Christensen returns home to play Hawkeyes

CEDAR RAPIDS - The University of Nebraska baseball team is making one of those barnstorming trips today.

The Cornhuskers will depart Lincoln at 9 a.m. and bus to Iowa City to play the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight at 6. Then it's right back on the bus for the five-hour trip home.

It's going to be a long, tough day. But one that Huskers freshman shortstop Chad Christensen is excited about.

“I've been looking forward to this game for a long time,” Christensen said. “It was originally supposed to be played in Des Moines. I think I'm the only guy on the team pumped that we're driving to Iowa City instead.”

That's because Christensen is a Cedar Rapids Washington grad and will have all kinds of family and friends to cheer him on. That includes best friends Keenan Davis and Wyatt Suess, who are football players at Iowa.

Christensen has been Nebraska's starting shortstop since Big 12 Conference play began in late March. He's hitting .333 with six home runs, third on the team despite having about half as many at-bats as the two guys ahead of him.

“I didn't really play that much until about a month ago,” Christensen said. “It's been quite an adjustment going from high school to college. The one thing I've noted about playing is that you've got to relax. I mean, you've got to stay tense, too, but not too tense.

“I think I've adapted to playing shortstop at this level.”

That shortstop thing has been kind of a surprise. Christensen said he was recruited as a third baseman and outfielder and spent some of this season in the outfield.

That also might be his future, he said. But for now, he's a freshman at a very important position.

Nebraska goes into tonight's game 19-21. Iowa is 16-21.

“I started out really well,” Christensen said. “It's baseball. Sometimes you're seeing the baseball really well, Lately, I haven't hit quite as well.”

Christensen will play summer ball in a college league in California. Next season, he'll be joined at Nebraska by Cedar Rapids Xavier senior pitcher Jon Keller and West Des Moines Dowling senior pitcher Jon Musser.

In two years, his brother, Austin, will join him as a Cornhusker. He's an all-state junior outfielder at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

“We always talked about it,” Chad said of playing college baseball together. “But we never really knew if it would happen ... I think it's just a good thing we have going with all the Iowa guys. Being from Iowa, it's a lot like Nebraska. And obviously the facilities are so good here, second to none.

“I've been to Fresno State this season and UCLA. But I haven't played on a field that's better than ours.”