AUSTIN, Texas ‹ The No. 15-ranked Nebraska baseball team hits the road this weekend for a key three-game Big 12 Conference series against No. 13 Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The series begins with a Friday afternoon tilt, set for 3:05 p.m. On Saturday, the two teams will meet in a regionally televised game on FSN, set for 6 p.m. The series wraps up on Sunday with a first-pitch time slated for 1 p.m.
The start times for the first two games of the Nebraska-Texas series have been changed from the original schedule. Friday's time change is due to the Texas men's basketball team playing in the NCAA Tournament, while Saturday's change is to accommodate the FSN telecast.
Grand Island senior right-hander Johnny Dorn (2-0, 1.57 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday's opener against Kenn Kasparek (1-1, 4.50 ERA) of Texas. Nebraska's Thad Weber (4-1, 4.15 ERA) is slated to oppose Riley Boening (1-0, 3.32 ERA) Saturday, while the Huskers will pitch Aaron Pribanic (2-0, 1.44 ERA) Sunday against Austin Wood (2-1, 4.01 ERA).
Augie Garrido and the Longhorns are 17-6 overall and ranked in the top 15 of all three major national polls. Texas returned 18 players including five starters from a team that won the Big 12 regular-season crown a year ago.
Texas is 4-2 in conference action, taking two of three games from both Kansas and Texas Tech. UT hasn't played since a 5-4 win over Oral Roberts on Monday.
Texas is among the Big 12's offensive leaders, hitting .326 as a team and averaging nine runs a game. A pair of newcomers have powered the Texas offense early on, as freshman Cameron Rupp leads UT with a .406 average while junior college transfer Brandon Belt is hitting .357 and tops the Longhorns in both homers (four) and RBIs.
In addition to those two, UT has survived a slow start from Kyle Russell, who is hitting .228 with a homer and seven RBIs after earning Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honors in 2007.
On the mound, depth has been the key for the Longhorns, who have had 13 pitchers with at least one win through 23 games. Brandon Workman leads Texas with a 3-1 record and 39 strikeouts over 26 1/3 innings, while Austin Wood has a 2-1 record in six starts.
The Huskers lead the all-time series, 24-21, although Texas won three of four meetings in 2007. The Longhorns took 2-of-3 in Lincoln and won a matchup in the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. In Austin, the Huskers are 7-5 since 2000, winning three of the four series between the squads.
Series notes
The Huskers are 18-1-1 in their last 20 games heading into this weekend's action, including three weekend series sweeps in that span.
The Huskers' 5-0-1 start in Big 12 play is their best since the league began in 1997. The previous best start was 5-1 on four occasions, most recently in 2005.
The 14-game win streak Nebraska put together earlier this month tied for the fourth-longest win streak in school history and the longest since a 15-game win streak in 2000. The streak fell two games shy of the Big 12 record of 16 set by Kansas State (2006) and Texas Tech (2002).
The Huskers' 19-3-1 start is NU's second-best start this decade, as only the 2005 team's record through 23 games is better than the Huskers' current start. The only other team to get out of the gate quicker was the 1983 squad which won its first 26 games.
Husker starting pitchers are 12-0 since Thad Weber's loss in the 2008 season opener on Feb. 22. Weber has bounced back since then, going 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his last four outings.
Big 12 Standings
Big 12 Overall
Missouri 3-0-0 19-3-0
Nebraska 5-0-1 19-3-1
Texas 4-2-0 17-6-0
Texas A&M 3-3-0 18-6-0
Oklahoma State 3-3-0 17-6-0
Baylor 2-4-0 15-7-0
Texas Tech 2-4-0 12-11-0
Kansas 1-2-0 18-9-0
Oklahoma 0-2-1 18-7-1
Kansas State 0-3-0 11-11-0
Friday, March 29
Texas A&M at Kansas, 6 p.m.
Missouri at Texas Tech, 6:05 p.m.
Nebraska at Texas, 6:05 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 6:30 p.m.
Baylor at Oklahoma, 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 29
Baylor at Oklahoma, 2 p.m.
Missouri at Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 2 p.m.
Texas A&M at Kansas, 2 p.m.
Nebraska at Texas, 6 p.m. (FSN)
Sunday, March 30
Baylor at Oklahoma, 1 p.m.
Missouri at Texas Tech, 1 p.m.
Nebraska at Texas, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 1 p.m. (FSN Midwest)
Texas A&M at Kansas, 1 p.m.
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