Nebraska – Page 3 – North Platte Post Archive

Huskers-S. Alabama to Be Played in Prime Time

Posted on April 13, 2015

The Big Ten Network announced its schedule of 2015 prime-time football games on Monday, including Nebraska’s Sept. 12 home game against South Alabama.

The exact kickoff time for the Husker-South Alabama matchup will be announced at a later date. The meeting will be the first ever between the two programs. South Alabama plays in the Sun Belt Conference and reached the Camellia Bowl in 2014 in its second season as a full member of the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks.

BTN has selected 10 games to air in prime-time this fall, beginning on Sept. 4 and continuing through Nov. 14.

Additional Nebraska games could be selected for prime-time telecasts by other television partners.

BTN Announces 2015 Primetime Football Schedule

Posted on April 13, 2015

CHICAGO – BTN’s 2015 primetime football schedule will feature the conference’s 2014 West Division Champion Wisconsin Badgers, Cotton Bowl Champion Michigan State and Michigan in its first year under new head coach Jim Harbaugh among its contests on six key Saturday nights.

Twelve of the 14 Big Ten schools will play in primetime on BTN, and four of the games are conference contests, including Minnesota at Iowa in the first-ever primetime battle for the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy at Kinnick Stadium.

“Since BTN launched, there has never been more anticipation leading into the football season,” said BTN President Mark Silverman.

The first of BTN’s conference matchups in primetime features Rutgers at Penn State on Sept. 19. Last season in the Scarlet Knights’ Big Ten debut, the Nittany Lions played the spoiler and left Piscataway victorious after a late touchdown drive. This year at Beaver Stadium, Rutgers will look to even the score in this budding rivalry of neighboring state schools.

On Oct. 3, Michigan visits Maryland in a Big Ten East Division clash. The Terrapins defeated the Wolverines 23-16 last year, but with a new regime in place, Michigan has high hopes of returning to the top of the pack. Maryland impressed in its first Big Ten season, finishing the season with a 7-6 record, including 4-4 in conference play.

Michigan State, which ended last season ranked No. 5 in the country after its dramatic comeback victory over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, visits Rutgers on Oct. 10. The Spartans, a preseason top-10 squad, return quarterback Connor Cook and a number of key cogs on the defensive side who are intent on earning a spot in this year’s College Football Playoff.

BTN closes out its primetime slate on Nov. 14 with the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry game, when the Hawkeyes host the Gophers. Iowa has won six of the last 10, but Minnesota looks to capture the trophy for the second straight season after its impressive 51-14 victory last year.

BTN’s other primetime selections include Pittsburgh at Iowa on Sept. 19, when former Michigan State defensive coordinator and now Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi makes his return to the conference. Also on the schedule are Hawaii at Wisconsin and Ball State at Northwestern.

In all, BTN will televise at least 40 football games this fall. Start times and television arrangements for other early season games will be announced at a later date.

BTN’s Primetime Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 12

South Alabama at Nebraska

Saturday, Sept. 19

Rutgers at Penn State

Saturday, September 26

Hawaii at Wisconsin

Saturday, October 3

Michigan at Maryland

Saturday, October 10

Michigan State at Rutgers

Saturday, November 14

Minnesota at Iowa

*Kent State at Illinois on Friday, Sept. 4 previously announced

*Florida International at Indiana on Sept. 12, Pittsburgh at Iowa on Sept. 19 and Ball State at Northwestern on Sept. 26 will also appear in primetime in the Big Ten team’s home market and on Extra Football Game Channels and BTN2Go elsewhere.

This Week in Nebraska Athletics

Posted on April 13, 2015

Tuesday, April 14 Baseball at Creighton (CBS Sports Network) Omaha, Neb. (TD Ameritrade) 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, April 15 Softball at Omaha Omaha, Neb. 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 15 Baseball Omaha (BTN Plus) Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

Friday, April 17 Men’s Tennis Penn State Lincoln, Neb. 4 p.m.

Friday, April 17 Softball Northwestern Bowlin Stadium 5:30 p.m.

Friday, April 17 Baseball Ohio State Hawks Field 6:35 p.m.

Friday, April 17 Women’s Gymnastics at NCAA Championship Semifinals Fort Worth, Texas 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 Men’s Golf at Hawkeye Invitational Iowa City, Iowa 9 a.m.

Saturday, April 18 Soccer at Colorado Boulder, Colo. 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 18 Track & Field at Michael Johnson Classic Waco, Texas 11 a.m.

Saturday, April 18 Women’s Tennis at Illinois Urbana, Ill. Noon

Saturday, April 18 Softball World’s Largest Softball Tailgate Bowlin Stadium 10 a.m.

Saturday, April 18 Softball Northwestern Bowlin Stadium 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 Baseball Ohio State (NET/BTN Plus) Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 Soccer at Denver Denver, Colo. 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 Women’s Gymnastics at NCAA Super Six Finals Fort Worth, Texas 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 Men’s Golf at Hawkeye Invitational Iowa City, Iowa 9 a.m.

Sunday, April 19 Women’s Tennis at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. 11 a.m.

Sunday, April 19 Men’s Tennis Ohio State Lincoln, Neb. Noon

Sunday, April 19 Baseball Ohio State Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 Women’s Gymnastics at NCAA Individual Event Finals Fort Worth, Texas 2 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 Softball Northwestern Bowlin Stadium 3 p.m.

DeZiel, Welk Earn Student-Athlete-of-the-Year Awards

Posted on April 13, 2015

The University of Nebraska Athletic Department celebrated its 25th anniversary of honoring its highest academic, athletic and community achievers with a special red carpet recognition event at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Sunday evening.

Nebraska’s outstanding student-athletes were recognized for stellar performances in competition, the classroom and the community. In addition to naming its prestigious Student-Athlete-of-the-Year Awards and other annual team and individual accomplishments, Nebraska celebrated the addition of several new awards to honor top performances throughout the past calendar year.

John Welk and Jessie DeZiel captured two of Nebraska’s most coveted awards as the Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year.

Welk, a two-time All-American as part of NU’s 4×100-meter relay team for Coach Gary Pepin’s men’s track and field squad, is also a two-time NCAA Elite 89 award winner. The senior nutrition science major from Bismarck, N.D., held the top grade-point average of any male student-athlete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in both 2013 and 2014. Welk is also a two-time academic All-Big Ten selection.

Welk is the fifth consecutive Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year from the Husker track and field squad, following Nicholas Gordon (2011), Tyler Hitchler (2012), Bjorn Barrefors (2013) and Seth Wiedel (2014). Overall the men’s track and field program has claimed six Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Year awards, including Aaron Plas (2006), since the award’s inception at Nebraska in 1991. Seven NU women’s track and field student-athletes also have captured the award, giving Coach Pepin’s program 13 of the 50 all-time awards.

DeZiel, a senior from Rogers, Minn., is a seven-time All-American entering next week’s NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. A 2015 AAI Award nominee, DeZiel is also a three-time NCAA Regional vault champion. A three-time academic All-Big Ten selection as a nutrition and health sciences major, DeZiel became the sixth Husker women’s gymnast to win Nebraska’s Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Year award. She joins Nicole Duval (1995), Shelly Bartlett (1997), Richelle Simpson (2005), Stephanie Carter (2007) and Emily Wong (2014) among the elite women’s gymnasts in the history of Coach Dan Kendig’s program to win the highest honor presented by Nebraska to its student-athletes.

DeZiel and Welk also will win the conference’s most exclusive award as recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2015. The award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Big Ten schools currently feature more than 9,000 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 100 years of the Medal of Honor, over 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction.

In an exciting addition to the annual awards event, Nebraska added a pair of new awards to recognize the top athletic achievements by its student-athletes. Miles Ukaoma, who won the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the 400-meter hurdles, claimed Nebraska’s Best Male Athlete Award. A four-time All-American in the event, Ukaoma added a pair of Big Ten crowns (2012, 2014) in the event while also capturing a Big Ten title as a member NU’s 4×400-meter relay (2013). The native of Maize, Kan., completed his athletic eligibility at Nebraska last season.

Liz Kuhlkin, who led the Nebraska bowling team to its second NCAA team title in the last three seasons over the weekend in St. Louis, captured the Best Female Athlete Award. Kuhlkin, who was the Most Outstanding Bowler at the 2013 NCAA Championships and a member of the 2015 NCAA All-Tournament Team, was named the National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2015. The senior from Schenectady, N.Y., is a three-time first-team NTCA All-American and a two-time academic All-Big Ten selection.

A new scholastic award was also presented with the addition of the Outstanding Scholar Award. Welk was joined in earning that honor by fellow men’s track and field team members Will Lohman and Mark Hilderbrand along with men’s golfer Josh Reinertson. On the women’s side, the Outstanding Scholar Award went to twins Amanda and Jennifer Lauer from the women’s gymnastics program.

Coach Pablo Morales’ Nebraska women’s swimming and diving team captured the Herman Team Grade-Point Average award with a combined GPA of 3.568 for 2014, ending a streak of four straight wins by the women’s tennis program. Coach Kerry McDermott’s Husker tennis team claimed the award on the men’s side with a 3.510 GPA in 2014. The victory by the tennis team also ended a streak of four consecutive wins by the men’s golf program.

The Herman Team Grade-Point Average awards began in 1994 thanks to a generous contribution from Dick and Dale Herman. Dick, who has been a generous contributor across many levels of Nebraska Athletics, especially to the Academic support facilities and Academic recognition events, was presented a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.

Coach Chuck Chmelka’s Nebraska men’s gymnastics team and Coach John Walker’s women’s soccer team captured the prestigious Life Skills Awards of Excellence, for their exceptional commitment to NU’s award-winning Life Skills program. The Life Skills program also named five winners across all sports of its most prestigious individual award – the Heart & Soul Award. The Heart & Soul winners were Samantha Areman (Soccer), Devandrew Johnson (Track & Field), Rebekah Land (Swimming & Diving), Ian Ousley (Wrestling) and Desire’ Stephens (Women’s Gymnastics).

In addition to the team awards and the Heart & Soul awards, Life Skills presented 35 of Nebraska’s top all-around student-athletes across all sports with Nebraska Student-Athlete Hero Leadership awards.

Overall, a total of 269 Huskers earned academic medallions at the banquet. Gold medallions (68) were presented to those for highest academic honors (3.75-4.0 grade-point average). Silver medallions (61) were awarded to those for high honors (3.5-3.749 GPA), while bronze medallions (140) were presented to student-athletes with honors (3.0-3.499 GPA).

2015 University Nebraska Athletic/Academic/Life Skills Awards
Male Student-Athlete of the Year – John Welk (Track & Field)
Female Student-Athlete of the Year – Jessie DeZiel (Gymnastics)

Best Male Athlete – Miles Ukaoma (Track & Field)
Best Female Athlete – Liz Kuhlkin (Bowling)

Outstanding Scholar Awards (6)
Mark Hilderbrand (Track & Field)
Will Lohman (Track & Field)
John Welk (Track & Field)
Josh Reinertson (Golf)
Amanda Lauer (Gymnastics)
Jennifer Lauer (Gymnastics)

Heart & Soul Awards (5)
Samantha Areman (Soccer)
Devandrew Johnson (Track & Field)
Rebekah Land (Swimming & Diving)
Ian Ousley (Wrestling)
Desire’ Stephens (Gymnastics)

Men’s Herman Team GPA Award – Tennis (3.510 GPA)
Women’s Herman Team GPA Award – Swimming & Diving (3.568 GPA)

Men’s Life Skills Award of Excellence – Gymnastics
Women’s Life Skills Award of Excellence – Soccer

Lifetime Achievement Award – Dick Herman

Nebraska Student-Athlete Hero Leadership Awards (35)
Freedom Akinmoladun, Football
Landon Bartel, Track & Field
Jourden Casey, Soccer
Davon Clark, Track & Field
Byerson Cockrell, Football
Cassie Deeg, Women’s Golf
Hannah Dittmar, Soccer
Joey Felici, Football
Kelsey Fien, Volleyball
Sarah Firestone, Track & Field
Trey Foster, Football
Levi Gipson, Track & Field
Blake Headley, Baseball
Ciara Jenkins, Swimming & Diving
Collin Jensen, Wrestling
Jacqueline Juffer, Swimming & Diving
Kye Kurkowski, Basketball
Jennie Laeng, Women’s Gymnastics
Will Lohman, Track & Field
Chris Long, Football
Alex Lorentz, Rifle
Ethan Lottman, Men’s Gymnastics
Mackenna Maddox, Women’s Tennis
Cameron Palmer, Men’s Golf
De’Mornay Pierson-El, Football
Esther Ramacieri, Women’s Basketball
Siera Rohde, Track & Field
Chris Schindler, Men’s Tennis
Tristen Sharp, Track & Field
Lotte Sjulin, Softball
Kiki Stokes, Softball
Alney Tobias, Cross Country
Coleman Tokar, Men’s Gymnastics
Jessica Wright, Cross Country
Briana Zabierek, Bowling

Cox Hits Two Homers and Huskers Win 12-3

Posted on April 13, 2015

Lincoln – Behind a pair of home runs from Christian Cox and a career-high four hits from Austin Christensen, the No. 23 Nebraska baseball team (26-11, 5-4 Big Ten) notched a series win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-19, 3-9 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon with a 12-3 in the rubber-match of the series. The Huskers took the final two games of the series by a combined score of 19-7 after being shutout, 3-0, in the series opener.

Cox became the first Husker to hit two home runs in a game since Cody Asche blasted a pair of homer against Baylor on April 30, 2011. Both homers were two-run shots to right field and came directly after Christensen started the inning with a single. Cox is now tied with Tanner Lubach for the team lead with three home runs.

Christensen finished the day 4-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. The junior first baseman’s previous high for hits in a game was two.

The Huskers pounded out a season-high 17 hits on the day, including a season-high five doubles. Blake Headley hit his 13^th and 14^th doubles of the season, while Ben Miller, Jake Schleppenbach and Tanner Lubach each added a double. Along with Cox’s two homers, NU also notched a season-high seven extra-base hits. Six different Huskers recorded a multi-hit game, while three Huskers delivered multi-RBI performances.

The Huskers jumped on Minnesota starter Tim Shannon in the first, as Ryan Boldt started the game with an infield single and then stole second base. NU then had runners on the corners when Schleppenbach beat out a bunt, and Headley came through with a RBI double. Miller and Lubach each followed with RBI groundouts to put the Huskers ahead 3-0.

Christensen started the second with a single and Cox followed with his first home run of the day, putting the Huskers ahead 5-0.

NU starter Derek Burkamper didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings, but then struggled in the fourth when he gave up three runs on three hits. With the tying runs on base and two outs, Jeff Chesnut got the final out of the third. The junior right-handed reliever earned the win on the day to improve to 5-0 on the season.

The Husker offense responded in the bottom of the frame and got all three runs back. Christensen started the inning with a single and Cox came calling again with a homer into the visitor’s bullpen behind the right-field wall. Boldt then earned a free pass when he was HBP and scored on Schleppenbach’s double.

Nebraska’s bullpen held the Gophers scoreless the rest of the game, while NU’s offense tacked on a run in the fifth and three runs in the eighth to coast to a 12-3 win. The Huskers pounded out five hits in the eighth.

The Huskers are back in action on Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha for a 7:05 p.m. contest against the Creighton Bluejays. The game will be carried on CBS Sports Network. The Huskers will be home on Wednesday night against the Omaha Mavericks, before welcoming the Ohio State Buckeyes to Lincoln next weekend for a three-game series.

Huskers Capture Fifth NCAA Title

Posted on April 11, 2015April 12, 2015

St. Louis, Mo.- The Nebraska women’s bowling team captured its fifth NCAA title in school history Saturday night, as the NTCA top-ranked Huskers defeated Stephen F. Austin 4-2 at Tropicana Lanes in St. Louis in front of a nationally televised audience.

The Huskers have won five NCAA titles since bowling became an NCAA sanctioned sport in 2003, as tonight’s victory was its first since 2013. NU also won it all in 2009, while winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005. In the first 12 years of NCAA sponsorship, the Huskers have finished first or second seven times.

Husker freshman Julia Bond of Aurora, Ill., won Most Valuable Player in the NCAA National Championship match, as senior Liz Kuhlkin also made the all-tournament team.

Bond, in her first season with the Huskers was speechless after the match, mentioning that all of the hard work the team has put in really showed when the match got tough.

“This is literally the definition of hard work pays off, that match was so tough, and when we got behind there for a bit, we just continued to believe and work hard,” Bond said. “To win the national championship is really important to us, again, it just shows our hard work pays off.”

A third-team all-American selection, Bond was at a loss of words trying to describe what it felt to be champions.

“Being a freshman and doing something like this—it is just unbelievable. It is honestly all because of the girls that were standing behind me every shot,” she said. “It just feels great. To win MVP really means a lot, it kind of sets the tone for my college career—it just feels really good right now to be champions.”

Nebraska Head Coach Bill Straub was not surprised by Bond’s performance, according to Straub she has been really at the top of her game for about the last month or so.

“The last two weeks before we came here, we really worked on hitting spares in practice while really working on our fundamentals,” Straub said. “Bond was at the top of the list, she does not very often hit a bad shot, every time she is up you know the shot is in the hunt,”

According to Straub, he believes that the Huskers preparation throughout the season helped guide them to their 10^th overall championship.

“They talk about it with football pretty regularly, the people that are the best conditioned or best the best prepared last the longest doing their best, and that is what we did tonight,” Straub said. “My hat goes off to Stephen F. Austin, they are a tremendous team, but I just think the endurance of being so prepared for a long struggle that required emotion management and fundamental preparation and then the delivery of those fundamentals, those are the reasons that got the ‘W for us.”

Straub added that its great the Huskers won their fifth NCAA title, but as he mentioned, do not forget about the other five championships Nebraska has won before the NCAA began sponsoring bowling.

“For the school this is our 10^th title overall, and fifth NCAA title since the sport become sponsored by the NCAA in 2003. 10 is sure a nice number, I am certainly not discounting the five NCAA titles, 10 just sure does make a nice round number.”

In game one, the Huskers opened up the national championship match in exciting fashion against the Jacks, as NU used clutch strikes by freshman Julia Bond and senior Andrea Ruiz to narrowly beat SFA 237-232.

Nebraska opened up the second game with a strike from sophomore Gazmine Mason, before leaving some pins out on the alley through the first five frames of the game, as the Huskers trailed the Ladyjacks by 49 after five frames.

Mason again would try and spark NU, as the Rhode Island native rolled a strike in the sixth frame to give NU a spark. After two consecutive spares by Melanie Crawford and Ruiz, and a strike by Bond, senior Liz Kuhlkin finished the second game with a spare. Despite the strong finish, Stephen F. Austin threw seven- consecutive strikes to defeat the Huskers 253-178

The Huskers quickly got game two out of their minds, as the lady Huskers opened up game three on fire with three strikes and two spares, giving NU a 13 pin lead after five frames. Mason continued her dominating ways in the sixth frame, throwing her fourth-straight strike to build on the Husker lead.

Junior Melanie Crawford threw a clutch spare in the seventh frame, after only knocking six pins down in her first attempt. Ruiz threw her fourth strike of the night in the eighth frame, giving NU some cushion before their 4-5 bowlers. Bond threw a strike and Kuhlkin was able to close the game out with a spare, as the Huskers crushed the Ladyjacks 201-171.

NU continued their dominating play in game four, as the Huskers opened the game with two strikes and a spare to grab the early lead. After two spares from Bond and Kuhlkin, NU took an 11 pin lead to the media timeout, entering the sixth frame. Despite the early lead, the Huskers were unable to hold on to the lead, as SFA edged out NU 188-179 to even the match up 2-2.

Entering into game five, the Huskers and Ladyjacks began a best-of-three series for the NCAA Title. NU started off game five with an open frame, leaving two pins up giving Stephen F. Austin an early lead. The Huskers continued to battle, as NU only trailed by 10 pins entering the sixth frame.

Mason again through an impressive strike to open up the sixth frame of game five, as the Huskers continued to try and battle back against the Ladyjacks. Ruiz again threw a clutch strike in the eighth frame, giving the Huskers the lead back. NU was able to close out SFA after clutch shots from both Bond and Kuhlkin, as the Huskers took game five 205-201.

Game six brought the best out of both Nebraska and Stephen F. Austin, as the Huskers tried to close out SFA to win the title. After a clutch strike from Crawford the Huskers trailed the Ladyjacks by four entering the sixth frame and media timeout.

After an open frame in the seventh frame, Ruiz hit a huge strike to give the Huskers the chance to control their own destiny. Both Bond and Kuhlkin were able to close the match out, as Kuhlkin threw the final spare to give Nebraska the match win 4-2.

Huskers Even Series with 7-4 Win

Posted on April 11, 2015April 12, 2015

Lincoln – With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Nebraska baseball team (25-11, 4-4 Big Ten) plated four runs with two outs to take a 7-3 lead over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-18, 3-8 Big Ten). Josh Roeder took the mound in the ninth with the Huskers ahead 7-4 and picked up his 11^th save of the season with perfect frame of relief.

After Minnesota reliever Brian Glowicki retired NU’s first two batters in the seventh, Austin Darby started a two-out rally with a single and Austin Christensen then untied the game with a RBI double into the right-field corner. Glowicki then issued back-to-back walks to load the bases and Ryan Boldt broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple.

The Gophers got a run back in the eighth to cut NU’s lead to three runs, but Roeder made quick work of the top of UM’s lineup with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout for his 29^th career save. Roeder is now two saves away from tying Brett Jensen’s career save mark.

Freshman Jake Meyers, who earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the year, kept the Huskers in the game after starter Kyle Kubat gave up three runs (two earned) on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Meyers came in with two outs in the top of the fifth and runners on first and second. The freshman lefty struck out Toby Hanson to end the frame and then went on to retire all seven Gophers he faced, while notching three strikeouts.

Dan Motel started the game with a double for the second straight night and later scored to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. After being shutout on Friday, the Huskers answered in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs on three hits, including a double by Blake Headley.

Minnesota retook the lead in the top of the fourth, and the inning started with an error by Jake Placzek. The error resulted in an unearned run and the Gophers tacked on another to take a 3-2 lead.

Tanner Lubach evened the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth when he a one-out solo homer run into the left-field berm, his third home run of the season.

The Huskers and Gophers meet for the rubber match of the series tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Riley Amazed as 76,000-Plus Show up for Huskers’ Spring Game

Posted on April 11, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mike Riley agrees with his new school’s fight song, which says there is no place like Nebraska.

When he came out of the tunnel Saturday, there were 76,881 fans waiting to watch his first Red-White Game as the Cornhuskers’ coach.

Riley says he’s been in great football environments, but never one like that for a spring game.

The Red squad was stacked with most of the experienced players and outscored the White 24-15 in front of the second-largest crowd for a spring game at Nebraska. The school record of 80,149 was set in 2008 for Bo Pelini’s first spring game.

Riley alternated sidelines and was with the Red team as time ran out. Players doused him with Gatorade.

Huskers Shutout, 3-0, in Series Opener

Posted on April 10, 2015

Lincoln – The No. 23 Nebraska baseball team (24-11, 3-4 Big Ten) was unable to find a rhythm at the plate on Friday night and was shutout, 3-0, in its series opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-17, 3-7 Big Ten). The Gophers outhit the Huskers, 6-5, on the night and the Huskers were shutout at home for the first time since March 11, 2012, when NU lost to Cal, 4-0.

Senior Chance Sinclair allowed two runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out five, but fell to 4-5 on the year. After posting a 6-0 record in Big Ten play last season, Sinclair is 1-2 in league play this year.

Minnesota’s Ben Meyer went 6.2 innings in his second win of the season. The right hander gave up four hits and four walks, while striking out two.

The Gophers started the game with a double by Dan Motl and two groundouts later he crossed the plate to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. It looked like the Huskers would answer in the bottom of the frame when Meyer walked the first two Huskers of the game. After a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position, Tanner Lubach hit a chopper to Meyer, who got Jake Schleppenbach at third base and Ryan Boldt was caught in a run down between third and home, and was tagged out for an inning-ending double play.

Minnesota pushed its lead to 2-0 in the third when Jordan Smith started the inning with a single and quickly scored on Motl’s second double of the game.

The Huskers got back-to-back singles to start the home half of the third, but Meyer settled in and retired the next three Huskers he faced to keep his 2-0 led intact.

Nebraska threatened again in the seventh when Austin Darby started the inning with a single and Jake Placzek worked a two-out walk to put the tying runs on base. The Gophers went to reliever Jordan Jess, who struck out Boldt on three pitches to end the threat.

Minnesota extended its lead to 3-0 in the ninth when Toby Hanson launched a two-out solo home run deep to right field. The Huskers got a one-out single from Darby in the ninth, but nothing else, and Jess picked up his first save of the season.

Game two between the Huskers and Gophers is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. tomorrow night, and the game will be streamed live on HuskersNSide.

Riley Won’t Reveal a lot of Offense in Huskers’ Spring Game

Posted on April 10, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska fans’ sense of anticipation for Saturday’s spring game is heightened because it will be their first look at the Cornhuskers under new coach Mike Riley.

Riley says he’s excited, too, because he’s never been at a school where a spring game is so celebrated.

As of late in the week, 65,000 tickets had been sold. The crowd at Memorial Stadium probably will swell to over 70,000 on what’s supposed to be a sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 70s.

That’s a stark contrast to Riley’s final spring game at Oregon State, where 5,000 to 7,000 fans typically show up.

Riley said the passionate fan base is one of the things that drew him to Nebraska.