Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. The program began play in 1889 and has been coached by Will Bolt since 2020. Nebraska has been to nineteen NCAA baseball tournaments and advanced to four super regionals (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005) and three College World Series (2001, 2002, 2005). The Cornhuskers have won eight regular season conference championships and four conference tournament championships. They have had eighteen forty-win seasons, including nine since 1999, as well as three fifty-win seasons. The  Cornhuskers won the program's first Big Ten championship in 2017. History. Early history. Nebraska's baseball program began in 1889 as the "Old Gold Knights". College Football Hall of Fame head coach Edward N. Robinson led the team for a single year in 1897. NU experienced little success until Tony Sharpe was hired in 1947. Sharpe led the Cornhuskers to the NCAA District Playoffs, an early iteration of the NCAA Tournament, in 1948 and 1950. The latter of these seasons was Nebraska's last regular season conference championship until 2001. Sharpe's tenure as head coach lasted thirty-one  years, though his program did not reach the NCAA Tournament again. John Sanders (1978–97). John Sanders compiled a 767–453–1 record in his twenty years. He had only two losing seasons, including his final one. He produced three NCAA Tournament teams, making his first appearance in 1979 and following with postseason berths in 1980 and 1985. Sanders' final year leading the Cornhuskers was 1997, when the program transitioned from the Big Eight into the Big 12. He was fired following the season. Dave Van Horn (1998–02). Dave Van Horn was hired just thirty-five days before the 1998 season. In his  second season, the Cornhuskers won the program's first conference tournament title, and first championship of any kind since 1950. NU reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1985, finishing the season 42–18. The following season, behind Big 12 Player of the Year Shane Komine, Nebraska advanced to a super regional for the first time, but fell one game short of the College World Series. Nebraska began the 2001 season ranked in the top ten for the first time in school history. A thirteen-game win streak propelled NU to a No. 4 national ranking, its highest ever , and the program's first regular-season conference title since 1950. Nebraska went 4–0 in the Big 12 Tournament to win it for the third consecutive year, becoming the first team in the Big 12's short history to win the regular-season and tournament title in the same season. The Cornhuskers earned the No. 8 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted a regional for the first time in school history, defeating Northern Iowa and Rutgers. They advanced to a super regional and swept Rice to avenge a 16–2 loss in the season's first game. In the  school's first College World Series appearance, Nebraska lost consecutive one-run games to top-ranked Cal State Fullerton and fifth-ranked Tulane. NU finished 2001 50–16, their second straight fifty-win season. The Cornhuskers were 23–4 at home, including victories in the final nine games at Buck Beltzer Stadium. Shane Komine earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season and Van Horn was named Baseball America National Coach of the Year. The University of Nebraska opened Haymarket Park in 2002, a multi-use facility including stadiums for baseball and softball. The Cornhuskers swept seven teams  during the season, including an eleven-game win streak that ended with a loss to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament final. Dave Van Horn won his 200th game at Nebraska with a 4–3 win over Cal Poly on May 10, and Jed Morris became the first catcher in school history to earn All-America honors. Nebraska advanced through a regional for the third straight year, before hosting Richmond in a super regional. NU defeated the Spiders in three games to advance to Omaha for the second straight season, but lost to Clemson and South Carolina in the College World  Series. After the 2002 season, Van Horn accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas, his alma mater. Van Horn departed Nebraska with a record of 214–92 and three straight Big 12 Tournament championships in his five-year tenure. He posted a 16–3 mark in four years of conference tournament play and a 15–9 record in the NCAA Tournament. Mike Anderson (2003–11). Longtime assistant coach Mike Anderson was named head coach after Van Horn's departure. Despite being picked fourth in the Big 12 in Anderson's first year, Nebraska lost just one conference series, going 20–7 and winning the Big  12 again. The Cornhuskers hosted a regional but were eliminated by Southwestern Missouri State, ending the season 47–18. Alex Gordon earned Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America honors and was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. In 2004, NU fell to eighth in the Big 12 and failed to win 40 games for the first time since 1998, missing the NCAA Tournament entirely. Anderson's third season as head coach ultimately became the best team in program history. Nebraska started the season with a five-game sweep of Hawaii-Hilo, and followed by winning twenty of twnety-three games. NU  lost just one conference series and won the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships. The Huskers were named the national No. 3 seed and swept through the regional and super regional, defeating Miami to advance to the College World Series for the third time in five years. The Cornhuskers defeated Arizona State for the first College World Series win in program history, but lost the next two games and were eliminated. Nebraska's fifty-seven wins, including thirty-three at home, were the most in the country and a school record. Led by Johnny Dorn and Big 12 Newcomer  of the Year Joba Chamberlain, NU ranked second nationally in ERA, and Alex Gordon won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player in the country. Nebraska spent much of the 2006 season in the top five nationally, and were ranked as high as No. 2, but lost eight of their last eleven regular season games. They hosted a regional but were upset in back-to-back games. Despite starting the season ranked ninth nationally in 2007, NU finished just fourth in the Big 12 and were eliminated a game short of reaching a super regional. NU lost  eight pitchers to the MLB draft prior to 2008, and despite a 14-game winning streak helping the young team reach No. 5 in the country, the Huskers again lost in a home regional. After the loss of several key players, including star pitcher Johnny Dorn, following the 2008 season, Anderson did not return to the NCAA Tournament as NU's head coach. Anderson was fired after missing the postseason entirely in each of his last three seasons, and he departed NU with a 337–196–2 record across nine seasons. Darin Erstad (2012–19). Before Nebraska began its first season in the  Big Ten in 2012, the school hired former Husker and Major League All-Star Darin Erstad as head coach, after he spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach. A few days later, Ted Silva was hired as Erstad's pitching coach, and former Huskers Will Bolt and Jeff Christy were named assistants. The Huskers returned to the postseason for the first time in four years in Erstad's first season, qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament, but failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska started the 2013 season 0–7, the program's worst start since 1976. On April 16 , three NU pitchers combined to no-hit twelfth-ranked Arkansas, led by former Huskers head coach Dave Van Horn. Despite ending the season with the No. 31 RPI in the country, normally strong enough to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, NU's sub-.500 record disqualified them from consideration. After varying amount of success through Erstad's first several seasons, Nebraska won its first Big Ten title in 2017. A 16–7–1 conference record of record earned the Cornhuskers the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but they lost to Maryland in the second round, and were quickly eliminated from  the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska returned to the tournament in 2019, winning the opening game, but a late blown lead against Oklahoma State and a blowout loss to Connecticut again eliminated the Huskers. Erstad stepped down from his position as head coach following the 2019 season, citing his desire to spend time with his family. Will Bolt (2020–present). On June 14, 2019, Will Bolt was named the twenty-sixth head coach of the Nebraska baseball program. Nebraska began Bolt's first season 7–8 before the remainder of the season was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Bolt, in his first full  season as head coach in 2021, guided the Huskers to a 34–14 record, winning the Big Ten regular season championship and advancing to the regional final of the NCAA Tournament. Coaches. Coaching history. In its early years, Nebraska's program cycled through several head coaches, most of whom led the program for a single year. Among these was College Football Hall of Famer Edward N. Robinson, who led Nebraska's football program to the WIUFA conference title in 1987. The Cornhuskers competed as an independent until 1929, when John Rhodes led the team to the Big Six championship. It was n't until W. W. Knight was hired in 1933, forty-four years after the program's first season of competition, that a head coach held the position for more than three years. After the heavy coaching turnover early in the program's history, NU found its first long-tenured head coach with the hire of Tony Sharpe in 1947. Between Sharpe and his successor John Sanders, Nebraska had just two coaches in a fifty-one year span. Sanders' 767 victories made him Nebraska's all-time winningest coach until softball coach Rhonda Revelle broke his record in 2013. However, this  consistency did not translate to on-field success, as the two coaches combined for just three conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. NU's first national success arrived with the hire of Dave Van Horn in 1998. Van Horn took the program to its first College World Series appearance in 2001, and returned the following year. When he left following the 2002 season, his assistant Mike Anderson succeeded him and led NU to a program-record fifty-seven wins and another College World Series appearance in 2005. Anderson was fired in 2011 after missing the NCAA Tournament in three  consecutive seasons. Will Bolt was named Nebraska's twenty-sixth head coach on June 14, 2019. Hawks Field. The Cornhuskers played at Buck Beltzer Stadium from 1979 to 2001, where they went 527–137. Buck Beltzer seated 1,500 and had an AstroTurf infield and grass outfield. The stadium was shoehorned into a very tight space; right field was adjacent to the south end zone of Memorial Stadium, and first base was across a frontage road from an overpass leading to Interstate 180. The final game at Buck Beltzer was on June 2, 2001, when the Cornhuskers completed a sweep of Rice  to win an NCAA super regional and advance to the College World Series for the first time. On July 30, 1999 the University of Nebraska–Lincoln announced plans for a new baseball facility, Haymarket Park, which included both Hawks Field and a softball stadium. The park opened on March 5, 2002, a 23–1 Nebraska win over UNK. Nebraska is 19–1 in home openers at Hawks Field, but saw its streak of forty consecutive home-opening wins end in 2018. Hawks Field is often listed among the finest ballparks in college baseball. It has a seating capacity of 4,500, with outfield  berms raising the overall capacity to 8,500. Hawks Field was the first collegiate venue to use a SubAir system to heat and cool the field year-round and was selected as the best playing surface in the country in each of its first six years. In 2003 and 2007, Hawks Field won the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) Collegiate Baseball Field of the Year Award, the only park to win the award multiple times. Nebraska has ranked in the national top 25 in average attendance every year at Hawks Field. An LED videoboard was installed in 2012 which nearly tripled  the size and resolution of the ballpark's original video screen. The widescreen display is seventeen feet tall and thirty-four feet wide. Alex Gordon Training Complex The $4.75 million Alex Gordon Training Complex was constructed to allow Nebraska's baseball and softball teams to train and practice year-round. It has 18,000 square feet of practice space and can be configured to include as many as six batting cages. The cages can be retracted to allow for live game simulation and batting practice. Rivalries. Nebraska and Creighton have competed in an in-state rivalry since their first meeting  in 1902, a 9–3 Nebraska win. The Huskers and Bluejays play a three-game non-consecutive series each year, switching venues for each game. Creighton originally played home games at the Creighton Sports Complex and occasionally Rosenblatt Stadium, and moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011. The Huskers defeated the Bluejays 2–1 in the first game between the teams at TD Ameritrade on April 19, 2011. Nebraska leads the series 86–55–2. Nebraska plays a two-game non-consecutive series against Omaha every year. Nebraska leads the series 60–10. Memorable games. Nebraska 1, Kansas 0 (April 20, 1954) Richard Geier threw  the first perfect game in Nebraska baseball history on April 20, 1954 against Kansas. Geier struck out ten on his way to retiring twenty-seven consecutive batters. The Cornhuskers scored the only run of the game in the fourth inning when shortstop Dirkes Rolston walked with the bases loaded to score center fielder James Cederdahl. Nebraska 3, Kansas 0 (7 inn.) (May 3, 1980) In Nebraska's May 3, 1980 victory over Kansas, pitcher Cliff Faust retired all twenty-one Jayhawks batters who came to the plate, the second perfect game in school history. Faust allowed only five balls hit  out of the infield, including a sinking line drive off the bat of Dick Lewallen that became the final out of the game when left fielder Joe Scherger made a diving catch. Nebraska 50, Chicago State 3 (7 inn.) (March 16, 1999) After defeating Chicago State 15–3 in the first game of a March 16, 1999 doubleheader, Nebraska won the second game 50–3, setting NCAA records for runs scored (50), margin of victory (47), and RBIs (48). Reporters and coaches called from across the country to verify the score was correct. Nebraska scored at least four runs in every inning  until the game was called following the top of the seventh due to a twelve-run mercy rule. Eight Huskers accounted for nine home runs in the game: two from Ken Harvey and one from Scott Larsen, Adam Stern, and Brian Kent. Harvey scored a Big 12-record seven runs and Craig Moore became the third NU player to drive in ten runs in a game. Bailey, who only had two official at bats, walked five times to tie a school record originally set by football All-American Tom Novak. Eleven Huskers had at least two hits and seven had  at least three hits. Nebraska 1, Texas 0 (15 inn.) (March 28, 2015) Nebraska defeated tenth-ranked Texas on March 28, 2015, in a game that consisted of a mid-game no hitter, twelve total hits, one run, and twenty-seven strikeouts. NU pitchers combined for nineteen strikeouts across fifteen scoreless innings, including a stretch of nine consecutive no-hit innings. Following the game, pitchers Kyle Kubat, Jake Hohensee, Colton Howell, and Jeff Chesnut were collectively honored as the Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week, the first time in NCAA history the award was given to four pitchers from  the same school. Nebraska had runners in scoring position in each of the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th innings, but were unable to score until Tanner Lubach scored on Austin Darby's walk-off single in the 15th. The following day the Huskers finished a sweep of the Longhorns, allowing just three runs in thirty-three innings over the course of the series. Records. NCAA. Team batting Big 12. Team batting Individual batting Team pitching Individual pitching Big Ten. Individual batting MLB players. Thirty-nine former Huskers have played at least one Major League Baseball game. Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball The