IOWA CITY, Iowa Following a sweep of Texas Tech over the weekend, the Nebraska baseball team heads to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes on Tuesday night.
First pitch from Iowa City is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network (Ch. 220 on DirecTV).
Following the sweep of Texas Tech, the Huskers continued their climb up the national charts. Nebraska, which has won six of its seven weekend series this season, jumped from 11th to sixth in this week's Baseball America poll and from ninth to sixth in Collegiate Baseball's weekly poll.
It's the first time that the Huskers have been in the top 10 in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball since May 8, 2006 and the highest NU has been ranked since May 1, 2006, when they were third in both polls.
With a 24-4-1 record entering the week, Nebraska is enjoying one of its best starts since the program began in 1889. Only the 1983 (27-2) and 2005 (25-4) squads have had better records after 29 games. The 1983 squad won a school-record 26 games to open the season, while the 2005 team won a school-record 57 games and reached the College World Series.
On Sunday, Nick Sullivan homered and drove in a career-high five runs, as Nebraska completed a sweep of Texas Tech with a 5-3 victory on Sunday. Sullivan's three-run sixth-inning homer helped Nebraska overcome a 3-2 deficit, as he sent his third homer of the year over the wall in dead center to give the Huskers a two-run cushion.
Sullivan began NU's offensive day with a two-run double in the bottom of the first, and now has had six multi-RBI efforts in his last 12 games.
While Sullivan, who totaled three of the Huskers' five hits on the day, powered the offense, Nebraska received a solid performance from starter Aaron Pribanic, while three relievers combined for three innings of two-hit ball to preserve the win. Pribanic (4-1) allowed three runs over six innings while striking out six for his fourth win of the season before turning the game over to the bullpen.
In the seventh, Mike Nesseth got NU out of a two-on, two-out jam before Dan Jennings fanned a pair in the ninth for his third save in as many chances.
Coach Jack Dahm and the Iowa Hawkeyes come into Tuesday's matchup with an 8-17 record after dropping three of four to Purdue over the weekend. Dahm coached at Creighton for 10 years before taking the Iowa job in 2004. The Hawkeyes have non-conference wins against 2007 NCAA qualifiers Vanderbilt and Stetson before getting off to a slow start in the Big Ten.
Offensively, center fielder Caleb Curry leads the Hawkeyes with a .382 average and 27 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He is one of five Iowa hitters hitting above .300 on the season. Iowa has been proficient on the basepaths, stealing 61 of 74 bases on the season.
The Huskers will send Erik Bird (1-1, 1.62 ERA) to the mound against left-hander Michael Jacobs on Tuesday night. Jacobs is 2-3 on the season in six starts, pacing Iowa with 35 innings pitched. He earned the victory against No. 7 Vanderbilt earlier in the year, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He went just four innings in his last start against Purdue on Friday night.
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Iowa 8-4, taking three of the four matchups since the series was renewed in 2005 after a 75-year absence. The teams split two matchups last season, with the Hawkeyes winning at Deland, Fla., before Nebraska posted a 7-6 win in April in Lincoln.
Big 12 Overall
Nebraska 10-1-1 24-4-1
Texas A&M 9-3-0 26-6-0
Texas 7-5-0 21-10-0
Missouri 5-4-0 22-8-0
Oklahoma State 6-6-0 20-9-0
Baylor 6-6-0 19-11-0
Oklahoma 3-5-1 22-10-1
Texas Tech 4-8-0 16-15-0
Kansas State 2-7-0 15-15-0
Kansas 1-8-0 19-16-0
Tuesday, April 8
Nebraska at Iowa, 6 p.m. (Big 10 Network)
Northern Colorado at Kansas, 6 p.m.
New Mexico at Texas Tech, 6:05 p.m.
Texas State at Texas, 6:05 p.m.
TCU at Baylor, 6:30 p.m.
Texas A&M at Houston, 6:30 p.m.
Western Illinois at Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at Kansas State, 6:30 p.m. (FSN Midwest)
Baseball America Top 25
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) The top 25 teams in the Baseball America poll with records through April 6 and previous ranking (voting by the staff of Baseball America):
Record Pv
1. Miami 26-2 2
2. Arizona State 28-3 1
3. Florida State 28-3 6
4. North Carolina 25-6 3
5. California 21-7 7
6. Nebraska 24-4 11
7. UC Irvine 20-5 5
8. Missouri 22-8 4
9. Wichita State 24-4 12
10. Stanford 15-9 13
11. Rice 23-10 15
12. Texas 21-10 16
13. San Diego 22-11 17
14. Georgia 20-10 NR
15. South Carolina 20-10 9
16. Cal State Fullerton 18-10 25
17. Kentucky 25-5 21
18. Mississippi 20-11 NR
19. Vanderbilt 19-10 8
20. Long Beach State 18-11 10
21. Oklahoma State 20-9 NR
22. UNC Wilmington 23-5 20
23. Michigan 17-8 22
24. Coastal Carolina 24-7 24
25. Florida 21-10 19
Collegiate Baseball Top 25
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) The top 25 teams in the Collegiate Baseball poll with records through April 6, points and ranking voting by coaches, sports writers and sports information directors:
Record Pts Pvs
1. Florida St. 28-3 496 2
2. Miami, Fla. 26-2 495 3
3. Arizona St. 28-3 494 1
4. North Carolina 25-6 489 5
5. Wichita St. 24-4 485 8
6. Nebraska 24-4-1 480 9
7. California 21-7-1 478 7
8. U.C. Irvine 20-5 475 4
9. Kentucky 25-5 473 10
10. Georgia Tech 25-7 469 14
11. Georgia 20-10 465
12. Texas A&M 26-6 462 23
13. Rice 23-10 460 21
14. Texas 21-10 459 15
15. South Carolina 20-10 457 6
16. Missouri 22-8 455 12
17. Stanford 15-9 452
18. Ca. St. Fullerton 18-10 449
19. Houston 19-10 447
20. San Diego 22-11 444
21. Long Beach St. 18-11 442 11
22. St. John's 22-6 441 22
23. Vanderbilt 19-10 439 13
24. Florida 21-10 437 17
25. Virginia 24-9 434 16
Schedule changes
Nebraska coach Mike Anderson announced Monday changes to the final two games of the Nebraska-Louisiana-Lafayette series next month at Hawks Field.
"The reason we moved the schedule was because of university academic requirements around finals week," Anderson said. "We appreciate the cooperation we received from Louisiana-Lafayette to adjust the schedules, in order to benefit both teams' student-athletes academic requirements."
Saturday, May 3, will feature a tripleheader of Husker sports, as the Nebraska baseball team will play a day-night doubleheader against the Ragin Cajuns. Game one will start at 12:05 p.m. with the nightcap now set for 6:35 p.m. Fans will need separate admission to both games, as Hawks Field will be cleared between the two contests.
In addition, the Husker softball team has moved the start time of its game against Missouri to 3:35 p.m., and tickets for that game are $1 with the purchase of a baseball ticket to either game.
Season ticket holders and fans who had already purchased tickets to the Saturday, May 3 contest (No. 27 on the season ticket sheet) will be able to use those tickets for the first game on May 3, now scheduled for 12:05 p.m.
Fans that had tickets for Sunday's originally scheduled contest (No. 28 on the ticket sheet) should use those for the second game of Saturday's day-night twinbill. Due to the schedule change, fans may also use their Game 28 ticket for general admission seating for any regular season game, based on seating availability.
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