May 30, 2002

LINCOLN, Neb. - Just how much better is the UWM baseball team on May 30 than it was on April 3?

The Panthers should get a good answer to that question Friday afternoon, as they open NCAA Regional Play against 13th-ranked Nebraska at Haymarket Park in Lincoln.

UWM (36-18) fell to 4-10 when it lost 16-1 to the Cornhuskers April 3, wrapping up a two-game series that saw the Panthers get outscored 26-2. But since then UWM is 32-8, including a school-record 13-game winning streak and a dominant run through the Horizon League Tournament, when the Panthers outscored their opponents 30-9.

"This year has been a little different," UWM head coach Jerry Augustine said. "We had a lot of new players and we started out a little bit slow, but we have really adapted well and come together as a team. I think one of the big reasons we have been successful is because of our senior leadership. They have really taken over and done a great job for us."

The Panthers are expected to throw senior Quintin Oldenburg (9-2) at the Cornhuskers on Friday afternoon. Oldenburg dominated UIC in his last two outings and is looking to become the first Panther pitcher to ever collect 10 wins.

Certainly the warmer weather of the late spring has helped boost the Panther offense. After hitting near the .250 mark through the early-season, the UWM attack has seen its average rise to .299, the fifth-best mark in school history. Leading the resurgence is junior Dave Pudlosky, named the Horizon League Tournament MVP after setting a tournament record with 10 hits in 14 at bats. He has boosted his batting average from a season-low .118 to a season-high .350 entering NCAA play.

"I don't know if I can put my finger on it," Pudlosky said of his six-week hot streak. "I really haven't tried to do anything special. I'm just trying to see the ball wherever it is pitched and go with it to any field. I don't know why. I have got some great coaches and I've got a lot of help through that streak."

The Cornhuskers, who advanced to the College World Series last season and have won 42 games so far this season, expect to see a much-improved Panther squad from the one they saw two months ago.

"They will be a lot better team," Cornhusker head coach Dave Van Horn said after the regional pairings were announced Monday. "We're going to really emphasize that if you look past anybody, you'll get beat. We caught them last time right after they'd been on a long trip to Florida. It might have been their most vulnerable time."

Nebraska will throw lefthanded Aaron Marsden, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Hutchinson Community College. During the season he has compiled an 8-1 record with a 2.08 ERA.

"This will be the biggest game I have ever pitched," Marsden said following practice Thursday. "I'm not really nervous, but I may have a little anxiety when I go out there Friday. My arm feels good. Our coaches have done a great job getting everyone out to stretch and work hard at staying loose. That helps us recover fast all season long."

The atmosphere will also be much different in the second go-around between the Panthers and Cornhuskers. Haymarket Park is a sparkling new facility that will be jam-packed with more than 5,500 fans Friday at 12:05 p.m. for the regional contest. Plus, temperatures are expected to be in the low 90's. The last time UWM visited Lincoln, temperatures were in the 30's and the crowd numbered closer to 700. It will be a much more hostile but more exciting environment for UWM this time.

"Any time you can come to a venue like this it is just tremendous," Augustine said. "To be able to play a program like Nebraska and what Dave has done with his program here is just phenomenal. For us it is really an honor just to come back. We are looking forward to playing here. It's really a challenge because last time we didn't play very well. So we want to come in and try to play as well as we can."

The tournament continues Friday night with Southwest Missouri State facing Marist. Friday's losers play at 11:05 a.m. Saturday, while the winners play at 3:35 p.m. Saturday. The tournament wraps up with an elimination game at 8:05 p.m. Saturday and the title game Sunday at 1 p.m. The winner advances to a super regional matchup with the winner of the Winston-Salem Regional at a site to be determined.