Nick Sullivan and the Husker baseball team will play 30 home games in 2009. Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
A total of 19 games against NCAA Tournament teams and 30 home games at Hawks Field highlight the 2009 Nebraska baseball schedule released Monday. The Huskers, who went 41-16-1 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last 10 years in 2008, will be tested by a schedule that sees Nebraska spending 13 of its first 18 games on the road.
“We have learned over the years how important putting the right schedule together, especially as one of the things the NCAA evaluates for postseason play,” Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position to be challenged with our schedule, especially being on the road for much of the first month of the season. With this schedule, we will have to be prepared from the get-go – this schedule demands it.”
“One of the things I like about the schedule is that we are going to see a number of different styles of teams around the country. It allows us to get exposure to those styles of play, and that can only help us as we get ready for conference play.”
With 30 home games, including five Big 12 series, Anderson said that the Huskers’ home schedule will be very appealing. Nebraska opens the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, March 3, against South Dakota State, and plays 12 of its final 13 regular-season games at Hawks Field, where NU ranked among the national attendance leaders in 2008.
“I think we put together a home schedule that is going to be fun for our fans,” Anderson said. “They give us such a home field advantage, and having the opportunity to play that many games at home in front of our fans can only help us.”
Nebraska will spend most of the first month on the road, beginning with a four-game series against traditional power Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 20. The following weekend, the Huskers will trek to Texas for a tournament hosted by NCAA Tournament qualifier Sam Houston State. Following a five-game homestand, the Huskers will open Big 12 play at Texas Tech in a three-game series beginning on March 13, before closing out the opening stretch against SEC power Arkansas on March 17-18.
The scene shifts to Hawks Field the following weekend, as the Huskers play host to Oklahoma State in Nebraska’s Big 12 home opener on March 20. That begins a five-game homestand for the Huskers, as they will also host Northern Colorado (March 24-25) before wrapping up the month with a series at Oklahoma (March 27) and a contest at Super Regional qualifier Wichita State on March 31.
The Huskers will begin April at Hawks Field, opening with a eight-game homestand that includes Big 12 series against Kansas State (April 3-5) and Texas (April 9-11) along with the first of three matchups with Creighton. The series with Texas will run Thursday through Saturday because of the Easter holiday. The Huskers will hit the road for seven straight games, including a series at defending regular-season champion Texas A&M (April 17-19) and at Kansas (April 24-26) before closing the month with a two-game series against a New Mexico team that fell one win shy of making the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
The Huskers will spend the month of May at home, playing their last 10 regular-season games in the state, including Big 12 series with Missouri (May 1-3) and Baylor (May 15-17) along with the annual neutral site game against Creighton on May 12th at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium. The Huskers will also host Cal State Bakersfield in a four-game series May 8-10.
The annual Big 12 Championship at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City runs May 20-24, with the NCAA Regionals at 16 sites across the country beginning on May 29. Super Regionals will take place June 5-8, with the College World Series at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium taking place from Saturday, June 13, until Wednesday, June 24.
For the second straight year, the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network will produce every baseball game for Huskers.com and for network radio distribution. A complete radio broadcast schedule will be released in early 2009.
2009 College baseball Schedule- Nebraska
