Déjà vu, right through the heart - deep in the heart of the Lone Star State.

The Nebraska baseball team again had one of the best clubs in the nation - this time, No. 2 Texas - dead to rights with a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. NU freshman pitcher Kurt Giller had even forced two ground-ball outs to start the frame. And two strikes on the next batter.

Then that batter, UT’s Jordan Weymouth, hit a double, Kevin Keyes drew a walk and Cameron Rupp knocked a first-pitch, three-run homer over the right field fence for a walk-off 6-5 win as 7,240 fans at Disch-Falk Field roared into the Austin night.

Thus the Longhorns - punchless for most of the night - did what Fresno State, Rice and UCLA have already done to the Cornhuskers: Beating up the bullpen with a late, improbable rally.

NU, now 8-8, wasted two stellar offensive performances from Adam Bailey and Cody Asche, both of whom notched three hits and combined to drive in five runs. Husker starting pitcher Casey Hauptman bested Texas All-American Taylor Jungmann over six innings, but got no decision. And Nebraska, which could easily have 12 or 13 wins this season, watched its bullpen blow another win.

“Offensively, we did a good job against one of the best pitchers in the country,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “We put ourselves in a position to win. This team is troubled by the fact that we can’t finish. We need someone to step up that can do that and take charge.”

Anderson gambled by leaving Giller in the game for a third inning of relief after Hauptmann sat down. Since closer Mike Nesseth blew saves earlier in Fresno earlier this year, NU has been searching for a shutdown arm. Nesseth didn’t even warm up Friday night; junior college transfer Chase Adams did. And he was ready, it seemed, by the time Giller faced his final batter of the night in Rupp.

But Giller grooved a fastball that Rupp pounded over the Longhorns’ bullpen in right.

Texas, now 14-4 for the season, avoided what would have been a stunning loss for Jungmann, who entered Friday night with a 2-0 record and a 0.93 ERA. The Huskers only had seven hits, but they made them count. Bailey hit a solo homer in the first and knocked in another in the sixth. Asche knocked in two in the sixth, then hit Bailey home in the eighth for a 5-3 lead.

“We did a good job offensively and were disciplined,” Anderson said. “We took what (Jungmann) gave us and didn’t try to do too much. The balls we hit were mostly opposite field. I thought we were pretty determined in our at-bats tonight.”

Next game: Saturday at 3 p.m.

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Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

Cool? Cool!

*Khiry Cooper has no interest on settling on one sport at Nebraska. I’ll bet coaches Bo Pelini and Mike Anderson do, though. Our hunch: Baseball.

*BRN talks realistic goals for 2010.

*Bryce Brown is a no-show at Tennessee’s practice. Hmmm…

*Who be the QB at CU? Tyler Hansen.

*Urban Meyer really took a vacation, didn’t he?

*Pierre Allen intends to follow Ndamukong Suh’s lead and take the reins with Nebraska’s defense in 2010. He battled a nasty turf toe injury for most of last season. Love the attitude- and the health. Allen may want to saddle up for some more media appearances, however.

*A loss to Texas A&M fired up the Husker women’s basketball team to play in the NCAA Tournament. Fine. Good. We think the week of rest NU had is more important.

*NC State’s Marissa Kastanek - a Lincoln Southeast grad - is excited for the Big Dance, and the potential chance to face Nebraska.

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In strict college baseball terms, Houston Baptist shouldn’t be confused with two other superpowers in the Space City - Rice and Houston. But, on Saturday, the Huskies were definitely a cure for what ailed Nebraska’s pitching staff.

NU starters Casey Hauptman and Michael Mariot easily shut down HBU in a twin bill, as the Cornhuskers rolled to 10-2 and 8-0 wins on a cold, blustery day at Haymarket Park.

Mariot threw a 95-pitch, complete-game gem, giving up just one hit - the first such game ever at Haymarket - and zero runs. Hauptman, who entered the starting rotation this weekend, gave up two runs over seven innings, striking out eight.

“I thought Michael was great because of the intent he had and the rhythm and pace he showed,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “You could see it. That is the best performance he’s had because of his determination. You could see it in his face and in his motions. He had a purpose.”

While the arms didn’t much help, Nebraska’s offense provided it anyway. Senior rightfielder Adam Bailey hit two home runs during the doubleheader with four RBI. Sophomore third baseman Cody Asche did the same. In all, Nebraska hit six home runs in two games.

NU (6-7) and Houston Baptist (4-8) square off Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

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Six strong takes as we begin to prepare our NCAA Tournament guide. Look for it a week from now!

*Bo Pelini and Co. can smell a bonanza recruiting season ahead.

We told you, on the 2010 Signing Day, what was coming. Now NU is making its move to surpass the Big 12 North and the back half of the Big 12 South, settling in as the No. 3 recruiting power in the league behind Texas and Oklahoma.

If you look at scholarship offers in talent-rich areas - with a key expansion in Florida - and the aggression toward getting top-notch prospects - like Chandler (Ariz.) offensive lineman Christian Westerman - to attend the Red/White Spring Game on their own dime, there’s a distinct sense of urgency to create buzz and momentum after spellbinding the nation during the Big 12 Championship and turning in the most dominant performance of the bowl season.

According to the Rivals.com database - as always, those gents do terrific gumshoe work - NU has offered nine players from Florida, getting a verbal commitment, thus far, from Clearwater offensive lineman Tyler Moore. There will be more. Few states grow speed - both to stock the spread offense and to stop it - quite like the Sunshine State, and when you get the scent of Tampa, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale in your nostrils, it’s hard to get out.

The key is landing the cream of the Florida crop - not the second-tier better suited for the MAC or its Big 12 brother, Iowa State.

The usual full-court press is being done in Texas. The Huskers have already offered 11 wide receiver prospects, two of which have committed to Texas and Oklahoma, respectively.

Who has NU not offered? Three in-state prospects with D-I tenders: Omaha Central’s Ted Lampkin (Kansas State and Iowa State), Millard North’s Cole Fisher (Iowa and Kansas) and 6-foot-9 Hastings St. Cecilia giant Zach Sterup (Iowa and Ohio). Nebraska will invite all three to camp - Fisher is recovering from an injury - but, by then, the Huskers might have scooped up bigger names based on the varyag of players heading to the Spring Game.

Nebraska walks a fine line with the in-state ham-and-eggers. Bonanza or not, NU needs their camp money, and some Husker faithful believe when a player is worthy of a scholarship offer at Iowa - which will begin next season ranked inside the top ten - then he‘s earned a seat the Big Red’s table. Other (mostly younger) fans wouldn’t care if the entire roster was comprised of kids from Nova Scotia, if that’s what it took to win a Big 12 title.

*The word out of winter conditioning and 7-on-7 drills is that Cody Green appears ready to make the leap. Let’s see in practice and the Spring Game. Zac Lee is the clubhouse leader; Green, still out on the course, will have his chance. Getting scolded earlier in the 2009 season for playing too recklessly in mop-up duty - and that pick six in the Baylor game - shifted Green shifted into a piece of unsteady wood who strung out plays and doubted his skills.

*Ndamukong Suh won’t fall below the No. 3 pick to Tampa Bay - but swish this scenario around in your mouth for a second: The Seattle Seahawks have the No. 6 and No. 14 picks to play around with, and it’s not a sure thing that the quarterback they want - Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford - will be around that long. While Seattle has the ammo to go after the St. Louis Rams’ top pick if it wants Bradford that badly, I wouldn’t be shocked if new coach Pete Carroll packages his two picks to jump a few spots and land Suh.

Talk about a home run. Suh would know Carroll’s defensive system as well as any in the NFL - Carroll mentored Bo Pelini, remember - Seattle is close to Suh’s Portland home, and it’s close to his primary sponsor, Nike. Plus, the Seahawks need defensive linemen. Starters Colin Cole and Brandon Mebane are solid-but-unspectacular.

*Kelsey Griffin is a shoe-in to be a Naismith finalist. She ought to win it - especially after a spectacular 36-point performance to preserve the Nebraska women’s basketball team’s undefeated season - but since ESPN and most other news outlets treat the sport like the Connecticut/Tennessee Invitational, you can expect UConn’s Maya Moore, who won the Naismith in 2009, to win it again.

Let’s look more closely at the numbers:

Moore’s per-game numbers: 18.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1 block in 28 minutes.

Griffin’s per game numbers: 20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks in 27 minutes.

Looks like Griffin holds up. Moore is more dynamic, Griffin draws more fouls. While UConn’s non-conference schedule was harder (games vs. Oklahoma, Texas, Stanford and Florida State) the Big 12, top-to-bottom, is stronger than the Big East. And Griffin, let’s face it, means more to Nebraska than Moore does to the Huskies. Moore is one of many studettes in Storrs. Griffin is the straw that stirs Nebraska’s drink.

*Not only would it be nearly impossible to fit a 96-team NCAA Tournament bracket on a 8½-by-11-inch piece of paper legibly, any expansion of the Big Dance hurts the very best teams.

No. 1 and No. 2 seeds would no longer play a retread from the MEAC in the first round, but some 20-win mid-major with a warm-up game already under its belt. No. 9 seeds would play the retreads, getting the advantage of a 40-minute, live practice the No. 8 seeds wouldn’t enjoy. Fair? Not hardly. An expansion only fattens the wallets of programs and coaches whose teams aren’t quite good enough to qualify now. The improved reputation of a few is not worth trashing a beautiful thing.

*Nebraska baseball needs two weeks of passable weather. Livable. Playable. In those two weeks, NU plays five games at Haymarket Park - including a three-game series vs. Houston Baptist - and should win all of them. Every bit of confidence and practice will help when the Huskers head to Texas Mar. 19 for a three-game series. The Longhorns - great pitching, good enough offense - are similar to UCLA, the team that just swept NU.

The Huskers are better than their 3-7 record suggests. Closer to breaking through than slipping back. But they need some good weather. And they need to stick Casey Hauptman in the weekend rotation.

See also: Commentary: Doc On the Clock

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Nebraska’s baseball team is learning harshly the lesson of “close doesn’t count” - especially against one of the best teams in college baseball.

After getting blown out 13-1 by No. 14 UCLA in the opening game of a weekend series in Pasadena, the Cornhuskers had chances in games two and three to steal a win from Bruins.

But an absence of clutch hitting robbed NU of victories just as it had at Fresno State and Rice.

In its place, 5-3 and 5-4 losses for a UCLA sweep. For the weekend: 24 runners left on base and 45 strikeouts - including a school-record 19 in Saturday’s 5-4 setback. Over three games that’s 55 percent of NU’s outs.

“I’m glad we fought back, but this team doesn’t need moral victories,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “We’re going to be OK, but this team needs to figure out ways to win games, especially against big teams.”

It appeared that NU (3-7) had seized momentum in the final game of the series, erasing a 4-1 gap with three runs in the eighth inning. After Nebraska had loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batsman, sophomore Boomer Collins singled home Kale Kiser, and Adam Bailey screamed a double down the first base line to score Patric Tolentino and Kyle Bubak.

In the bottom of the ninth, however, UCLA (9-0) manufactured a run with a single, an error on ensuing bunt, a sac fly to advance the runners, an intentional walk to load the bases, and, finally, another sacrifice fly, on the first pitch from reliever Mike Nesseth. NU wasted a stellar outing from Casey Hauptmann, who got the loss despite throwing 6 1/3 nearly scoreless innings in relief of freshman starter Tom Lemke, who gave up four runs in the bottom of the second.

“Casey was outstanding,” Anderson said. “He’s earned some opportunities and I am proud of the way he pitched today.”

On Friday, Nebraska simply didn’t have enough answers for UCLA starters Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer. Cole threw seven innings in the opening, gave up just two hits and a run, and struck out nine. NU starter Sean Yost was replaced after 1 1/3 innings after giving up five runs.

In game two, the crafty Bauer wasn’t quite as dominant, although he stuck out ten. Nebraska had chances to score in the second with runners in scoring position, but NU’s Tyler Farst got caught in a rundown and was tagged out. While pitcher Michael Mariot hung in for the Huskers, he nevertheless gave up five runs in his starting stint.

Trailing 5-1, NU scored two in the eighth with RBI singles by Khiry Cooper and Kale Kiser. Leadoff hitter DJ Belfonte had a chance to tie the game, but he hit a hard ball straight at the first baseman, Justin Uribe, who ended the inning with a diving catch.

Nebraska now plays its home opener, weather permitting, at Haymarket Park vs. Nebraska-Kearney.

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Two blown saves vs. Fresno State and a delay for sun glare at Rice are likely what separates the 6-1 record Nebraska’s baseball team might have, and the 3-4 mark it actually does.

“Coulda, woulda, shoulda,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “Maybe there were some moral victories, but, to be honest with you, our record’s 3-4 and moral victories don’t count.”

Anderson said he liked NU’s style of play - especially on defense - for a team who “still hasn’t been outside” to practice. But junior closer Mike Nesseth was twice unable to hold two-run leads at Fresno State. Nesseth, with his 18.00 earned-run average, still has the job, Anderson said, but the sooner the turnaround, the better.

“It’s your job,” Anderson said. “Go get it done. There are expectations…he didn’t get off to the start that he wanted to - now he has to go earn it.”

With that, bring on a three-game set against UCLA - “the hottest team in college baseball,” according to Anderson. A 4/8 p.m. doubleheader Friday is scheduled in case of rain in Pasadena on Saturday. The series will conclude on Saturday or Sunday depending on weather.

The 6-0 Bruins, ranked 14th, 16th and 19th by Collegiate Baseball, coaches and Baseball America respectively, boast one of the nation’s best pitching staffs with a 2.17 ERA, anchored by sophomore starters Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer.

Cole (2-0) turned down the New York Yankees, who selected him in the first round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Bauer, meanwhile, borders on a wunderkind: He skipped his senior year of high school baseball, pitched for UCLA as a 18-year-old, and promptly won National Freshman of the Year honors, in part by memorizing the delivery of San Francisco Giants’ star Tim Lincecum and incorporating it into his mechanics.

“Cole gets a lot of the recognition, but Bauer may be better,” Anderson said. “They both know how to pitch.”

Nebraska will counter with a rotation of sophomore Sean Yost, sophomore Michael Mariot and freshman Tom Lemke, who’s 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA, plus an offense that’s created plenty of scoring chances through two weekends. Leadoff hitter D.J. Belfonte has been a strong table-setter, with a .541 on-base percentage and a .467 batting average. Better, he’s struck out in only 2 of 30 at-bats this year.

“He’s pushing,” Anderson said. “He’s been very competitive. He’s showing a lot of these younger guys how to approach at-bats, how to go after it, how to stay aggressive when somebody’s changing their approach.”

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Sun glare. Part and parcel of baseball, but a rare delay for it was just about the only thing that killed what would have been a surprising sweep of the Rice Invitational for the Nebraska baseball team.

NU lead ranked Rice 3-0 in the second inning Saturday when umpires called a delay for glare. Killing the Huskers’ momentum to start the game, it gave the No. 9 Owls a much-needed break, as they rallied for a 4-3 victory on their home field in Houston.

Despite getting strong pitching performances from Michael Mariot and Casey Hauptmann, Nebraska couldn’t duplicate its early-inning offensive onslaught, and Rice nipped the Huskers at the wire with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Otherwise, the Huskers, now 3-4, controlled both of its other games - a 21-9 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and a 5-3 win over Elon.

Corpus Christi was easily the weakest of the five teams NU will face in a crucial opening 10-game stretch on the road. Friday at the Rice Invitational, the Huskers confidently played like it, blasting Corpus Christi out of the park on the strength of 19 hits. It’s most runs NU has scored since a game in 2004.

Kyle Bubak busted out of a slump with a 5-for-5 game and Tyler Farst hit a key three-run homer in the fourth inning as NU came back from an early 2-1 deficit. Farst drove in five and Nebraska drew 11 walks during the afternoon.

“I was pleased with our offense today and the discipline we showed, especially from the second inning on,” head coach Mike Anderson said. ‘The first 2-3 innings, we fought, but didn’t get any runs and then we started pouring some runs off. We needed that and got some guys feeling good about themselves which was good to see. We were also able to string together good at-bats to keep innings alive.”

Sean Yost (1-0) got the win, giving up seven hits but zero walks.

Against Elon, freshman Tom Lemke won his second game and turned in his second impressive start, going 5 2/3 innings and only giving up a single run. NU, meanwhile, manufactured five runs in separate innings, with leadoff hitter D.J. Belfonte knocking in two and running his average to .467 for the season.

Nebraska carried a 5-1 lead into the ninth inning, where closer Mike Nesseth was again shaky, giving up two runs.

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Six takes after your morning shower, shave and, well, you know…

*The most important Husker rolling into spring football? Who is it for you? I’ve been asked this via email and personal chats. My answer may surprise you: Niles Paul. Nebraska’s senior receiver is one of the best offensive playmakers, a local kid and a natural, driven leader. He also turned into a pretty dangerous punt and a kickoff returner toward the end of the 2009 season.

When NU’s offense got stuck in permanent mud during the last half of the season, the plan became:

1. Plunge into the line.
2. Modest playaction pass.
3. Bomb to Niles.

Paul is the team’s best perimeter blocker too, so you have a guy ingrained into Huskers’ offense, plus a respected voice in the locker room. With reduced leadership at quarterback, a beaten-up offensive line and running back Roy Helu skittish with the media, Paul will be one of the team’s spokesmen. It‘s notable that, after gaffes vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State, Paul did not duck the media. Nor did he dodge questions - or teammates - after his cop stop last spring.

Until the last half of last season, Paul hadn’t necessarily fulfilled his considerable potential. But he made clutch plays vs. Kansas and Colorado - you could argue he won both games - and his punt return in the Big 12 Championship should have set up NU’s game-winning touchdown.

*Spring football is now officially Cody Green’s proving ground, now that offensive coordinator Shawn Watson decalred senior-to-be Zac Lee out for this spring.

Watson spoke at length to the Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel in an interview, mostly about last season, a bit about what’s to come. Watson artfully dodged a majority of the questions - he’s good at it - but 2009 is over, there is no use in hashing it out again, and 2010 will be the OC’s proving ground.

But, crucially, Watson said Lee “won't be there at all” for spring football.

“He'll get back in the mix later,” Watson said.

That means Green gets his shot. He couldn’t handle the “emotions” of the Oklahoma game last year, Watson said - and Green looked bug-eyed and confused in the Holiday Bowl, too.

Watson and Co. have two years invested in Green. The OC doesn’t bring his entire offensive coaching staff to Green’s high school state title game otherwise. Green doesn’t enroll early otherwise. Green doesn’t hustle back from a minor groin injury to play last spring otherwise.

I don’t blame them - the size, the speed and the personality all scream: Prototypical QB. But in that second spring, you either make the leap or risk getting leapt over. In this case, those frogs would presumably be Kody Spano and Taylor Martinez.

Jury’s out on what Spano can do - he has to play with two previously-torn ACLs, for one thing - but Martinez…here’s a guy who spent most of last fall as a scout team receiver and scout team Wildcat QB. The regular scout team QB most weeks was walk-on Ron Kellogg.

Said it before, and here it is again: That a kid who has been given, to this point, a token chance at quarterback is in the running for the No. 2 or No. 1 job speaks volumes about the state of the position and the direction of the offense.

*Through three losses to Fresno State, Nebraska baseball has twice handed a two-run lead to closer Mike Nesseth in the ninth inning, and he has twice blown that lead. Both a 7-5 loss on Friday and the 10-9 loss on Sunday stung badly, but yesterday’s heartbreaker was compounded by two wild pitches by reliever Chase Adams, one of which served as the Bulldogs’ winning run.

It’s early, but pitching remains the issue. Casey Hauptmann and Jordan Roualdes appear to be on track as the season begins. We’ll see about Sean Yost, who recovered from a shaky start on Friday. Everybody else?

Let’s be blunt: NU could easily start 1-9 or 2-8. That’s a big hill to climb.

*A huge loss by Notre Dame over the weekend (to Georgetown) puts Nebraska’s women’s basketball team in even-better position for a No. 1 seed now. Get past Oklahoma, and there’s just no stopping NU from a regional date in Kansas City. And if Huskers draw a more beatable No. 2 seed - say, overrated Xavier - than all the better.

Should the Huskers lose to OU, but still win the Big 12 Tournament, that top seed is still in the bag. Lose to the Sooners and in the Big 12 Tourney, and NU may need a little more help from the Irish.

Whatever gets Nebraska to Kansas City. If the Huskers land there - regardless of the seed - NU volleyball fans will get a run for their money.

*No matter how the season ends for the Nebraska men’s basketball team, it’s going to be one bear of an offseason for the returning Huskers under head coach Doc Sadler. This team will work, I know that. And weight training will be a priority.

The inconsistency has to be maddening, and I think it’s a combination of lacking attitude, confidence and toughness and just plain speed, man. NU has to get faster in the offseason. And stronger. How does NU keep brawling away at Kansas State Wednesday night, then seemingly back down at home vs. Missouri on Saturday? The Tigers, who are just slightly more talented than the Huskers - certainly not to the tune of 17 and 15 points in two games - just played harder and hit tough shots. Period.

Know this: Sadler won’t sit still after a year like this.

*A few words about Tiger Woods’ statement and apology on Friday:

It appears clear now that Woods had, to brilliant on-course success, compartmentalized his life into various spheres of golf, family, modern-day brothel, ad image, foundation guy, etc. He wasn’t leading a double life, but several lives. He lived them well, in part, because mankind is generally stupid, and we allow a wider berth to rich, successful people. I got a lotta money to make here, so let me carve out time for the GFE! Mankind does so to their general detriment, as it often turns out, for the sake of our own self-satisfied sycophancy but, you know, back to the point.

When two of those many spheres collide, it can have a startling effect. Woods’ game began to decline after his rehab and return from amazing win at the 2008 U.S. Open, and, it seems clear now, the demands of the harem, or whatever you’d like to call the legion of his emotionally-kept women, were beginning to bleed into other areas of his life. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, but I suspect he had friends making sure it didn’t. More than the few who have already been implicated as enablers.

Now. Erase all those enablers and replace them with people who insist the walls are part of the disease - which they probably are - and demand they stay down. That’s a vulnerable state for an elite athlete. Imagine somebody in Woods’ life expressing concern over thrown clubs and muttered curses. To make oneself whole, see, you have to break down every little part. But if one of those parts was the key to Woods’ success on the golf course?

There are advantages to being whole. It’s the real thing, for one. You don’t become an emotional Darth Vader. It also prevents you from becoming the miserable sourpuss Michael Jordan turned out to be, for two. But maybe you lose the “part” you liked the most in the process. You have to rebuild it as part of the whole. Like Woods rebuilds his swing.

Let’s see how he does with his wife and addiction support system tracing his every step. For a man of supreme control to suddenly give it to someone else? Try jumping without a net.

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Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson found his lineup pressing after starting pitcher Michael Mariot spotted Fresno State a 4-0 in the second of four-game series.

“That is one thing our offense doesn’t need to do; we need to stay in a rhythm and groove,” Anderson said after a 8-2 loss to the Bulldogs. “Today, I think we chased some bad pitches and got ourselves out of some innings that way.”

After loading the bases in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings - and scoring nothing - the Cornhuskers (0-2) will have to find some big innings Sunday after dropping two to FSU.

On Friday, NU took a 5-3 lead until closer Mike Nesseth gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Saturday, Mariot gave up those four in the second with four straight hits and two homers from Trent Garrison and Jordan Ribera.

The Bulldogs got another solo homer from Ribera to take a 5-2 lead. Later, FSU shelled NU freshman Kurt Giller for three more runs in the eighth.

The Huskers were led by senior Adam Bailey, who notched three of the team’s seven hits. NU left 11 runners stranded on base

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More Pop: Nebraska used to be a team that consistently hit home runs - especially in big games. But the Huskers haven’t been a power-hitting since 2006. During that year, NU had four players slug .530 or better. In 2009, just one - Adam Bailey. And he did most of his damage in the non-conference season.

Freshman Flamers: Nick Dolsky, Kurt Giller, Tom Lemke all figure to play a big role in the pitching rotation, and how quickly they adjust to college game - preferably dominate the opposition - could determine whether NU goes to a regional, or whether it’s sweating out the last half of its season. The faster they throw strikes, the better.

Roualdes Rising: Nebraska’s pitching staff is loaded with tall, hard-throwing right handers. But Roualdes is the most experienced, best option as a lefty. He needs to be a consistent weekend starter, or an option Anderson can turn to as a match-up problem.

A New Cooper: Sophomore outfielder Khiry Cooper just couldn’t hang with collegiate pitching last year; head coach Mike Anderson said he’s worked harder this spring to adjust to the college level and will fight for more playing time. Cooper is a superb athlete, but he needs more plate discipline. If he can give NU a .300 average and some timely home runs, the Huskers’ offense will be all the better.

A Break in the Weather: Nebraska needs some outdoor practice time over the next month, and it can definitely use those handful of home games before the Texas series in early March. All the Huskers can do is cross their fingers and pray.

See also: A New Attitude and Anderson Not Backing Down

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As expected, Mike Anderson was asked about the past Monday, several times, each reflecting on Nebraska baseball’s 25-28-1 record last year in a different way.

NU’s eighth-year head coach took an unexpected angle at answering one of them.

“I watch Fox News, I watch MSNBC, I watch all these types of things,” he said. “To be honest with you, I get tired of (President) Obama talking about Bush. Blaming Bush. For me - I don’t live my life worrying about what I did three years ago. I can’t even remember what I had for lunch last week, let alone last year.”

Even in a 15-minute media session where the press corps had no real intent of making it hard, Anderson isn’t quite comfortable making it easy. He seems to answer, if only briefly, critics who aren’t in the room. Or critics who are in the room. In Anderson and members of his team Monday, there was restlessness and resolve. Talk about last year? No thanks. Let’s just play.

Anderson laid out his expectations for Nebraska in 2010:

1. Top three in the Big 12.
2.Host a regional.
3.Go from there.

This for a team half-comprised of newcomers, with very little proven pitching.

“That should be the standard for our program all the time,” Anderson said. “So let’s go.”

Admirably, he didn’t hide behind the “we keep our goals private” excuse. Of course many coaches say it for a reason.

That’s the competitor in him. Anderson’s putting up the proverbial fists heading into a pivotal season, and he expects his team to do the same. Battle your way. Prove the critics wrong. And do it against a challenging non-conference schedule that has the Huskers traveling to Fresno State, Rice and UCLA in the three opening weekends.

“If we want to be where we want to be, we’ve got to go play good competition,” Anderson said. “We’ve got create an RPI. Great year to back off? Not the year to back off in my mind.”

Why is he doing this? Anderson could, after all, dial up the John Sanders Diet for 2010, ring up 35 wins, blame a potential Big 12 swoon on the inexperience, and play for the pot in 2011.

“I’m always confident and probably - to my own fault - too optimistic at all times,” he said. “That’s who I am, that’s who I’ll always be and that’s the standards I need to create. It’s always made it work for me in the best way. Optimism? Yes. Confidence? No doubt.”

Outside of the program there is doubt. There should be. In newspaper stories and message board posts incisively written - baseball tends to draw out precision in folks - exist persuasive arguments for it.

It’s been four years since NU’s last trip to the College World Series. Since then, the Huskers are just 3-6 in the NCAA Tournament. The power hitting that once paced Nebraska with 67 home runs in 2005 and70 in 2006 - fell to 33, 38 and 48 over the last three seasons. As the slugging percentages waned, NU’s pitching staff held the team together; when it ballooned to a 6.22 earned run average - almost two runs above any average in the previous four years - those offensive weaknesses were fully exposed.

Anderson said Monday “offensively, we’ve got some great things going.” We’ll see. Adam Bailey - NU’s best slugger with 12 homers and 50 RBI last year - turned down Major League Baseball and returned for a senior season. There appears to be some pop in newcomer Patric Tolentino’s bat. If two-sport athlete Khiry Cooper acclimates to the college game better this spring, he could be effective as a table-setter. Cody Asche and Tyler Farst, who will join Bailey in the heart of the order, have to slug a little better than their .411 and .460 averages in 2009.

What the Huskers need is momentum. A split at Fresno State. A upset of Rice or two from UCLA. Solid outings from lead-dog starters Michael Mariot and Sean Yost. Shutdown appearances from closer Mike Nesseth. And offense. Much more offense than NU produced at times in the Big 12 last season. Runs in bunches instead of single, manufactured, travel-size-run innings.

“We need our older kids to do well,” Anderson said. “They have to produce early. And we have to give our younger kids some time to develop.”

And with that schedule, Nebraska’s rotten winter weather, and a weekend series with No. 1 Texas looming just one month from now, momentum is not a sure thing.

There is daylight on the back end of the Huskers’ 2010 schedule. A chance to finish hot and to get freshman pitchers Tom Lemke and Kurt Giller ready for the postseason.

But Anderson has given his team, and himself, one whale of a challenge in getting there. His confidence will either be justified - or it may seal his fate.

See also: A New Attitude

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Nebraska right fielder Adam Bailey shrugged like a man Monday who’d experienced the whole spectrum of college baseball in his career, and wasn’t about flinch at a little added burden.

A CWS season with Arizona State in 2007 as a pitcher. A hitter for average in junior college in 2008. A surprise power hitter for Nebraska in 2009. Cold winters. Even a few more stints out of the bullpen when the Huskers’ pitching depth fell off a cliff. Worst, that losing season, 25-28-1.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life,” he said at NU’s opening-season press conference.

So, yeah, if Bailey, a senior and NU’s best slugger in 2009 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI, needs to be the pacesetter in 2010 while Nebraska breaks in new hitters and pitchers, so be it.

“I gotta do what I gotta do,” he said matter-of-factly. “If that means carrying some dudes on my back, then that’s what I’ll do.”

The lunch-pail attitude - new and much improved, according to several Huskers - began in the days and weeks after last year, when NU swept Baylor in its final home series and stuck around to campus to process the worst season since the John Sanders era ended in 1997.

Nebraska’s players and staff talked it out, head coach Mike Anderson. They committed to a stricter weight-room regimen. And some of the few successful parts of the 2009 team - like Bailey and junior pitcher Mike Nesseth - stayed instead of signing a pro contract after the Major League Baseball Draft.

“The mindset is completely different than last year,” Nesseth said. “Our work ethic is completely different. A lot of the same guys - just a whole new team.”

Said Anderson: “We learned from it. We’re going to get better from it. We’re hardcore about it. Adversity makes you better.”

More importantly, a recruiting class rated 13th by Collegiate Baseball should make NU’s pitching staff stronger - and certainly taller, as freshmen Tom Lemke and Nick Dolsky are both 6-foot-8 right-handers. Another freshman righty, Kurt Giller, is a 6-2, 230-pounder whose burly frame recalls Joba Chamberlain.

“They’re filling up the strike zone which is huge,” Nesseth said. “That’s really what we need. Last year we had a lot of walks. They’ve got some velocity on their ball.”

Those three will be folded into a group of potential starters - junior Michael Mariot, sophomore Sean Yost, senior Jordan Roualdes - while Texas junior college signees Khris Tate and Chase Adams head to the bullpen as setup men for Nesseth, whom Anderson plans to make the closer.

It’s a core group that needs to significantly improve upon a 6.22 team earned-run average in 2009. When NU hosted NCAA regionals in 2006 and 2008, the team ERA was 3.40 and 4.18, respectively.

“We’ve got depth in our pitching staff this year,” Anderson said. “That’s the one thing we’ve lacked in the past. And when we’ve been successful in the past, that’s the one thing that we’ve had.”

But Anderson, in his eighth season and experiencing a little heat for last year - and a 3-6 regional record since 2006 - expects the offense to carry NU through the difficult early non-conference schedule, which includes a four-games series at Fresno State beginning Friday, a trip to the Rice Invitational, and a three-game set at UCLA in early March.

Bailey, arguably NU’s biggest bright spot in a dark year, will anchor the order, with sophomore third baseman Cody Asche and senior first baseman Tyler Farst joining Bailey in the heart. NU could use a return to form from senior outfielder DJ Belfonte, who hit .307 and scored 46 runs as a freshman, but only hit .254 and scored 34 runs last year, and a bigger contribution from sophomore Khiry Cooper, who struggled badly against Big 12 pitching last year, striking eight times in just 24 at-bats.

Whoever emerges, it’d be good for it to happen this weekend. Fresno State is picked to win the WAC Conference, is only two years removed from its 2008 national title, and has appeared in four straight NCAA Regionals.

“They’re human just like us,” Nesseth said. “They have some good athletes, but we have some great athletes. We have good players, too. We’re not going to back down from anybody. It doesn’t matter too much. It’s just a ranking.”

See also: Anderson Not Backing Down and Five Keys in 2010. [url][/url]

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The Nebraska baseball team added a distinct hometown flavor in the final part of its 2009 recruiting class released Wednesday.

Nebraska baseball coach Mike Anderson added seven more players to the Cornhuskers roster, as three of the newest members are in-state recruits: Millard South pitcher Dylan Vogt, Papillion South catcher Matt Donohoe, and Lincoln Southwest catcher John Mulgrue. All three earned some level of All-State honors.

Anderson also loaded up on catchers, bringing three - Donohoe, Mulgrue and junior college All -American Patric Tolentino - to campus.

"We are excited about completing this year's recruiting class," Anderson said. "This group of players, combined with the players we announced earlier this year, brings a lot of potential for not only this season, but for the future as well."

Not surprisingly, there are four pitchers in the class. The most interesting of the prospects might be Tyler Lansangan, who sat out the 2009 season with an injury, but was a first-team All-Jayhawk League pitcher at Coffeyville Community College.

Read more here.

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