Huskers Travel to Kansas State for Midweek Meeting

Lincoln - Following a 4-1 week that included a Big Ten series victory over Maryland, the Nebraska baseball team (19-11-1, 4-1-1 Big Ten) heads to Manhattan, Kan., on Tuesday night for a 6:35 p.m. meeting with the Kansas State Wildcats (16-15, 1-8 Big 12).

Tuesday’s match up will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, as the Huskers beat the Wildcats, 11-1, on Tuesday, March 28 in Lincoln. Following the win over the Wildcats, the Huskers won eight of their next nine games, while the Wildcats lost five of six.

After getting off to a slow start, the Huskers have been playing their best baseball of late with a 14-3-1 record in their last 18 games, including series wins over Cal Poly, Indiana and Maryland.

On the other side, the Wildcats are 2-9 in their last 11 games after starting the season 14-6. The Wildcats have played a tough Big 12 schedule so far, posting a 1-8 record. They were swept by Texas and TCU, while losing 2-of-3 to Oklahoma State.

The Huskers are 9-8-1 away from Hawks Field this year, including a 6-2-1 record in true road games. The Wildcats are 9-7 at Tointon Family Stadium this season.

Nebraska - Kansas State History
Tuesday will be the second and final meetings this season between former Big 12 foes Nebraska and Kansas State.

The teams first met in 1898, with the Huskers posting a 33-3 victory.

Tuesday night’s showdown will be the 282nd all-time meeting between the teams, with the Huskers holding a 167-114 advantage after the beat the Wildcats at home, 11-1, on March 28.

Last season the teams split a pair of games, with the road teams winning each contest. The Wildcats won in Lincoln, 4-2, while the Huskers won in Manhattan, 5-1 in 11 innings.

The Huskers last swept a season series from the Wildcats in 2015 when Nebraska won 5-4 in 10 innings on the road before posting a 10-4 victory at Hawks Field.

How to Listen/Watch the Huskers
Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe, Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call all the action this season on the Husker Sports Network. Every game this season can be heard on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

Tuesday’s game against Kansas State will be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and also on 590 AM in Omaha. Fans can also listen on TuneIn.com or the TuneIn App on the Husker IMG Sports Network channel.

Tuesday’s game is also scheduled to be shown FOX College Sports and will be streamed on K-STATEHD.TV.

All three games this weekend against Iowa will be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha. All three games will also be carried on Tunein Radio.

Friday’s series opener against Iowa and Saturday’s game will be streamed live on HuskersNSide (subscription required). Sunday’s finale is scheduled to be shown nationwide on the Big Ten Network and will also be streamed on BTN2Go.

Heating Up
Ben Miller entered his senior season as a career .303 hitter, but entering last week he was hitting just .205 on the year. In five games last week Miller went 12-for-20 at the plate and raised his average 73 points to .278.

Against Maryland on the weekend, Miller went 10-for-13 (.769) in the series with two doubles, four runs scored and three RBIs. The senior first baseman slugged .923 on the weekend and had an on-base percentage of .786.

Join the Club
Ben Miller was taken in the 32nd round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but turned down professional baseball to instead return to Nebraska for his senior season. The Clive, Iowa, native now has a chance to cement his name near the top of Nebraska’s all-time hits list.

Miller become the 25th player in school history to total 200 career hits on Saturday, April 8, with a 4-for-4 game against Maryland, his first career four-hit game. He followed it up the next day with a 4-for-5 performance in the series clincher.

Miller enters Tuesday with 204 hits, ranking him 23rd all-time at Nebraska. Over the past two seasons Miller has averaged 68.5 hits and with that average in 2017 he would end his career just outside of NU’s all-time top 10.

If Miller can match his 77 hits from last season, he would tie Michael Pritchard for fifth all-time at Nebraska with 251 hits.

The Huskers have had at least one player join the 200 hit club in each of the past five seasons, including 2016 second-round pick Ryan Boldt last year.

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
223 Ryan Boldt 2014-2016
21. 222 John Cole 1999-01
22. 212 Pat Kelly 2012-14
23. 204 Ben Miller 2014-Present
24. 203 Ken Harvey 1997-99
25. 201 Francis Collins 1995-97

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 last season at Rutgers on Friday, April 29, the Huskers had won 73 straight games when leading after the eighth inning. Since the loss at Rutgers, the Huskers have won 30 straight games when leading after eight innings.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 154-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 161-10 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 172-5 record.

Angelo’s Arrival
After making a pair of starts last season as a true freshman, Angelo Altavilla has become a key contributor in 2017. The sophomore infielder leads the teams with a .314 average, has a team-high nine doubles and ranks second on the team in RBIs with 20.

Altavilla has started 29 of NU’s 31 games, and has shown versatility in the field with 20 starts at shortstop, seven at third base and two at second base.

Double Digits
Nebraska has totaled 10 or more hits 14 times in 31 games entering Tuesday. Nebraska is 12-2 on the year when notching double-digit hits, the only losses came in a 7-5 defeat to Utah on Feb. 24 and a 8-6 loss at CSU Bakersfield on March 21.

The Huskers produced a season-high 19 hits against Creighton on Tuesday, April 4.

Last season the Huskers totaled 10 or more hits 27 times in 59 games and were 21-6 in those games.

Turn the Power On
Through the first 22 games of the year the Huskers hit just three home runs and didn’t have a multi-home run game. The power numbers are starting to climb though, as the Huskers head to Kansas State seven home runs over the last nine games and have produced two multi-home run games.

Last season the Huskers saw a spike in home runs with 43 on the year, which was more than the 41 they totaled in 2014 (19) and 2015 (22) combined.

Where the Huskers Stack up
Since playing its first Big Ten Conference baseball season in 2012, the Nebraska baseball team has annually been one of the top teams in the league. The Huskers have finished runner-up during the regular season three times, including last year, and are one of just three teams to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament in each of the past five seasons. The Huskers have qualified for every Big Ten Tournament since they joined the league and have been joined in the postseason each of the past five years by Ohio State and Indiana.

Leave it to Luensmann
Chad Luensmann had a tough task last season as a true freshman, he had to replace career saves holder Josh Roeder as NU’s closer. Luensmann went on to save 13 games in 14 chances, a NU freshman record, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Husker baseball player to win the award.

Luensmann’s 13 saves tied Brett Jensen (2006) for third place in NU’s single-season record book and Luensmann ranked fourth nationally in saves. Among freshmen, Luensmann tied Long Beach State’s Chris Rivera for the most saves in the country.

Luensmann is tied with Luis Alvarado for the team lead in saves this season with five each. Luensmann enters Friday ranked third all time at Nebraska with 18 career saves. Luensmann needs 13 more saves to tie Jensen for second place on the all-time list.

Huskers in MLB
A total of 13 former Huskers are part of a Major League organization, including five that are currently at the MLB level.

MLB
Cody Asche - White Sox
Brian Duensing - Cubs (DL)
Alex Gordon - Royals
Dan Jennings - White Sox
Tony Watson - Pirates

Minor Leagues
Ryan Boldt - Rays
Aaron Bummer - White Sox
Christian Cox - Bluejays
Kyle Kubat - White Sox
Michael Mariot - Phillies
Steven Reveles - Red Sox
Josh Roeder - Yankees
Thad Weber - Detroit Tigers

Home Sweet Hawks
The Nebraska baseball program is celebrating its 16th year at Hawks Field.

Following NU’s win series win over Maryland the Huskers are 332-118-1 (.736) since opening the park on March 5, 2002 with a 23-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

Since Head Coach Darin Erstad took over in 2012, the Huskers are 103-40 (.720) at Hawks Field.

The Huskers have posted a winning home record in each of the last 15 seasons. Nebraska has won 60% or more of its home games 13 times over the past 15 seasons, including each of the past seven seasons.

NU’s worst home season at Hawks Field came in 2009, NU posted a 16-14 record (.533).