Michigan State, as well as a home win over Penn State and a home sweep of Indiana.

On the other side, Michigan State entered its series with the Huskers ranked 24th in the county, but has since lost eight of its last 11 games. After dropping the series to the Huskers, the Spartans ended the year with a series loss at Iowa and a series loss at home to Maryland.

Nebraska will start junior right hander Derek Burkamper on Wednesday, who is coming off 7.1 inning shutout innings against Penn State, where he allowed just two hits. Burkamper started the series opener against Michigan State and got the win. He went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks, while striking out five.

Michigan State is scheduled to counter with senior Cam Vieaux. The 6-4 left hander did not start last weekend against Maryland, but did see 0.1 inning of relief in the finale, allowing one run on one hit and he did record a strikeout. Vieaux pitched in the rubber match against the Huskers in East Lansing and took the loss. In 4.1 innings of work he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and no walks, while striking out three.

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, including on Huskers.com and the Official Husker App.

Every Nebraska game at the Big Ten Tournament 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.

Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will be carried live on the Big Ten Network and streamed live on BTN2Go.

Quality Starts
Over Nebraska’s first 37 games this season, the Huskers had a starting pitcher go 7.0 innings or more just one time, as Derek Burkamper went 7.0 innings against Long Beach State on March 11.

The next outing of 7.0 innings of more came on April 22 when Burkamper went 8.0 innings against Nicholls State. Including the game against the Colonels the Huskers have received 10 outings of at least 7.0 innings over their last 18 game from their starting pitchers, including all three games against Indiana last weekend when NU’s starters didn’t allow a run, tossing a combined 22.1 shutout innings.

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).

Looking at quality starts, when a starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings and allows three earned runs or less, the Huskers have 18 on the season in 55 games. 13 of the 18 quality starts have come in Nebraska’s last 18 games.

50-50
Scott Schreiber and Ben Miller have battled all season for the team lead in RBIs, with Schreiber holding a 55-45 edge over Miller entering Wednesday.

The last time NU had a pair of sluggers each top 50 RBIs was 2010, when Adam Bailey drove in 69 runs and Cody Asche plated 58.

Make it Five
Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio State entered the season as the only three teams in the Big Ten that had qualified for each of the past four Big Ten Baseball Tournaments.

All three teams have continued the streak and will play it the Big Ten’s postseason tournament for the fifth straight year next week.

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. Prior to ninth-inning walk-off loss at Rutgers on Friday, April 29, this season the Huskers had won 73 straight games when leading after the eighth inning.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 137-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 143-9 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 155-5 record.

Count on Chesnut
Senior Jeff Chesnut rewrote the Nebraska record book on Monday, May 9, when he made his school record 88th career appearance. Chesnut broke Steve Hale’s record with his 26th appearance this season.

Chesnut enters Wednesday with 90 career appearances, including a team-high 28 this season.

Chesnut made a career-high 31 last year, which tied him for sixth on Nebraska’s single-season chart.

First Year Wins
True freshman Matt Waldron enters the week with a 7-2 record following his 8.0-shutout innings performance against Indiana that backed up a complete-game shutout of Penn State. The first complete-game shutout by a Husker pitcher since 2010 when freshman Tom Lemke blanked Texas A&M, 1-0, on May 2.

Dating back to the end of his start at Michigan State on Sunday, May 8, Waldron has tossed 18.2 straight scoreless innings.

Waldron’s seven wins are the most by a Husker true freshman since 2005 when Johnny Dorn led the team with a 12-2 record.

Jake of All Trades
Sophomore Jake Meyers has worn many hats for the Huskers this year, including outfielder, starting pitcher and three-hole hitter. Meyers enters the Wednesday ranked second on the team with a .322 battering average over 53 games played and has a team-best 1.38 ERA in eight starts on the mound.

The last time a Husker started at least seven games on the mound and hit in 40 more games was Alvie Shepherd in 1994. That season Shepherd went 2-5 with a 5.71 in 11 starts, while hitting .278 in 57 games at the plate. In 1993, Troy Brohawn went 13-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts and hit .329 over 58 games at the plate. Brohawn was a first-team All-American in 1993, was drafted in the fourth round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the Giants and played three seasons in the Majors.

Meyers has started on the mound for the Huskers in the finale of the last six weekend series and NU has won each of the sophomore’s last five starts. In the five victories, Meyers has also hit third in NU’s lineup and has helped his own cause, hitting .286 with two doubles, one home run, seven runs scored and four RBIs.

In a victory over Nicholls State on April 24, Meyers not only tossed 7.0 shutout innings and got the win on the mound, but he also drove in the eventual game-winning run with a three-run homer. Meyers is the first Husker to homer and record a pitching win since April 21, 2009, when Adam Bailey hit a solo home run and tossed 2.2 innings of relief in his only pitching win as a Husker.

Boldting Up the List
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 Wednesday tied with John Cole for 22nd all time at Nebraska with 222 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.

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
222 Ryan Boldt 2014-Present
22. 212 Pat Kelly 2012-14
23. 203 Ken Harvey 1997-99
24. 201 Francis Collins 1995-97

Sophomore Slugger
On the season, sophomore Scott Schreiber leads the Big Ten with 16 home runs and his 55 RBIs rank second to Michigan’s Harrison Wenson, who has 56 RBIs. During league play, Schreiber finished the season tied for the league lead in home runs with six and led the Big Ten with 25 RBIs.

Schreiber’s 16 homers are the most by a Husker since 2010 when Adam Bailey hit 18 and the most by a Husker sophomore since 2004 when Alex Gordon led the team with 18.

Schreiber has a three multi-homer games this season, the first time a Husker has done that since 2006 when Brandon Buckman also did it three times. Nebraska’s Director of Operations, Curtis Ledbetter, was the last Husker to have four multi-homer games in the same season, in 2005.

Longball
Nebraska’s home run total is up in a big way this year, as they have hit 43 in 55 games after totaling 22 in 57 games last season. NU last topped 40 home runs in a season in 2012, when they hit 47. Nebraska last topped 50 home runs in a season in 2010 when they hits 60.

Nine different players have hit a home run this season, including a team-high 16 from Scott Schreiber, six each from Jake Placzek and Ben Millers, and five from Ryan Boldt. Miller and Tanner Lubach tied for the team lead last season with four each.

Nebraska has 15 multi-homer games this season after notching two all of last year. Nebraska is 21-5 on the year when they hit a home run.

Score Early
In 55 games this year the Huskers have scored a run in the first inning 20 times. The Huskers are 17-3 on the year when they score a run in the first inning.

The Huskers are 31-7 this year when they score first in the game.

Walk this Way
As of Monday morning, senior Jake Placzek was tied for seventh in Division I with 53 walks. Ohio State’s Troy Montgomery ranked second in the Big Ten and was tied for 22nd nationally with 45 walks. Miami’s Zack Collins led the nation with 62 walks.

The last time a Husker topped 50 walks in a season was 2005, when Alex Gordon recorded 63 walks and was hit-by-pitch 16 times.

Adding in his 10 hit-by-pitches, Placzek has drawn 63 free passes this year and leads the Huskers with an on-base percentage of .470. Placzek would need to record a on-base percentage of .518 or better to crack NU’s single-season top-10 list. Gordon’s .518 on-base percentage in 2005 ranks 10th.

Placzek has accounted for just under 27% of NU’s 197 walks this year. Seven other Huskers have drawn double digit walks in 2016, but Ryan Boldt and Jake Meyers sit a distance second with 19 walks each.

Placzek has drawn multiple walks in 15 games entering Wednesday, including three walks in a game five times this year.

Placzek needs nine more walks this year to tie Todd Sears (62 - 1997) for 10th place on NU’s single season walks list. Placzek has 109 career walks and needs six more walks in 2016 to enter NU’s career walks list. Rich King and Steve Stanicek are tied for 10th with 115 career walks.

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 has since saved 13 games in 14 chances. His 13 saves are tied for ninth best in the country, while he is tied with Long Beach State’s Chris Rivera for the most saves by a freshman closer.

Luensmann already holds the freshman record at Nebraska for saves and is climbing Nebraska’s single-season top-10 list. His next save would give him sole possession of third place and he enters Wednesday three saves shy of tying Brett Jensen’s single-season record of 16 saves in 2005.

Nine of Luensmann’s 13 saves came come during Big Ten play, which led 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
13 Chad Luensmann (Fr.) 2016
5. 12 Josh Roeder (Jr.) 2014
6. 11 Thom Ott (Jr.) 2001
7. 10 Mike Bellows (Sr.) 1994
8. 9 Steve Boyd (Jr.) 1992
9. 8 Dylan Vogt (Sr.) 2013
8 Casey Hauptman (Sr.) 2011

Double Digits
Nebraska has amassed double digit hits 27 times in 55 games entering Wednesday, including a season-high 22 hits at Creighton on May 17. Nebraska is 21-6 when reaching the mark.

Last season the Huskers totaled 10 or more hits 23 times in 57 games and was 21-2 in those games.

Stolen Bases
Nebraska has been more active on the base paths this season, stealing 61 bases in 55 games, an average of 1.11 per game.

Ryan Boldt leads the team with 19 steals, the most by a Husker since 2005 when Alex Gordon stole 23 bags.

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. NU last topped 70 stolen bases in 2008 when it was 78-for-104.

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 322-116-1 (.735) record at the facility, including a 21-6 (.750) 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 13 times in the past 15 seasons, including each of the past seven seasons. NU’s worst home season at Hawks Field came in 2009 when the Huskers posted a 16-14 record (.533).

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)

Boldt Repeats as Academic All-District Honoree
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) released its Academic All-District teams on Thursday, May 5, and junior outfielder Ryan Boldt was named a first-team All-District 7 pick for the second straight year. The Red Wing, Minn., native is the first Husker baseball player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons since Daniel Bruce did it in 2004 and 2005.

A member of the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch list, Boldt has once again shined on the field and in the classroom for the Huskers in 2016. Earlier this season he became just the 24th player in school history to record 200 career hits and is just the 15th player to do it in three seasons or less.

In the classroom Boldt carries a 3.70 GPA, while majoring in nutrition science.

As a first-team all-district selection, Boldt will now be on the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot and those teams will be announced on Friday, June 3. Last season Boldt earned third-team academic All-America honors

Boldt was one of five Big Ten baseball players honored on Thursday. He was joined by Penn State’s Jack Anderson (District 2), Michigan State’s Keegan Baar (District 5), Michigan’s Cody Bruder (District 5) and Minnesota’s Matt Fielder (District 6).

Boldt Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason List
Ryan Boldt was one of 60 players named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch list on Wednesday, April 20. Boldt was one of 50 players named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch list back in February. Boldt is the only Big Ten player on the on the midseason list, Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti and Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn were named to the preseason list.

Earlier this season Boldt become the 24th player in Nebraska history to notch 200 career hits, and he is just the 15th player at Nebraska to achieve the feat in three seasons or less.

Boldt has also been a top performer in the classroom, as he earned third-team academic All-America honors in 2015, becoming the 17th Husker baseball player to earn the honor. He was also named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2015.

Alex Gordon is the only Husker to ever win the Golden Spikes Award, as he won the Golden Spikes, Brooks Wallace and Dick Howser Awards in 2005, and he was also named ABCA Player of the Year. Two other Huskers have been finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, including Darin Erstad (1995) and Ken Harvey (1999).