Huskers Set for Season Debut at San Diego

NEBRASKA at SAN DIEGO
Feb. 17-20, 2023
Fowler Park | San Diego, Calif.

Friday, Feb. 17 – 8 p.m. CT
Pitching: LHP Emmett Olson (0-0) vs. RHP James Sashin (0-0)
TV/Streaming: WCC Network
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Saturday, Feb. 18 – 7 p.m. CT

Pitching: RHP Jace Kaminska (0-0) vs. RHP Garrett Rennie (0-0)

TV/Streaming: WCC Network

Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Sunday, Feb. 19 – 3 p.m. CT

Pitching: LHP Caleb Clark (0-0) vs. RPH Ivran Romero (0-0)

TV/Streaming: WCC Network

Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (105.3 The Bone), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Monday, Feb. 20 – 2 p.m. CT

Pitching: TBA vs. RHP Morgan Lunceford (0-0)

TV/Streaming: WCC Network

Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska opens the 2023 campaign on Friday, Feb. 17 at Fowler Park in San Diego, with the first of four games against the San Diego Toreros. First pitch of the season opener is set for 8 p.m. CT.

The teams continue the series on Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. CT and 3 p.m. CT, respectively. The four-game series wraps up on Monday at 2 p.m. CT.

All four games this weekend will be video streamed on the WCC Network. Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action this weekend on the Huskers Radio Network. Sunday’s game will be carried on 105.3 The Bone, while the remaining three games will be carried on KLIN (1400 AM, 99.3 FM) in Lincoln and KSXP (590 AM) in Omaha. Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

Nebraska vs. San Diego

• Through four games, the all-time series between the Huskers and Toreros is locked at 2-2.

• Nebraska is 0-2 against the Toreros at Fowler Park, falling 12-11 on Feb. 21, 2020 and 17-5 on Feb. 16, 2016.

• The Huskers’ two victories over San Diego came in a 5-4 win on March 12, 2004 at PETCO Park in San Diego and in a 16-9 slugfest on Feb. 21, 1980 in Las Vegas.

Opening Day

• In three seasons under head coach Will Bolt, Nebraska is 1-2 in season openers after falling to Sam Houston 8-5 in Huntsville, Texas, to begin the 2022 season.

• Friday’s contest at San Diego marks the first time since 2019 the Huskers will be opening the season in The Golden State after debuting the last three seasons in Texas.

• The Big Red are 10-8 in California since 2015, most recently winning three of its four games at UC Riverside in 2019.

Season Opener Success

• Nebraska is searching for its seventh win in the last 10 season openers after going 6-3 in season openers since 2014.

• The Huskers had three consecutive season-opening victories with wins over Pacific (2014), UNLV (2015) and College of Charleston (2016) before UC Riverside slipped by the Big Red in 2017 with a 4-3 win.

• Nebraska reeled off victories against UC Riverside (2018-19) and Baylor (2020), while falling to Purdue and Sam Houston in the last two season openers.

• The Huskers open the season in the state of California for the first time since winning three of four games in a season-opening series at UC Riverside in 2019.

What’s Returning?

HITTING

At-bats*: 1,135/1,746 (65.0%)

Runs*: 202/310 (65.2%)

Hits*: 294/441 (66.7%)

Doubles*: 53/79 (67.1%)

Triples*: 9/13 (69.2%)

Home Runs*: 32/51 (62.7%)

RBI*: 180/274 (66.2%)

Walks: 124/224 (55.4%)

Steals*: 33/56 (58.9%)

PITCHING

Wins: 9/23 (39.1%)

Saves: 3/8 (37.5%)

Starts*: 33/53 (62.3%)

Innings*: 245/458 (53.5%)

Strikeouts*: 233/437 (53.3%)

*Indicates team leader in category returns

New Faces on the Bump this Weekend

• This weekend’s starting rotation includes two players making their first start at Nebraska. Out of NU’s three announced starters this weekend, only Emmett Olson has started a game as a Husker.

• Opening-day starter Emmett Olson takes the mound after transitioning from the bullpen to the starting rotation last season. The Des Plaines, Ill., native went 3-3 with a save and a 2.86 ERA in 19 appearances, including eight starts and one complete game as a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection in 2022.

• Jace Kaminska gets the nod on Saturday after spending the last two seasons at Wichita State. Kaminska was a First-Team Freshman All-American and the AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after going 8-1 with a 2.32 ERA and two complete-games in 12 appearances, including 10 starts.

• Caleb Clark is scheduled to make his Husker debut on Sunday. The true freshman was ranked one of the top five Canadian prospects according to Perfect Game and was a two-year member of the Canadian Junior National Team.

• Olson and Kaminska are ranked No. 11 and No. 17 on D1Baseball’s list of the top Big Ten prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft, while Caleb Clark was No. 10 on the Top 20 Impact Freshmen List.

True Freshman in Opening Weekend Rotation

• Set to get the ball for game three on Sunday, Caleb Clark will become the 10th true freshman to start a game on the mound for the Huskers on opening weekend since 1999.

• In the previous nine starts by a true freshman, Nebraska is 6-3 with wins in their last two games against UC Riverside in 2019 and 2017.

NU True Freshman Starts on Opening Weekend

Colby Gomes at UC Riverside – Feb. 17, 2019

– 4.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Paul Tillotson vs. UC Riverside – Feb. 17, 2017

– 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Derek Burkamper vs. Gonzaga – Feb. 16, 2014

– 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Kyle Kubat vs. Gonzaga – Feb. 19, 2012

– 5.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K

Jon Keller vs. Air Force – Feb. 19, 2011

– 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Tom Lemke at Fresno State – Feb. 22, 2010

– 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Johnny Dorn at Hawaii-Hilo – Feb. 19, 2005

– 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Shane Komine vs. New Mexico State – Feb. 5, 1999

– 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Brent Potter vs. San Diego State – Feb. 7, 1999

– 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Schanaman Returns to the Bullpen

• Senior Shay Schanaman returns to the bullpen for the Huskers after spending the last two seasons in NU’s starting rotation.

• Schanaman transitioned to a starting role in 2021, compiling a 7-10 record with a 4.74 ERA in 25 starts and 144.1 innings of work in the last two seasons.

• The Grand Island native was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List in 2020 after his work out of the bullpen in 2019.

• As a freshman in 2019, he tied for third on the team with 19 relief appearances while pitching 22.2 innings with a 1-2 mar and 3.18 ERA. Schanaman didn’t allow an earned run in his first 10 outings, which spanned 9.1 innings.

Schanaman Closing in on All-Time Charts

• Shay Schanaman enters his final season with the Big Red nearing the Top 10 all-time list in two pitching categories at Nebraska.

• Schanaman is 17 appearances away from tying John Lepley (1985-88) and is 15 strikeouts short of Zack Kroenke (2003-05) for 10th-best in program history.

• Lepley is 10th all-time in program history with 70 career pitching appearances, while Kroenke ranks 10th with 196 career strikeouts as a Husker.

Garza Adds Versatility to NU Pitching Staff

• Michael Garza joins the Huskers after playing four seasons at Incarnate Word, where he saw time as a closer and a starter on Friday night.

• The Corpus Christi, Texas, native made 50 appearances, including 27 starts on the mound, totaling a 9-12 record and six saves with a 5.60 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 172 innings.

• Garza led the Southland Conference with 81 strikeouts and earned third-team all-conference recognition in 2022, while posting three outings of at least seven innings.

• The Incarnate Word transfer had a 3-4 mark with six saves in 19 appearances in his junior campaign in 2021.

Burnham Brings Depth, Experience to Outfield

• Casey Burnham comes to Nebraska as a graduate transfer from Kansas, where he spent four years roving the KU outfield.

• The Grand Island, Neb., native is NU’s active career leader in games played and games started after making 100 starts and playing in 111 games in his four years at Kansas.

• A career .257 hitter, Burnham has totaled 86 hits, 20 doubles, three triples and two homers in his career.

• Along with games played and started, Burnham is NU’s active career leader in doubles (20), times by hit by pitch (14) and stolen bases (25).

Numbers to Know

6 – Nebraska is 50-8 under head coach Will Bolt when scoring at least six runs. The Big Red went 5-2 in 2020 and had records of 26-2 in 2021 and 19-4 in 2022 when reaching the six-run mark.

66 – The Huskers return 66 percent of their production in runs, hits and runs batted in this season from last year’s squad.

74 – The Big Red have scored first in 74 of the 116 games since Bolt’s first year in Lincoln in 2020. In that 74-game stretch, the Huskers are 48-26.

23 – With nine freshmen and 14 transfers, 23 players on the NU roster have never appeared in a game as a Husker. Additionally, just nine have more than one year of experience with the Big Red.