MANHATTAN, Kan. The Nebraska baseball program hits the road for the first time since the opening weekend, traveling to Kansas State to open the Big 12 Conference portion of the 2008 schedule.
The series begins at 4 p.m. Friday at Tointon Family Stadium in a game that was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m., but has been moved up due to weather concerns. The next two games on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) will be afternoon contests.
The Huskers enter the series 11-2 and riding a 10-game winning streak.
Under coach Brad Hill (127-105-2 in five seasons), Kansas State heads into this weekend's action with a four-game win streak following a 9-6 victory over Washington State Tuesday night. K-State returns 22 letterwinners from a team that went 34-24 and reached the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2002.
Offensively, KSU has been led by Nate Tenbrink, who paces the Wildcats with a .370 average with two homers and 12 RBIs. He is also 11-of-12 on the basepaths, helping the team steal 33 of 38 bases. Tenbrink is one of three players who has driven in at least 10 runs this season, despite a slow start from All-Big 12 outfielder Byron Wiley, who is hitting .125 with two RBIs.
On the mound, KSU welcomes back three of its top four starters, as well as All-Big 12 closer Daniel Edwards. Senior Brad Hutt is the ace of the KSU staff, posting a 2.25 ERA in his three starts. He is one of only two pitchers in the Big 12 to toss a complete game in 2008, joining NU's Aaron Pribanic in that category.
Edwards, who saved 11 games in 2007, is third in the Big 12 with four saves in just six appearances this season.
Grand Island senior Johnny Dorn (2-0, 1.35 ERA) is scheduled to start the opening game Friday for Nebraska. The right-hander leads all active Division I pitchers in career wins with 33 following his victory over Northern Colorado last Saturday.
Dorn, who is one of only two pitchers in school history to record a pair of double-figure season win totals, had 33 career wins and is eight shy of two-time All-American Shane Komine's school and Big 12 record of 41 wins. He had a career-high 13 strikeouts in his previous start.
Center fielder Bryce Nimmo has been one of NU's hottest bats in the opening weeks of the season. The senior is seventh in the Big 12 with a .400 average, while ranking ninth in the league with a .491 on-base percentage.
Nimmo, who had a career-best eight-game hit streak snapped on Tuesday, had five straight multi-hit games in that stretch, including three-hit games against UC Riverside and Northern Colorado. Against the Bears on March 8, he went 3-for-4 with his first homer since April of 2006.
One of the biggest differences in the 2008 Huskers is the emergence of sophomore DJ Belfonte as a run producer at the top of the lineup. Belfonte is hitting .382 with 11 RBIs in his first 13 contests, nearly equaling his entire 2007 total for RBIs. He has reached base safely in 11 of 13 games this season and tops NU with seven multi-hit contests. Belfonte established a career best with four hits and four RBIs in a win at Stanford on Feb. 22.
One area where the Huskers fared well in the early going is with two outs. Through 13 games, the Nebraska is hitting .323 in two-out situations and have 37 of their 85 team RBIs (44 percent) with two down. Belfonte has led the charge, hitting .563 with six RBIs in two-out situations. Against Stanford on Feb. 22, Nebraska scored eight of its nine runs in two-out situations in a 9-2 win over the Cardinal.
NU-KSU Series
Friday: Nebraska (Johnny Dorn, 2-0, 1.35 ERA) at Kansas State (Brad Hutt, 1-2, 2.25 ERA), 4 p.m.
Saturday: Nebraska (Thad Weber, 2-1, 7.16 ERA) at Kansas State (Chase Bayuk, 0-1, 5.22 ERA), 2 p.m.
Sunday: Nebraska (Aaron Pribanic, 2-0, 0.96 ERA) at Kansas State (Justin Murray, 1-0, 1.54 ERA), 1 p.m.
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