For the Nebraska volleyball red-white game, the coaching staff picked the teams. For Nebraska football's spring game, the coaching staff picked the teams.
However, coach Darin Erstad gave his players the opportunity to pick their teammates for the Husker baseball's fall red-white series on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Shortstop Chad Christensen was one of the players on a captain's committee for the draft.
"(Kale) Kiser was on one side with a couple other guys and I was on the other," Christensen said. "We had our draft mentality and we got some good pitching and we think we'll win the series."
After the draft was completed, the captains had a coin toss for color.
However, the fall game isn't all fun and games. NU spent the week scrimmaging to get ready for the weekend series.
Monday's unofficial scrimmage featured different rosters than the weekend series. The Reds won 4-1 in eight innings. After the final out, the two sides ran up to home plate, then the Whites took off towards the left-field foul pole.
From there they ran to the right-field pole then back to home plate. After a quick breather they made a return trip.
The Huskers always have to pay following a loss.
"We've got running, and a couple different things," Christensen said. "But you either win or you don't, and if you don't (Erstad) comes up with something different for you to do, and it just makes everybody want to win that much more."
That competitive edge is something Erstad wants to stress to the Huskers. And right now he and his staff is getting NU ready for baseball season.
"We're just pouring the cement right now," Erstad said. "It's not quite dry, but we're working on it. We're just trying to get what kind of offense we're gonna run, what we expect out of them and we're in the process of doing that."
Erstad brings experience to the program. Even though he has never been a head baseball coach at any level, his style and knowledge has the Huskers excited for the 2012 season.
Erstad makes the Huskers want to win games and it's spread like a virus through the clubhouse and to Christensen.
"He brings that mind set everyday," Christensen said. "It's definitely become contagious throughout our roster and through all the guys."
The mind set Erstad brought to NU has the players ready to play new opponents once the Big Ten season starts.
However, Erstad doesn't look at the change in conference as something that will affect how his team performs next season.
"Baseball is baseball," Erstad said. "I don't care if we're playing on a baseball field or a parking lot…whatever stadium we're playing in, it doesn't matter. The game is a game.
"The bases are still the same distance away and I couldn't care less what the other color uniform is."
That attitude aside, Erstad is still keeping an eye on his new team. No player is guaranteed a spot on the field until the umpire gets the lineup card on February 17, 2012 when NU takes on Gonzaga in Peoria, Ariz.
Erstad is constantly examining who can step in and perform on and off the field, and that evaluation will culminate with the series this weekend.
"I'm just finding who wants to commit on both sides," Erstad said. "It's an ongoing process.
"Nobody is guaranteed a spot, it's an ongoing competition that will be going for quite some time."
robbykorth@dailynebraskan.com
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