The Husker baseball team hopes to strike the first blow in this year’s in-state rivalry games as they host Creighton tonight at Hawks Field. Nebraska is fresh off a walk-off win on Sunday that gave them a Big Ten conference series win over Iowa. The Huskers are now 22-12 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play. After winning the Missouri Valley Conference last season, Creighton has struggled mightily this year. The Blue Jays have lost eight of their last eleven games and are just 14-15 overall and 2-7 in conference play. Nebraska took two out of three games from Creighton last season, including the lone meeting at Hawks Field. Tonight, the Jays will start their ace on the mound, junior left-hander Ty Blach, while the Huskers will counter with sophomore righty Jon Keller. First pitch in Lincoln tonight is set for 6:35.

The Husker baseball team used some ninth-inning heroics to defeat Iowa 9-8 yesterday in the rubber game of their three-game Big Ten conference series in Lincoln. Down 8-4 entering the eighth inning, Nebraska pushed one run across in that frame to set the stage for the ninth. Josh Scheffert’s RBI single cut the Hawkeye lead to 8-6. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, Pat Kelly banged a two-run triple to tie the score. The next hitter, Kale Kiser, singled in Kelly to give the Big Red their first walk-off win of the season. Travis Huber threw one and two-thirds innings of shutout relief to earn the win on the mound for the Huskers, who rebounded from a 4-3 loss in the series opener Friday to win the next two games. The Huskers are 22-12 and 5-4 in the Big Ten. They host Creighton on Tuesday night.

The Colorado Rockies squandered Juan Nicasio’s outstanding comeback effort in a 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon in Houston. Making his first big league start since suffering a fractured skull and broken vertebrae on August 5 of last season, Nicasio pitched seven stellar innings, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out four. Wilin Rosario’s two-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Rockies a lead that held up until the bottom of the eighth inning. A throwing error by Jordan Pacheco at third base on what would have been the third out allowed the tying run to score, and Houston’s Brian Bogusevic singled in the go-ahead run on the next pitch. The Rockies play their home opener this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants. ESPN Radio 1410 has the action with the pregame show at 2:30 and first pitch at 3:10.

The Husker volleyball team took their spring show on the road to Norfolk on Saturday, where they blew away North Dakota State in three sets, 25-16, 25-9, 25-22, at the Cox Activities Center at Northeast Community College. Morgan Broekhuis notched 12 kills to lead the team, while Hayley Thramer added 10 kills. The spring season continues for the Big Red this coming Saturday, as they host Wichita State at the NU Coliseum.

The Husker softball team picked up a weekend sweep over Illinois in Big Ten conference play in Lincoln. On Friday the Huskers defeated the Illini in both ends of a doubleheader, 11-0 and 5-1. Ashley Hagemann hurled a no-hitter in the first game. Saturday, the Big Red notched a 4-1 victory. The Huskers are now 24-14 and 7-2 in conference action. They host Creighton under the lights on Wednesday.

The Husker baseball team opens their third Big Ten conference series tonight when they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first game of a three-game series at Hawks Field. Both teams are off to 3-3 starts in league action, with the Huskers dropping two of three at Northwestern last weekend. Their win at Kansas State on Tuesday moved the Big Red to 20-11 on the season. Iowa lost two out of three at Indiana last weekend but beat South Dakota State twice this weekend to improve their record to 12-14. Right-hander Tom Lemke takes the hill for the Huskers tonight, looking for his team-leading fourth win of the season. The Nebraska offense will contend with three lefty starting pitchers for the Hawkeyes, starting with Big Ten innings leader Jared Hippen tonight. First pitch from Hawks Field is set for 6:35.

The Husker softball team is hoping to start a new winning streak this evening as they host Illinois in a Big Ten conference doubleheader. After their nine-game winning streak was snapped with a pair of losses at Minnesota last week, the Huskers rebounded to beat the Gophers on Sunday and move their conference record to 4-2 and overall record to 21-14. Game one of today’s doubleheader will start at 3 PM, with the nightcap set for 5 PM.

The Denver Nuggets take the floor for an important game in the Western Conference playoff hunt tonight, as they play host to the Phoenix Suns. Denver enters the night in a tie with Houston for eighth in the conference, with the Suns just one game behind. The Nuggets have beaten the Suns four straight times, including a 109-92 win February 14^th in which the Suns rested their point guard, Steve Nash. Tip-off at Pepsi Center tonight is set for 8 PM.

The Husker football team went through the seventh of their allotted fifteen spring practices yesterday afternoon, working out for two hours outdoors. Head coach Bo Pelini spoke to the media after the workout and addressed questions about his defensive personnel. With the departure of Lavonte David, the linebacking core loses its star, but Pelini likes what he’s seeing from veterans Alonzo Whaley, Sean Fisher, and especially Will Compton. “Will’s playing really well,” Pelini said. “Will’s doing a good job and I think he’s going to have a heck of a year for us. He’s playing really good football. Fisher and Whaley are doing a really good job. There’s a little bit of a drop off from the ones to the twos, so the twos have a lot of work to do yet.” The Huskers are off today and return to the practice field Friday and Saturday.