• Missouri clobbers the Huskers 52-17
• Penalties and mental mistakes doom the Huskers
• Huskers and Hokies are ready to face off
• Former Husker Thunder Collins arrested for murder?
• Nebsports.Com is back online!
• Nebraska - Virginia Tech game to be shown on ABC
• Huskers have no problems with New Mexico State
• Nebraska lines up future games with Miami and Fresno State
• Huskers are ready for New Mexico State
• Andy Christensen re-instated by Coach Pelini
• Vote for Cornhusker cheerleader Katie Rockwell
• Huskers stuggled against San Jose State but win 35-12
• Huskers are ready for San Jose State
• Nebraska Football Tickets available
• Andy Christensen found not guilty

Lincoln, NE - In their freshman years, Erik Bird and Zach Herr were one of the best bullpen combinations in the country.    In 2006 The two combined for a 2.14 ERA, giving up just 5 earned runs over 21 innings pitched on the year.  Tonight was something of a flashback as the two combined for a complete game 3-0 shutout of the #5 Wichita State Shockers (27-6).

The win moves the Huskers to 26-6-1 and helped the Huskers bounce back from a difficult weekend in Stillwater where the Huskers went 1-2, including a 19-2 pasting from the Cowboy’s on Saturday.

The Huskers got some early offense with four consecutive singles from Jake Mort, Jake Opitz, Mitch Abeita, and Nick Sullivan.  Mort and Opitz singled to set the table for back to back RBis by Abeita and Sullivan.

The 2-0 lead was all Bird needed as he went 6 2/3 innings, gave up just 3 hits and struck out 4.  Herr came in and struck out 4 in 2 1/3 innings to close out the game for the save.

Next up for the Huskers, the Jayhawks visit Lincoln for a 3:35 matchup, pushed back so fans can attend both the spring game and the baseball game. 

Stillwater, OK - The Husker (25-6-1, 11-3-1) baseball team bounced back in impressive fashion today, taking the last game from the Oklahoma State Cowboys 14-5.  Craig Corriston and Nick Sullivan combined for 7 RBIs and Bryce Nimmo reached 5 of 6 times today from the leadoff spot for the first time thies year in place of the slumping DJ Belfonte.  While Dan Jennings came in for 4 scoreless innings of relief to seal the victory.

 Winning in Stillwater isn’t exactly easy.  16 times the Pokes have played a game there this year and today’s victory was only the 2nd for a visiting team.

The Huskers got the early lead 5-2 by scoring 4 in the 3rd without the benefit of a hit.  3 walks, 1 hit batter and 2 errors allowed the Huskers to take the early lead.

The Huskers would add to that in the 4th when  a wild pitch and a Craig Corriston double drove home would bring in 3 runs to make the score 8-2.

Aaron Pribanic got the start, but ran into trouble in the 5th when he allowed 3 earned runs (1 after he left) to score before Dan Jennings came in to stop the bleeding.  Dan would not relent as he only allowed 1 hit over the next for to shut down the Cowboy attack.  Mike Nesseth came in to seal the 9th for the 25th win of the year for the Huskers.

The Huskers came right back with 3 runs of their own the next inning to put the game out of reach when Nick Sullivan hit a two single to drive in Abeita and Mort and was then brought in himself when the next batter, Corriston, drilled a 2-out double to left center.

The win keeps the Huskers a half game behind Texas A&M for the conference lead seemingly setting up a big series in Lincoln the 2nd to last weekend of the year.

The Huskers next host the #5 Wichita State Shockers in Lincoln on Tuesday at 6:35pm.

Stillwater, OK - Senior Johnny Dorn pitched about as well as you can ask a guy on a Friday night in the Big XII on the road. However, because of the excellent pitching by Andrew Oliver of Oklahoma State, the Huskers (24-5-1, 10-2-1) drop the first game of the weekend series 1-0.

 On the night, Dorn threw a complete game 4 hitter and allowed just 1 run to score from a leadoff triple.  The ball actually landed in Bryce Nimmo’s glove who slipped and fell on the centerfield track and the ball came loose.  Johnny walked just 1 and struckout 7, but unfortunately the Huskers couldn’t manage any offense.

Oliver was brilliant against the Huskers.  He struck out 10, didn’t walk anyone, and gave up just 3 hits, all in seperate innings.  Abeita, Neer and Nimmo all had 1 hit apiece.

The two teams go head to head again tomorrow at 1:00pm as Senior Thad Weber will take the hill and try his luck against the Cowboys.

Lincoln, NE - The Huskers (22-4-1, 9-1-1) continued to stiffle the bats of the Red Raiders (16-13, 4-6) en route to a 5-2 victory at Haymarket Park.  Senior Thad Weber, who entering today had only given up 1 earned run in 23 innings of Big XII pitching, struck out a career high 11 over 7.1 innings of work. 

The Huskers got all the runs they would need in the first inning.  Mitch Abeita and Jake Opitz both coaxed two out walks and Junior Nick Sullivan drilled a 1-1 pitch over the left-center fence for a 3-0 lead.

The Red Raiders plate two of their own in the 2nd inning, but that was all.  The Raiders really only threatened twice after that, one in the 7th inning when Tech had runners on 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out when Weber got a groundout to the pitcher and a strikeout to end the threat.

In the 8th the Raiders would threaten again getting runners on the corners with two outs when Dan Jennings came in relief and induced an easy groundout to Craig Corriston at first.

Jennings proceeded to pitch a perfect ninth, getting a strikeout and a popout and a strikeout to seal the victory.  Jennings earned his first save and kept his scoreless streak alive at 19.2 innings.

The Huskers go for the sweep on Sunday at 1:05pm.  Junior Aaron Pribanic (2-1, 2.41) takes the hill, looking to bounce back from his rough start last week where he gave up 5 earned runs over 6 innings in a 12-3 loss to the Longhorns.

Lincoln, NE - Texas Tech’s Doug Thennis hit a solo shot off Johnny Dorn in the 5th.  That one short sentence describes the entire offensive output against Dorn Friday evening.   The home crowd of 6,593 watched as Dorn and the #9 Huskers (22-4-1, 8-1-1) put a muzzle on the visiting Red Raiders (16-13, 4-6)by the score of 6-2.

Dorn allowed just the 1 hit over 7.1 innings and although he walked three, he also struck out 10.  With the win, Dorn moved to 4-0 on the year with a measly 2.12 ERA and is currently 3rd in the Big XII with 48 Ks behind Kendal Volz of Baylor (50) and Missuori’s Aaron Crow (67).

At the plate, the Huskers scored the first two runs in the 2nd inning when Junior transfer Cody Neer ripped  a 1-1 pitch into right center scoring Bryce Nimmo and Craig Corriston.  In the third, the Huskers would double that lead when Jake Opitz tripled home DJ Belfonte and Mitch Abeita followed up with a double to score Opitz.

Craig Corriston answered Tech’s 1 run shot in the 5th with a solo shot of his own in the 6th on the 2nd pitch of the inning that chased starter Nathan Karns.

The Huskers will try for their 4th straight Big XII series win on Saturday at 2:05 pm at Hawks field.  Coming off his brilliant 2-hit shutout of Texas last week, Senior Thad Weber (4-1, 3.20 ERA) will look to do the same against the Red Raiders.

Lincoln, NE - The Huskers (17-3, 3-0) used a strong performance from Senior Thad Weber and some early offensive production to hang on to a 4-3 win over visiting Oklahoma. The win was the 5th Big XII win in a row by the Huskers who remain undefeated in the conference this season.

Weber went 7 innings and gave up 9 hits, but like Dorn last night he managed to escape trouble every time the Sooners threatened.   The Sooners managed baserunners in every inning, but Weber kept them from crossing the plate.  Dan Jennings came in for a scoreless 8th to preserve the 4-0 lead.

The Sooners desperately tried to make it a game in the 9th.  The Sooners opened the 9th with three straight hits off Erik Anderson.  Anderson then struck out the next batter, but the ball got away from catcher Mitch Abeita and allowed the first run to score.  The next batter hit an RBI infield single to bring the score to 4-2.  After Zach Herr got the next batter to popout, Mike Nesseth came in to close it out.  Nesseth threw a wild pitch on a 1-2 count to bring the Sooners within 1.  Mike then struck out the final batter to preserve the win.

The Huskers scored 3 of their runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to the early lead.  Jake Opitz accounted for 3 of the 4 runs on the day with an RBI and a run scored in the 1st and a long drive over the right field bullpen in the 7th.

The Huskers go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:00 pm with junior Aaron Pribanic  (2-0, 0.76 ERA) on the hill.

Manhattan, KS - The Huskers (12-2, 1-0) won their 11th straight game 2-1 versus the Kansas State Wildcats in a great Friday night Big XII pitchers duel.  The Huskers scored both of their runs on sacrifice fly’s including the go ahead run in the top of the 9th when Mitch Abeita scored on Craig Corristons fly ball to center field.

On the mound, Johnny Dorn continued his sharp start to the season with 1 run over 7 innings of work and 5 strikeouts.  The bullpen for the Huskers continued to be sharp as Zach Herr (1-0) gets the win and Erik Anderson (2) picks up the save working the last two innings for the Huskers.

At the plate, the Huskers were led by Senior Bryce Nimmo who had yet another multi hit day going 2 for 3 and scoring the first run for the Huskers.  Nimmo was brought in by Freshman David Stewart who lined to center deep enough for the speedy Nimmo. 

Before Corriston’s game-winning RBI, Abeita worked his way around the bases on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to get to third.

 The win was the first game of a 3 game series with KSU to open the Big XII season.  The two teams play again tomorrow at 2:00pm where the Huskers will send Thad Weber to the mound at 2:00 pm.

Lincoln, NE - Aaron Pribanic made a solid case to move up to the Sunday starter spot on Nebraska’s pitching rotation today with his 2nd straight complete game 7-0 win over visiting Northern Colorado (5-8).  The shutout was the first of the season for a Nebraska pitcher as the Huskers (10-2) completed the 4-game sweep of the Bears.

On the day, Pribanic allowed just 5 hits, struck out 7 and didn’t walk a single batter while throwing just 103 pitches.   The complete game lowered his ERA to 0.99 for the lowest ERA of the 4 starters (Dorn 1.35, Jennings 2.87, Weber 7.16).

The Husker bats were steady throughout scoring runs in all but the 1st and 5th innings.  DJ Belfonte led the way with a 3 for 5 day which included his homerun of the year.

Up next for the Huskers is South Dakota State in Lincoln tomorrow at 1:35 pm before they travel to Kansas State to take on the Wildcats for the first Big XII series of the season.

Lincoln, NE - The Huskers (9-2) took both ends of a doubleheader Sunday over the Northern Colorado Bears (5-7) 3-2 and 8-5.  The wins were the 7th and 8th consecutive victories, all of which started at the beginning of this 12 game home stand.

In the opener, the Huskers used a strong start from Junior right-hander Dan Jennings to fight off an equally strong start from former Husker Jon Klausing.  The Huskers managed just 3 hits against their former teammate, scoring just two runs, both in the 3rd inning.  DJ Belfonte coaxed a one-out walk and Jake Mort singled on a hit and run to put runners on the corners.  Senior Jake Opitz grounded out to first, but brought Belfonte home and moved up Jake Mort who was then brought home by a Bryce Nimmo RBI.

Northern Colorado got a run back in the 5th off a double and single (the only two hits allowed by Jennings).  Northern Colorado threatened again in the 7th when Jennings walked the first two batters and was relieved by Mike Nesseth.  Nesseth made a play on a sacrifice, but tried to get the lead runner and third and everyone was safe.

Nesseth managed to get the next hitter into a double play, but the damage was done and the tying run came across.  The game remained locked at 2 until the eigth when Craig Corriston singled home Mitch Abeita for the go ahead run.  Erik Anderson set the Bears down in order in the ninth for his first career save.

In game 2, the Huskers came out aggresive scoring four runs in the first inning and adding another in the 2nd off of David Stewart’s first career homer. 

Thad Weber was sharp early keeping a shutout through the 5 innings.  In the 6th however, he ran into trouble allowing 4 runs (2 earned) including a 2 run bomb by Kevin Sandberg.  He allowed 1 more in the 7th on an RBI double to bring the Bears within 3.

With the tying run at the plate, Zach Herr closed the door getting an inning ending groudout to end the threat.  Northern Colorado would not threaten again as Zach Heer struckout the next 5 batters before inducing a popout to end the game.  Zach ended with a career best 6 strikeouts over 2.2 innings of work to earn his first save of the year.

Despite Thad Weber’s rocky inning, the Husker pitching continues to be the suprise story for the Huskers.  The Bears have managed just 14 hits through 27 innings this weekend.  Plus, the Husker bullpen hasn’t allowed a run over the last 22 innings dating back to February 24th.

The Huskers play the series finale on Monday at 1:35 pm.  The Huskers send Junior JC transfer Aaron Pribanic (1-0, 1.86 ERA) to the hill against Senior Dan Kazell (0-0, 9.35 ERA) for Northern Colorado.

Lincoln, NE - The young season is barely over 2 weeks old and already there doesn’t seem to be enough to say about Senior right-handed pitcher Johnny Dorn.   Dorn led the Huskers (7-2) to a clear 12-2 victory over Northern Colorado (5-5) with an impressive career-high 13 strikeouts in 7 innings including striking out the first 7 batters.  Even though the Bears managed to scratch two runs off of him (1 unearned), Dorn was really in control all day.  The Bears managed just 3 hits off the Senior, none before the 5th inning.

For the offense, the Huskers used 2 big innings to put the game away early.   In the five-run 2nd inning, Bryce Nimmo, Cody Neer, Nick Sullivan, Ben Kline, DJ Belfonte and Jake Mort rattled off 6 consecutive base hits to give Johnny more than enough runs to put the game at 4-0.  Opitz added a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring at 5. 

On the day, Senior Bryce Nimmo led the way with a 3 for 4, 2 RBI, 2 Run day.  Freshman Ben Kline also added a 2 for 3 day with an RBI and 2 runs scored to increase his average to .310 for the season. 

But the real story of the day was on the mound.  Dorn has always been a solid pitcher for Nebraska and is 2nd on the career win (33) list behind Shane Komine (41) so it should be no suprise that Johnny’s pitching well, but never in his career has he been this dominant.  

Consider these numbers:

• 13.05 Ks/9 this year vs 6.87 a year ago  (71 all last year in 16 starts vs 29 in 3 this year)
• 5.23 ERA vs a miniscule 1.35 this year
• .149 Opponents Batting Average this year vs .270 Last Year

It’s way to early to draw any real conclusions, but what we’ve seen so far has made it tough to contain the excitement.  It should be exciting to watch as the young Huskers have showed a lot of promise early on.

On Sunday the two teams match up again at 12:05 pm for a double header.  The first game features Junior Dan Jennings (1-0, 2.79 ERA) vs former Nebraska pitcher Jon Klausing.  Klausing has impressed thus far for the Bears with a 1-0 record and a 1.50 ERA.

The two teams wrap up the series with a Monday afternoon game at 1:35 pm.  The series was pushed back 1 day in hopes to catch warmer temperatures for the game.