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.

ConferenceBig 12 Conference

CoachesNo. 7

Record41–16–1 (17–9–1 Big 12)

Headcoach

Mike Anderson (6th season)

Quick facts Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball, Conference ...

2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball

Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
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
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

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More information Conf., Overall ...

2008 Big 12 Conference baseball standings
v t e	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

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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

More information Players, Coaches ...

2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team

Players

Coaches

#	Pos.	Name	B/T	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

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Schedule

More information Regular season, Date ...

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]

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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

More information Poll, Pre- season ...

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

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

Huskers in the 2008 MLB draft

More information Player, Position ...

	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

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2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team

Preseason

Roster

Schedule

Season Facts

Awards

Rankings

Huskers in the 2008 MLB draft

References

External links

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