I have not been covering Nebraska baseball here, but instead have moved most of that coverage over to a new site, Big 12 Hardball so that college baseball fans can interact a little more with each other. When I talk to college baseball fans, it always surprises me how little they know about each other's teams, despite playing in the same conference and with common opponents.
Having said that - what a great award for Adam Bailey this week, as he picks up a Big 12 Player of the Week award.
Bailey is a Junior, a JUCO transfer from South Mountain Community College (Arizona ) who originally started his collegiate career at Arizona State. He's provided offense the Huskers sorely needed, and he's also provided some pitching out of the bullpen.
So far, the Huskers are doing fairly well. Not great so far, but they're pulling out some wins that easily could have been losses (for comparison, see Missouri at 2-7 on the season so far). They still need to solidify their weekend starters and need to find a little more power offense and things should be fine.
From the Big 12 release:
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Adam Bailey, Nebraska, OF/LHP, Jr., 6-1, 195, Scottsdale, Ariz./South Mountain CC
Bailey hit .333 along with a Big 12-leading 10 RBI and three home runs in five games last week. He also compiled a .952 slugging percentage and 20 total bases, both of which ranked second in the league.
Six of Bailey’s seven hits went for extra bases. Bailey started the week producing the highest single-game RBI total (six) by a Husker in three years. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native had a 3-for-5 outing with two doubles and a homer in addition to posting a career-high RBI in the 10-6 win over North Dakota.
Bailey also keyed NU’s come-from-behind 14-12 victory over Missouri State by going 2-for-5, while tallying a triple and a homer. His eighth-inning two-run triple broke a 12-all tie. In that game, NU overcame deficits of 5-0, 8-4 and 12-8 before scoring six times in the bottom of the eighth. At Sam Houston State on Saturday, Bailey hit his third home run of the week, and also allowed one unearned run over three innings of work to collect his first save.