2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team
| 2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conference | Big Ten |
| 2012 record | 35–23 (14–10 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | Darin Erstad (1st year) |
| Hitting coach | Will Bolt (4th year) |
| Pitching coach | Ted Silva (1st year) |
| Home stadium | Hawks Field |
| 2012 Big Ten Conference baseball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #15 Purdue †‡y | 17 | – | 7 | .708 | 45 | – | 14 | .763 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 16 | – | 8 | .667 | 32 | – | 28 | .533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 15 | – | 9 | .625 | 29 | – | 27 | .518 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 14 | – | 10 | .583 | 35 | – | 23 | .603 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State y | 13 | – | 11 | .542 | 37 | – | 23 | .617 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 11 | – | 13 | .458 | 33 | – | 27 | .550 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 11 | – | 13 | .458 | 28 | – | 25 | .528 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 11 | – | 13 | .458 | 29 | – | 27 | .518 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 10 | – | 14 | .417 | 23 | – | 27 | .460 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 8 | – | 16 | .333 | 22 | – | 34 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 6 | – | 18 | .250 | 18 | – | 36 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2012; Rankings from Coaches' Poll |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team was the first season of the program's new head coach Darin Erstad and featured a new coaching staff and a roster that included 12 new players. The Huskers entered their first season of Big Ten baseball after 15 seasons in the Big 12 Conference that included three regular-season titles and four tournament crowns.
In their last season in the Big 12 Conference, the Huskers went 30–25 overall and had a ninth-place 9–17 record in conference play, missing out in the Big 12 tournament for the third consecutive season. Cody Asche became a second-team all-American and a first-team all-conference player while Casey Hauptman won second-team all conference honors. They were both drafted in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. At the conclusion of the season, Mike Anderson and the entire coaching staff were terminated on May 22, 2011, and the University of Nebraska hired former Husker and Major League All-Star Darin Erstad on June 2, 2011, as head coach after one season as a volunteer assistant coach. A few days later, Ted Silva was hired as well as former Cornhuskers Will Bolt and Jeff Christy.
The Big Ten coaches picked Nebraska to finish fourth out of the league's 11 teams in 2012. Three Husker juniors were also named to the ‘Players to Watch List’, including right-handed pitcher Travis Huber, right-handed pitcher Tom Lemke and first baseman-designated hitter Kash Kalkowski.
The Huskers played 31 home games at Hawks Field and had 13 contests against 2011 NCAA Tournament teams, including a four-game home stand against 2011 College World Series qualifier California. The 56-game schedule started with 10 games on the road before the Huskers hosted their home opener against former Big 12 foe Kansas State on Tuesday, March 6. The Huskers played eight Big Ten Conference series, with three conference schools not on the schedule, including Penn State and Michigan State, as well as Wisconsin, which doesn’t have a baseball program.
A 14-year MLB veteran and World Series champion, Erstad took over at his alma mater, where he was one of the most successful players in program history. Prior to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 amateur draft, Erstad was a first-team All-American and the Big Eight Co-Player of the Year as a junior in 1995.
"It is a great honor to be the head coach of the Nebraska baseball program", Erstad said. "My family and I believe strongly in what the University stands for, and I am excited to have this opportunity to help influence kids’ lives in a positive way and help them turn into young men. I am committed to helping them grow as people."
Erstad is not the only former Husker on his coaching staff, as he brought on Will Bolt as his associate head coach and Jeff Christy as the team's volunteer assistant. A four-year starter and team captain on Nebraska's 2001 and 2002 College World Series teams, Bolt was a volunteer assistant on the Huskers’ 2005 squad that set a school record with 57 wins and produced the program's first win at the College World Series. Christy was a junior on the 2005 team and caught a school-record 64 games that season.
...
Wikipedia