Huskers Battle Boilermakers in Big Ten Tournament

After capturing its first Big Ten regular-season title in program history, the Nebraska baseball team (34-18-1, 16-7-1 Big Ten) enters the Big Ten Tournament with the No. 1 seed in Bloomington, Ind., this week. The Huskers face eighth-seeded Purdue (29-25, 12-12 Big Ten) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. (CT), with the game set to be televised on the Big Ten Network. The winner will take on the winner of No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 5 seed Iowa, set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (CT).

Last weekend, NU took 2-of-3 at Penn State en route to its first regular-season conference title since 2005. The Huskers won each of the last two games after dropping Thursday night's opener by an 8-7 decision. NU managed a 3-1 victory in the second game before hammering 18 hits in a 21-3 triumph in the series finale.

Purdue won 2-of-3 over Minnesota during the final weekend of the regular season, playing two games plus the completion of Game 1 on Friday following a delay on Thursday. The Boilermakers won the first two by margins of 5-2 and 11-1 before falling in the finale, 9-2.

Nebraska is ranked in the five major polls, led by the No. 21 ranking by D1Baseball. NU is 23rd in the USA Today, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA polls. The Huskers are 25th in Baseball America.

Nebraska-Purdue Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series against Purdue, 10-9. Last season, the Huskers swept the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind., March 25-27. NU won by margins of 9-5, 11-6 and 9-8.

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.

All three games this weekend will be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha. Fans can also listen on TuneIn.com or the TuneIn App on the Husker IMG Sports Network channel. Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will be televised on the Big Ten Network and available on BTN2Go.

Six Huskers, Erstad Honored by Big Ten
Six Huskers and Head Coach Darin Erstad were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday, as the league office released the 2017 All-Big Ten Honors.

Erstad was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after leading the Huskers to their first Big Ten regular-season title. Jake Meyers (utility) and Scott Schreiber (designated hitter) were first-team picks, while Angelo Altavilla (shortstop) and Jake Hohensee (starting pitcher) were third-team choices. Third baseman Luke Roskam was an unanimous pick for the All-Freshman team and Ben Miller was Nebraska's Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Huskers Capture Big Ten Crown
Nebraska won its first Big Ten regular-season title over the weekend since joining the conference in 2012. It marked the seventh regular-season conference title for the Huskers overall. NU also won conference crowns in 1929, 1948, 1950, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

Nebraska owns four conference tournament titles, winning them in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. Since joining the Big Ten in 2012, the Huskers have made the Big Ten Tournament every season and took runner-up honors in 2013 and 2014.

Luensmann Claims CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) released its Academic All-District teams on May 4, and sophomore pitcher Chad Luensmann earned first-team All-District 7 honors.

A sophomore from Altoona, Pa., Luensmann has been a star on the field and in the classroom for the Huskers. A member of the 2017 NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, Luensmann holds a 3.80 grade-point average in mechanical engineering.

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 became 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 the Big Ten Tournament with 233 hits, placing him 15th 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. 233 Ben Miller 2014-Present
16. 231 Daniel Bruce 2002-05
17. 229 Ken Ramos 1987-89
18. 227 Jake Opitz 2005-08
19. 226 Austin Darby 2012-15
20. 223 Curtis Ledbetter 2003-05
223 Ryan Boldt 2014-2016
22. 222 John Cole 1999-01
23. 212 Pat Kelly 2012-14
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. The Huskers had won 42 straight games when leading after eight innings before a ninth-inning walk-off loss on Thursday at Penn State.

Led by pitching coach Ted Silva, the Huskers are 168-17 since the start of the 2012 season when they lead after the sixth inning. The Huskers are 175-10 when leading after seven innings and are nearly perfect when leading after eight innings with a 186-6 record.

Number 200
Head Coach Darin Erstad won his 200th career game at Nebraska earlier this season, becoming the fifth head coach in program history to reach 200 wins.

Nebraska Baseball Head Coaches with 200 Wins
1. John Sanders 767-453-1 (.629) 20 Years
2. Tony Sharpe 394-388-6 (.503) 31 Years
3. Mike Anderson 337-196-2 (.632) 10 Years
4. Dave Van Horn 214-92-0 (.699) 5 Years
5. Darin Erstad 210-137-1 (.605) 6th Year

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 is second on the team with 13 doubles, ranks second on the team in RBIs with 37 and is second on the team with a .323 average.

Altavilla has started 51 of NU's 53 games, and has shown versatility in the field with 40 starts at shortstop, nine at third base and two at second base.

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 into the Big Ten Tournament with 17 home runs over their last 31 games, including one in each game at Penn State last weekend.

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.

Double Digits
Nebraska has totaled 10 or more hits 28 times in 53 games entering the weekend. Nebraska is 23-5 on the year when notching double-digit hits, the only losses came in a 7-5 defeat to Utah on Feb. 24, an 8-6 loss at CSU Bakersfield on March 21, a 7-6 extra-inning loss to Iowa on April 14, a 9-7 loss at Ohio State on April 28 and a 6-3 loss to Michigan State on May 12.

The Huskers produced a season-high 19 hits against Creighton on Tuesday, April 4. NU had 18 hits in a 21-3 win over Penn State on Saturday.

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

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.

Draft History
Six members of the 2017 Husker baseball team have previously been drafted:

Luis Alvarado - 2014 (Boston Red Sox, 33rd Round)
Derek Burkamper - 2013 (Boston Red Sox, 20th Round)
Sean Chandler - 2015 (Milwaukee Brewers, 32nd Round)
Chad Luensmann - 2015 (New York Mets, 39th Round)
Ben Miller - 2016 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 32nd Round)
Jesse Wilkening - 2015 (Arizona Diamondbacks, 28th Round)

Closing Time
The Huskers have been able to rely on two closers this year, reigning Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year Chad Luensmann, who saved 13 games last season and junior Luis Alvarado, who didn't step foot on the mound during his first two seasons at Nebraska.

While starting 52 games in the outfield and ranking seventh on the team with a .279 batting average, Alvarado also leads the team with 10 saves this season, putting him in at tie for seventh place on NU's single-season saves list.

Luensmann is close behind with eight saves on the year and his 21 career saves rank third all-time at Nebraska. Luensmann has seen an expanded role this season, also working as a long reliever. He enters the weekend first on the team in appearances with 25.

Huskers in MLB
A total of 12 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
Alex Gordon - Royals
Dan Jennings - White Sox
Tony Watson - Pirates

Minor Leagues
Ryan Boldt - Rays
Aaron Bummer - White Sox
Max Knutson - Orioles
Kyle Kubat - White Sox
Michael Mariot - Phillies
Steven Reveles - Red Sox
Josh Roeder - Yankees

Lean on the Lefty
Jake Meyers has been Nebraska's Sunday starter this year and NU is 10-0-1 on Sundays this season. Over his last nine starts Meyers is 8-0 and has gone 6.0 innings or more eight times, including 8.0 and 9.0 inning efforts.

Meyers entered his start at Cal Poly on Saturday, March 19 with 21.2 straight shutout innings and extended the mark to 25.2 innings after he sat the Mustangs down in order in the fourth. The streak came to an end in the fifth when Scott Ogrin hit two-run home run after Bradlee Beesley started the frame with a double.

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 ranks second on the team with eight saves this season, two behind Luis Alvarado's 10 saves. Luensmann enters the Big Ten Tournament ranked third all time at Nebraska with 21 career saves. Luensmann needs 10 more saves to tie Jensen for second place on the all-time list.

Career Saves at Nebraska
1. 33 Josh Roeder 2012-15
2. 31 Brett Jensen 2004-06
3. 21 Chad Luensmann 2016-Present
4. 17 Thom Ott 2000-01
5. 14 Steve Boyd 1992-93