• Marlon Lucky and Joe Ganz appear on award watch lists
• Eshaunte Jones appears to be headed to Nebraska
• Want to play NCAA Football 2008 with Grant Wistrom?
• Will Khiry Cooper stay in Lincoln or sign with the Los Angeles Angels?
• Hunter Teafatiller gets third DUI in the last year
• Walter Roese has joined the Nebraska mens basketball staff
• Huskers host regionals this weekend
• What former Husker Trev Alberts thinks about the 2008 team
• Husker hoops recruit Roburt Sallie won’t be making it to Lincoln
• Dorn and Herr save the day
• Huskers Drop 4th Straight to Bears
• Big inning sinks #5 Huskers
• Huskers get commitment #5 as Dontrayevous Robinson pledges
• C.J. Zimmerer gets Nebraska offer and quickly accepts
• Huskers sweep doubleheader with dramatic comebacks

Lincoln, NE - The Huskers earned a regional host this year after winning 40 games.  The regional teams are #4 seed Eastern Illinois, #3 seed Oral Roberts, and the #2 seed University of California Irvine Anteaters.  The Anteaters were the crowd favorite last year in Omaha who went 2-2 and lost to the eventual champion Oregon State in the semi finals 7-1.

The Huskers open the regional on Friday with the #4 Eastern Illinois Panthers at 1:05pm.  The game will be televised on NETV in Nebraska and will be carried on CSTV throughout the country.

The Huskers will send Dan Jennings to the hill in place of the usual Friday starter Johnny Dorn and save Dorn for the Saturday matchup with either Oral Roberts or UC Irvine.  Johnny has been lights out this season and would be better utilized against ORU or UCI since Eastern Illinois is one of the few teams with a losing record in this year’s postseason (27-28).

Oklahoma City, OK - The Huskers had given up 46 runs in the last 29 innings.  They’d lost the last 4 games by a combined 30 runs.  They deseperately needed something, a spark, someone to step up and say, “Enough is enough”.  

Tonight, Johnny Dorn was that guy as the Huskers topped the Wildcats 5-2.  Dorn came in and shut down the Wildcats in impressive fashion.  He allow 2 runs, but both were unearned following a Jake Mort error at third.  He got out of rough situation after rough situation, seeming to just will his way out.  He seemed to just want it more than the other team. 

Overall, Johnny allowed 0 earned runs over 6.2 innings while striking out 3.  Zach Herr came in and at first, it looked like the bullpen might let us down again.  With 1 runner on, Zach hit the very first batter with a pitch and then uncorked a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position.  Zach later managed to strikeout the last batter of the inning, in fact, he struck out 6 out of the 7 outs he recorded.

For the offense, Jake Opitz stole the day.  He had 2 RBIs on a large blast to left center.  Mitch Abeita and Tyler Farst also each drove in a run.

The win was the 40th of the year.  The Huskers next face the Oklahoma State Cowboys tomorrow for a chance to head to the championship game.  The Huskers need Kansas State to beat Baylor in the finale on Saturday to allow the Huskers to advance.

Oklahoma City, OK - The #7 Huskers have had a tough time finding that spark that has made this team so special all year long.  Last weekend the Husker looked competitive for the first 7 innings of a 3 game set in Columbia versus the Tigers.  Then, Johnny Dorn came out of the game and the Huskers have been outscored 46-16 since then.

That includes Wednesday’s 10-4 loss to the underacheiving Baylor Bears.  The team that took pride from it’s pitching has found itself desperately searching for someone who can throw strikes.  The team that averaged 3.17 walks per game before the Mizzouri series has walked 25 in their last 4 games, just over 6 per game.

Wednesday’s game was no exception.  Dan Jennings, who has cooled off of late perhaps due to being a little worn out, walked 5 in 6 innings although he only gave up 3 earned runs in the process.  Zach Herr, who’s been a staple in the bullpen, replaced Jennings and walked the first two batters he faced and left without retiring a single hitter.

Fortunately for the Huskers, Dorn will take the mound again on Friday against lowly Kansas State.  Perhaps Dorn stop the issue before the flood gates open.  Great pitchers are known for breaking losing streaks and we’re in the middle of one in what’s probably the worst possible time.  A good solid win the Nebraska way with good pitching, good fielding and solid fundamentals could be just what the doctor ordered, and not a moment too soon.

Columbia, MO - The #5 Huskers (39-10-1) couldn’t get much going against future top draft pick Aaron Crow. Still, thanks to another fantastic start by Husker Ace Johnny Dorn, they were up 1-0 going into the bottom of the 7th.

In that inning, Mizzou scored one run on a sacrifice fly just after Dorn left the game. Unfortunately for Dorn, that’s a difficult trend. Dorn has started 13 games this year and ironically enough, his only two bad starts he won. He lost one game in Stillwater 1-0 in one of his best performances.

Reliever Dan Jennings has been solid for the Big Red all season long, however last night he only retired one out and gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the eight, the first of a 7 run barrage. When the Huskers were finally out of the inning they were down 8-1 with just 3 at bats left.

The Huskers made a little noise in the top of he ninth, but couldn’t push a run across as Craig Corriston struck out with 2 runners on to end the game.

The only scoring for the Huskers camwith the 2nd at bat of the game when Jake Mort launched his first homer of the seaosn of Mizzou ace Aaron Crow.

The two team square off again this afternoon for the second game of the series. Thanks to a Texas A&M loss to Texas, the Huskers are still mathematically able to win the Big XII ouright, but they would have to win the next two and Texas A&M would have to lose the next two. Conversly, if NU loses 1 and OSU wins, the Huskers will drop to 3rd place.

Lincoln, NE - Both the #9 Aggies and the #5 Huskers (36-9-1, 15-6-1) came into tonight’s game undefeated in extra inning games.  Texas A&M has had a magical run of 15 straight conference wins, 9 of which were come from behind including a 6-run comeback in the bottom of the 9th a few weeks ago.  Both teams have had that special something that allows them to find a way to win, so it’s not suprising both teams remained deadlocked for so long.  The Aggies used a double in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded on 3 infield singles to take the final 6-3 lead.

The Huskers used some real magic to push the game into the extra frames.  Trailing 2-1 since the 2nd inning, Jake Mort laced a triple to left in the 7th to open the inning.  It looked grim, however, when 2 outs were recorded and Jake was still sitting at third.  Mort would finally tie up the game on a wild pitch with Craig Corriston at the plate.

Even though Texas A&M struck right back with a run of their own, the Huskers wouldn’t go quietly.  In bottom of the 9th inning with 1 out, it was Jake Mort again who tied it up for the Huskers when he scored on a Craig Corriston groundout to short. 

The pitching for the Huskers was again, spectacular.  Dorn pitched a solid 8 innings, giving up just 2 earned runs (and 1 unearned) while scattering 5 hits and striking out 6. Mike Nesseth came in and pitched a hitless 9th, but the performance of the night went to Zach Herr.  Herr came in for the 10th and pitched 4 solid innings, didn’t allow a single baserunner and struck out 6.

Dan Jennings was saddled with the loss, although he pitched very well even though his stat line doesn’t show it.  In the fateful 16th, he allowed 3 infield singles, two of which probably could have been outs.  Then, with the bases loaded and 1 out, he got a strikeout and Big XII leading hitter Dan Carter to popout behind the catcher, but Abeita didn’t play it well and it fell harmlessly to the turf.  And, as often happens in baseball, Carter exploits that second chance with a bases-clearing double to right center to give the Aggies their final lead.

At the plate, few Huskers had a great night, although Mort had 2 hits and scored all 3 runs for the Huskers.  The biggest issue was the Huskers inability to drive runs in.  They left over 15 runners on the basepaths (sorry I lost count, I think it’s closer to 18).  

The two teams will try to squeeze in a game Saturday between the bouts of rain at 2:05pm.

Lincoln, NE - The Huskers (36-8-1, 15-5-1) took two games from Louisiana-Lafayette winning 4-3 in both games.  The wins mark the 4th consecutive victory for the Huskers and is the 250th victory for Head Coach Mike Anderson. 

Game 1 - The first game was a continuation of a unfortunate pattern, Johnny Dorn pitches a great game yet doesn’t walk away with a victory.  Johnny pitched for 7.2 innings, scattered 5 hits, struck out 11 and gave up 3 earned runs.   However, when he left the game, the scored was knotted at 3. 

Dorn ran into a little trouble with 2 outs in the 7th when Zach Herr came in and struckout the last batter to end the inning.  In the bottom of the frame, Cody Neer knocked in the go ahead run to put Herr in position to earn the win.  Herr came out for the ninth and after a leadoff popout, he struck out the final two batters to seal the win.  With the win, Herr moved to 3-0 on the year.

Cody Neer powered the Husker offense in game one with a 2 for 4 day and 2 RBIs.  Ben Kline, Mitch Abeita, and Nick Sullivan also added 2 hits apiece to help lead the charge.

Game 2 - The nightcap was a 14 inning thriller that ended with Mitch Abeita hitting an RBI grounder up the middle to score Jake Mort from 2nd in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 14th.

The MVP of the game might be Mike Nesseth though.  Mike came in to relieve Dan Jennings in the 9th and threw 3 innings, not allowing a single hit and striking out 6.  He helped keep the Rajin Cajuns at bay until the Huskers could put up a run and walk away with a victory.  Erik Bird came in to relieve Nesseth and pitched two scoreless innings to earn his 3rd win.

Aaron Pribanic got the start ahead of Thad Weber who couldn’t be with the team so he could be present for the birth of his first child.  Pribanic went 6 innings and gave up just 2 earned runs in a nice bounce back from a few rough starts in recent weeks.

Dan Johnston, Jake Opitz, Mitch Abeita and Bryce Nimmo all chipped in 2 hits apiece.   Mort drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 14th and stole 2nd before Abeita drilled the ball up the middle to score Mort for the game winner. 

The Huskers used a dramatic 2-run 9th inning to tie it and send it into extra innings.  They scored both runs with 2 outs, including the 2nd on an error by the 3rd baseman to tie it up.

The Huskers take the week off for finals week before Texas A&M Aggies come to town in what is turning out to be the showdown for the Big XII title.  The Aggies enter the series having won 15 straight Big XII games, a league record.  They lead the league in about every offensive category and are just behind the Huskers in pitching.  It will be the 2nd time this year that Haymarket has played host to two Top 10 nationally ranked teams.  The first time was when Nebraska played Wichita State, who was then #5 in the country.

The Aggies are ranked as high as #6 (and as low as #10) coming into this week.  The first pitch is set for 6:35 pm on Friday night with Johnny Dorn getting the start.  Hopefully, we can see Johnny pitch well AND pickup a win in one game.

Waco, TX - The Huskers (31-7-1, 14-4-1) haven’t had very much luck in Waco for a long time.  Before today the Huskers were an abysmal 1-12 in Waco, easily their worst record at any Big XII destination.  The first game threatened to continue that aweful trend, when Baylor hit a dramatic 2-run home run of reliever Dan Jennings to tie the game with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th.  However, DJ Belfonte knocked in 2 go ahead runs for the 2nd time late in the game for the 6-4 win in the first half of the double header.

In an all to common trend, Johnny Dorn was excellent, but still failed to get the decision.  He pitched 7 innings, gave up just 4 hits and walked 3 while striking out 7.  He allowed 2 runs to score, both in the Baylor 5th, the only inning where he seem to face any trouble.  Dorn was in position to earn the win, when DJ Belfonte knocked in two runs in the 8th just before Dorn was lifted.

The Huskers took the early lead in the 2nd inning when Craig Corriston launched a 3-1 pitch over the left field wall.  After the Bears took the 2-1 lead in the 5th, Corriston singled home a run to tie it up again.

After the dramatic comeback in the 9th by the Bears, DJ Belfonte did it again, grounding a single up the middle in the 10th scoring Jake Opitz and Nick Sullivan for the final advantage.

Mike Nesseth earned the win, who came in to relieve Dan Jennings in the 9th and Zach Herr earned his 4th save allowing just 1 hit in the 10th.

The Huskers and Bears finish up the double header in the nightcap as the Huskers try to get their first ever series win in Waco.

Lincoln, NE - The Husker baseball team (27-6-1, 12-3-1)  took a close one from the Kansas Jayhawks in a back-and-forth seasaw battle 7 - 6.  The contest was not your typical Friday night pitchers duel as neither pitcher was overwhelmingly sharp. 

Johnny Dorn took the start and got the win, but not in typically Johnny Dorn fashion.  He struggled early, giving up 6 earned runs over the first 5 innings, but finally settled down to retire 10 out of the last 11 batters he faced.

The Jayhawks would take the early lead when KU led off the 2nd inning with a pair of singles to put runners on the corners with nobody out.  Dorn would induce a popup on the next hitter, but the ball was deep enough to score the runner from third for the sacrifice fly.

The Huskers would claw right back with two runs of their own in the bottom half.  Nebraska would take advantage of two miscues by the Jayhawks, a wild pitch to move Cody Neer and Craig Corriston to 2nd and 3rd and bad throw on a fielders choice when Corriston took off for home on Dan Johnstons grounder to the third baseman that sailed past the catcher.  Neer would score next on a groundout to 2nd base by DJ Belfonte to give the Huskers a 2-1 lead.

The Jayhawks would answer right back with a couple of RBI singles to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the 3rd, but the Huskers would strike right back in the bottom of the frame when Bryce Nimmo led off the inning with a single and came around to score off of a Mitch Abeita single.

In the 4th, Dan Johnston walked and DJ Belfonte singled to open the frame.  After a double steal, Johnston scored on a Nimmo groundout and Belfonte scored on a throwing error on a Jake Mort grounder to take the 5-3 lead.

The Jayhawks again would again strike back with three runs in the top of the 5th to take a 6-5 lead and would hold that lead until the 7th when the Huskers would load the bases with nobody out.  Craig Corriston would single to plate two more runs to give the Huskers the final 7-6 lead.

After a 2 out walk in the 8th, Dan Jennings came in to finish of the Jayhawks.  Dan Jennings would face 5 hitters, record 4 outs and 3 of them would be strikeouts as the Junior would earn another save. 

The Huskers take on the Jayhawks again tomorrow at 3:35 pm after the spring game.  Senior Thad Weber will take the hill as the Huskers look for their series win.

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 - 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.