2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team

The 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team was Mike Anderson's sixth year as head coach. The Cornhuskers played their home games at Hawks Field.

2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
2008 record	41–16–1 (17–9–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Mike Anderson (6th season)
Assistant coach	Dave Bingham (3rd season)
Hitting coach	Nate Thompson (2nd season)
Pitching coach	Eric Newman (1st season)
Home stadium	Hawks Field

2008 Big 12 Conference baseball standings
	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 10 Texas A&M  ‍†‍‍^y	19	–	8	–	0		.704			46	–	19	–	0		.708
No. 18 Oklahoma State  ‍‍‍^y	18	–	9	–	0		.667			44	–	18	–	0		.710
No. 22 Nebraska  ‍‍‍^y	17	–	9	–	1		.648			41	–	16	–	1		.716
No. 21 Missouri  ‍‍‍^y	16	–	11	–	0		.593			39	–	21	–	0		.650
No. 25 Texas  ‍‍‡‍^y	15	–	12	–	0		.556			37	–	24	–	0		.607
Baylor  ‍‍‍	11	–	16	–	0		.407			32	–	26	–	0		.552
Kansas State  ‍‍‍	11	–	16	–	0		.407			29	–	29	–	0		.500
Oklahoma  ‍‍‍^y	9	–	17	–	1		.352			36	–	26	–	1		.579
Kansas  ‍‍‍	9	–	18	–	0		.333			30	–	27	–	0		.526
Texas Tech  ‍‍‍	9	–	18	–	0		.333			25	–	30	–	0		.455
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2008[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Preseason

Potential, Promise, Proven is the Huskers motto for the year. While 8 pitchers from 2007 left for the draft, the 2008 Cornhuskers team is the youngest for Mike Anderson with 15 newcomers plus 5 of last years redshirts.[2] Nebraska plays 8 teams that made the 2007 NCAA tournament including 5 one seeds.[3] The baseball team was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 by a vote of the league coaches with 36 points and no first place votes.[4]

Roster

2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/Throws Height Weight Year Home town 2 INF Jake Mort R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Nebraska City, Nebraska 3 INF Jake Opitz L/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Sr Littleton, Colorado 4 OF D. J. Belfonte L/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Kansas City, Missouri 6 INF Brett Sowers R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS Fr Englewood, Colorado 7 RHP Tyler Rank L/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Rochester, Minnesota 8 RHP Sean Yost R/R 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Lincoln, Nebraska 9 INF Dan Johnston R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Fr Papillion, Nebraska 10 C Drew Gray R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Archie, Missouri 11 RHP Matt Freeman R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Omaha, Nebraska 13 C Mitch Abeita R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Sr Dallas, Texas 14 RHP Thad Weber R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Sr Friend, Nebraska 15 INF Craig Corriston R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Paris, Texas 16 INF Andy Cotton R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr Lincoln, Nebraska 17 RHP Joe Broekemeier R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Aurora, Nebraska 18 RHP Casey Hauptman R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Omaha, Nebraska 19 INF Jeff Tezak S/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr San Diego, California 20 INF Ben Kline R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Fr Omaha, Nebraska 21 OF Nick Sullivan L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Aurora, Colorado 22 OF Clay Cuno R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So New Bloomfield, Missouri 23 RHP Johnny Dorn R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Grand Island, Nebraska 24 OF Bryce Nimmo L/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Sr Cheyenne, Wyoming 25 RHP Erik Anderson R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Prairie Village, Kansas 26 LHP Dan Jennings L/L 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Jr West Des Moines, Iowa 28 LHP Joe Hatasaki L/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) So Mountain View, California 30 RHP Erik Bird R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Omaha, Nebraska 31 LHP Ryan Christenson L/L 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Gilbert, Arizona 32 OF Tyler Farst R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Cedar Park, Texas 33 RHP Michael Mariot R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Southlake, Texas 35 C Cody Neer S/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Orlando, Florida 37 LHP Zach Herr L/L 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Omaha, Nebraska 39 RHP Aaron Pribanic R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Plano, Texas 41 RHP Mike Nesseth R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) RS Fr Windom, Minnesota 43 LHP Eric Rose L/L 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 237 lb (108 kg) RS Fr Billings, Montana	Head coach Mike Anderson Assistant coach(es) Dave Bingham Hitting coach(es) Nate Thompson Pitching coach(es) Eric Newman Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
February (2–2) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Win Loss Save Score Overall Record (Big 12) Feb. 22 Stanford Palo Alto, California Bleich (1-0) Weber (0-1) L 7-17 0-1 Feb. 22 Stanford Palo Alto, California Dorn (1-0) Davis (0-1) W 9-2 1-1 Feb. 23 Stanford Postponed (rain) Feb. 24 Stanford Palo Alto, California Inman (1-0) Bird (0-1) Stringer (1) L 2-4 1-2 Feb. 29 UC Riverside Hawks Field Anderson (1-0) Penney (0-1) W 3-2 2-2
March (19–2–1) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Win Loss Save Score Overall Record (Big 12) Mar. 1 UC Riverside Hawks Field Jennings (1-0) Larkins (1-1) W 10-4 3-2 Mar. 1 UC Riverside Hawks Field Weber (1-1) Applebee (0-2) Nesseth (1) W 5-2 4-2 Mar. 2 UC Riverside Hawks Field Pribanic (1-0) Orozco (0-1) W 13-1 (7) 5-2 Mar. 4 Nebraska–Kearney Hawks Field Hatasaki (1-0) Wrobel (1-3) W 11-2 6-2 Mar. 8 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Dorn (2-0) Reap (1-1) W 12-2 7-2 Mar. 9 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Nesseth (1-0) Peery (1-2) Anderson (1) W 3-2 8-2 Mar. 9 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Weber (2-1) Kazell (0-1) Herr (1) W 8-5 9-2 Mar. 10 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Pribanic (2-0) Keating (2-1) W 7-0 10-2 Mar. 11 South Dakota State Hawks Field Mariot (1-0) Johnson (0-2) W 7-3 11-2 Mar. 14 Kansas State Manhattan, Kansas Herr (1-0) Hoge (0-1) Anderson (2) W 2-1 12-2 (1-0) Mar. 15 Kansas State Manhattan, Kansas Weber (3-1) Bayuk (0-2) W 11-4 13-2 (2-0) Mar. 16 Kansas State Manhattan, Kansas Nesseth (2-0) Edwards (1-2) Anderson (3) W 5-3 (10) 14-2 (3-0) Mar. 18 Arkansas Hawks Field Jennings (2-0) Korbal (0-3) W 6-1 15-2 (3-0) Mar. 19 Arkansas Hawks Field Richards (1-0) Nesseth (2-1) L 4-9 15-3 (3-0) Mar. 21 Oklahoma Hawks Field Herr (2-0) Duke (3-2) W 4-2 16-3 (4-0) Mar. 22 Oklahoma Hawks Field Weber (4-1) Doyle (4-2) Nesseth (2) W 4-3 17-3 (5-0) Mar. 23 Oklahoma Hawks Field Tie 8-8 (10) 17-3-1 (5-0-1) Mar. 25 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Jennings (3-0) Klausing (1-3) W 10-0 18-3-1 (5-0-1) Mar. 26 Northern Colorado Hawks Field Bird (1-1) Banks (0-3) W 9-4 19-3-1 (5-0-1) Mar. 28 Texas Austin, Texas Dorn (3-0) Shinaberry (1-1) Jennings (1) W 14-4 20-3-1 (6-0-1) Mar. 29 Texas Austin, Texas Weber (5-1) Wood (2-2) W 2-0 21-3-1 (7-0-1) Mar. 30 Texas Austin, Texas Boening (2-0) Pribanic (2-1) Green (1) L 12-3 21-4-1 (7-1-1)
April (13–4) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Win Loss Save Score Overall Record (Big 12) April 1 Creighton Postponed until April 23 (Cold Weather) April 4 Texas Tech Hawks Field Dorn (4-0) Karns (1-5) W 6-2 22-4-1 (8-1-1) April 5 Texas Tech Hawks Field Weber (6-1) Ramos (1-3) Jennings (2) W 5-2 23-4-1 (9-1-1) April 6 Texas Tech Hawks Field Pribanic (4-1) Bettis (3-2) Jennings (3) W 5-3 24-4-1 (10-1-1) April 8 Iowa Canceled (Cold Weather) April 11 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Oklahoma Oliver (3-2) Dorn (4-1) L 0-1 24-5-1 (10-2-1) April 12 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Oklahoma Lyons (6-2) Weber (6-2) L 2-19 24-6-1 (10-3-1) April 13 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Oklahoma Jennings (4-0) Blanford (3-3) W 14-5 25-6-1 (11-3-1) April 15 Wichita State Hawks Field Bird (2-1) Kelley (4-2) Herr (2) W 3-0 26-6-1 (11-3-1) April 18 Kansas Hawks Field Dorn (5-1) Czyz (2-4) Jennings (4) W 7-6 27-6-1 (12-3-1) April 19 Kansas Hawks Field Weber (7-2) Esquibel (3-3) Herr (3) W 8-6 28-6-1 (13-3-1) April 20 Kansas Hawks Field Walz (3-0) Pribanic (3-2) Smyth (7) L 3-6 28-7-1 (13-4-1) April 22 Creighton Hawks Field Jennings (5-0) Hauer (6-2) Nesseth (3) W 4-3 29-7-1 (13-4-1) April 23 Creighton Rosenblatt Stadium Mariot (2-0) Moore (4-5) W 16-7 30-7-1 (13-4-1) April 25 Baylor Postponed until April 26 (Rain) April 26 Baylor Waco, Texas Nesseth (3-1) Kenpf (5-2) Herr (4) W 6-4 (10) 31-7-1 (14-4-1) April 26 Baylor Waco, Texas Weber (8-2) Tolleson (4-3) W 14-1 (7) 32-7-1 (15-4-1) April 27 Baylor Waco, Texas Kempf (6-2) Pribanic (3-3) Thurman (2) L 3-8 32-8-1 (15-5-1) April 29 Western Illinois Hawks Field Hauptman (1-0) Percival (1-6) Nesseth (4) W 6-4 33-8-1 (15-5-1) April 30 Western Illinois Hawks Field Bird (3-1) Zenesek (1-2) W 6-1 34-8-1 (15-5-1)
May (5–4) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Win Loss Save Score Overall Record (Big 12) May 2 Louisiana–Lafayette Canceled (Rain) May 3 Louisiana-Lafayette Hawks Field Herr (3-0) Glass (2-3) W 4-3 35-8-1 (15-5-1) May 3 Louisiana-Lafayette Hawks Field Bird (4-1) Harmon (1-2) W 4-3 (14) 36-8-1 (15-5-1) May 9 Texas A&M Hawks Field Starling (8-0) Jennings (5-1) L 3-6 (16) 36-9-1 (15-6-1) May 10 Texas A&M Postponed until May 11 (Rain) May 11 Texas A&M Hawks Field Jennings (6-1) Thebeau (5-3) W 9-8 37-9-1 (16-6-1) May 11 Texas A&M Hawks Field Nesseth (4-1) Minks (4-1) W 13-10 38-9-1 (17-6-1) May 13 Creighton Rosenblatt Stadium Bird (5-1) Hellhake (3-1) Hauptman (1) W 8-1 39-9-1 (17-6-1) May 16 Missouri Columbia, Missouri Crow (12-0) Jennings (6-2) L 8-1 39-10-1 (17-7-1) May 17 Missouri Columbia, Missouri Berger (4-4) Weber (8-3) Allen (2) L 22-9 39-11-1 (17-8-1) May 18 Missouri Columbia, Missouri Zagone (2-3) Pribanic (3-4) Gibson (2) L 3-7 39-12-1 (17-9-1)
Postseason
Big 12 Tournament (1–2) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Win Loss Save Score Overall Record (Big 12) May 21 Baylor Oklahoma City Tolleson (6-4) Jennings (6-3) Kempf (2) L 4-10 39-13-1 May 23 Kansas State Oklahoma City Dorn (6-1) Bayuk (1-5) Herr (5) W 5-2 40-13-1 May 24 Oklahoma State Oklahoma City Lyons (11-2) Weber (8-4) Weinhardt (4) L 5-11 40-14-1

[5]

Season Facts

• Johnny Dorn's 13 Strike out game against Northern Colorado is his career high.[6]
• Aaron Pribanic threw back to back complete games against UC Riverside and Northern Colorado becoming the first Husker pitcher to toss consecutive complete games since Aaron Marsden in March 2003.[7]
• The 14-game win streak Nebraska put together tied for the fourth-longest win streak in school history and the longest since a 15-game win streak in 2000. The Huskers’ streak fell two games shy of the Big 12 record of 16 set by Kansas State (2006) and Texas Tech (2002).[8]
• The Tie against Oklahoma on March 23 was the first tie for Nebraska since 1996 and the fourth one in league games since the Big 12 established in 1996.[9]
• The Huskers’ 5-0-1 start in Big 12 play is their best since the league was formed in 1997. The previous start was 5-1 on four occasions, most recently in 2005.[8]

Awards

• Mitch Abeita
  • All-Big 12 First Team[10]
  • ABCA All-Midwest Region Team[11]
• Craig Corriston
  • Big 12 Player of the Week (03/17/2008)[12]
  • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention[10]
• Johnny Dorn
  • Big 12’s Co-Pitcher of the Week (03/10/2008)[13]
  • All-Big 12 First Team[10]
  • ABCA All-Midwest Region Second Team[11]
  • Third-Team All-American[14]
• Dan Jennings
  • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention[10]
• Bryce Nimmo
  • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention[10]
• Jake Opitz
  • All-Big 12 First Team[10]
  • ABCA All-Midwest Region Second Team[11]
• Nick Sullivan
  • Big 12 Player of the Week (03/24/2008)[15]
• Thad Weber
  • All-Big 12 Second Team[10]

Rankings

Ranking Movement

	Poll	Pre- season	Feb 25	Mar 3	Mar 10	Mar 17	Mar 24	Mar 31	April 7	April 14	April 21	April 28	May 5	May 12	May 19	May 26	June 3	June 10	Final
[16]	USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll	NR	--*	NR	NR	24	17	10	6	9	8	7	7	6	7	10	--	--	23
[17]	Baseball America	NR	NR	NR	NR	22	19	11	6	9	8	6	5	5	12	13	20	20	20
[18]	Collegiate Baseball (Top 30)	38	NR	NR	NR	22	15	9	6	10	10	10	7	6	13	15	22	22	22
[19]	NCBWA (Top 35)	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	30	22	14	13	13	9	7	6	10	13	20	20	20
[20]	Rivals.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	21	16	12	6	11	8	9	8	6	8	11	-	-	21
NR = Not Ranked

* USA Today/ESPN did not release a poll after the first weekend of play.

Huskers in the 2008 MLB Draft

	Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
[21]	Aaron Pribanic	RHP	3	98	Seattle Mariners
[22]	Dan Jennings	LHP	9	168	Florida Marlins
[23]	Jake Opitz	2B	12	371	Chicago Cubs
[24]	Johnny Dorn	RHP	15	448	Florida Marlins
[25]	Thad Weber	RHP	16	493	Detroit Tigers
[26]	Mitch Abeita	C	19	590	New York Yankees
[27]	Zach Herr	LHP	38	1155	San Diego Padres

References

1. "Baseball standings". big12sports.com. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
2. Huskers Retooled for 2008 Season
3. NU's baseball schedule features tourney teams
4. Huskers Tabbed for Sixth in Big 12 Preseason Poll
5. Baseball - 2008 Schedule/Results
6. Dorn, Huskers Top Northern Colorado
7. Pribanic, Belfonte Powers Huskers to 7-0 Win
8. Huskers Host Northern Colorado
9. Huskers-Sooners Tie Finale
10. 2008 ALL-BIG 12 BASEBALL AWARDS
11. Three Huskers Earn ABCA All-Region Honors
12. "Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Weekly Awards Announced (March 17)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
13. "Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Weekly Awards Announced (March 10)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
14. Dorn Earns Third-Team All-America Honors
15. "Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Weekly Awards Announced (March 24)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
16. "2005 College Baseball Polls". WarrenNolan.com. 2005-06-29. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
17. "2008 College Baseball Polls". Baseball America. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
18. "2008 NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls". Collegiate Baseball. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
19. "News from the 2008 College Baseball Season". NCBWA. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
20. "Rivals.com Top 25". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
21. Pribanic Taken by Mariners
22. Jennings Selected in Ninth Round of MLB Draft
23. Opitz Taken by Chicago Cubs in 12th Round
24. Dorn Drafted in 15th Round by Florida
25. Weber Drafted by Tigers in 16th Round
26. Abeita Chosen by Yankees in 19th Round
27. Herr Drafted by Padres

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