LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska reserve quarterback Johnny Stanton is transferring.

Coach Mike Riley said Stanton told him about his decision Thursday.

Stanton took limited snaps in two games as a redshirt freshman last season and was among five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

Recruiting services ranked Stanton among the top 15 dual-threat quarterbacks when he was coming out of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, in 2013.

Riley also announced that redshirt freshman receiver Glenn Irons would not be on the team this fall.

— Associated Press —

Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-23) had a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon at Target Field, but the No. 5 seed Michigan State Spartans (34-22) exploded for six runs in the frame on its way to a 9-7 victory that eliminated the Huskers from the Big Ten Tournament.

The Huskers entered the game 28-1 on the year when leading after seven innings, but were unable improve to 29-1. Reliever Ben Miller took the mound in the eighth and gave up a walk to Brandon Hughes to start the frame. The bases were quickly loaded following singles by Chad Roskelly and Anthony Checky. Dan Durkin stepped in and Miller issued a four-pitch walk to plated a run. NU went to senior Josh Roeder and NU’s all-time saves leader came into a jam, the bases loaded and no out. With the tying runs on base and the top of MSU’s order coming to the plate, Roeder plated a run with just his third walk of the season before Ryan Krill delivered a grand slam that put the Spartans ahead, 9-7, it was Krill’s 13th homerun of the season.

MSU reliever Joe Mockbee worked the final 3.2 innings for the Spartans, including a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his sixth win of the season.

The loss ended the careers of seven Husker seniors, including Kyle Kubat, Chance Sinclair, Christian Cox, Austin Darby, Blake Headley, Tanner Lubach and Roeder. Kubat, who was winless in his past eight starts entering Thursday, left the game in line for the win with a 6-3 lead. Kubat was looking to become the 11th pitcher in school history to reach 20 career wins, but it wasn’t meant to be. In his 43rd career start, the fifth most in NU history, Kubat went 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits, while striking out three.

MSU starter Jeff Kinley lasted 4.1 innings in his fifth start of the season. The one-time closer for the Spartans this year allowed five runs on six this and two walks, but did notch six strikeouts.

Kubat retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first before he hit Mark Weist. The HBP came back hurt on the very next pitch of the game, as Blaise Slater launched a two-run homer into the third deck in left field. Former Husker Ryan Richardson then ripped a single before Kubat got a pop out to end the inning.

Down 2-0, the Huskers cut MSU’s lead in half in the top of the second on two hits. Scott Schreiber started the inning with his fourth hit of the tournament and was soon in scoring position on a groundout by Headley. Miller then came through with a single that put runners on the corners and Jake Placzek drove in Schreiber with a sacrifice fly to left field. Darby worked a walk with two outs and Jake Meyers nearly came through with a two-out RBI, but Checky made a running catch in the left-field gap to end the frame.

The Spartans had their next scoring opportunity in the fourth when they had a runner on second with two outs after Checky was hit-by-pitch. Facing MSU’s No. 9 hitter, Kory Young, Kubat got an inning-ending ground ball to Headley at third, keeping MSU’s lead to 2-1.

After Kubat got out of the jam, NU’s offense went to work in the top of the fifth with five runs on five hits and two walks. Placzek got the inning started with a single and after Darby struck out, got himself in scoring position by stealing second base. Meyers then worked a walked and Luis Alvarado singled to load the bases for Jake Schleppenbach. The Lincoln native lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a game-tying RBI single. MSU went to lefty reliever Anthony Misiewicz to face Lubach and the junior walked in a run to put the Huskers ahead 3-2. The Spartans again made a call to the pen and right hander Walter Borkovich got Schreiber to foul out. With two out and the bases still loaded, Headley worked a full count before driving a two-RBI single into left field. Miller, the ninth batter of the inning, followed with a RBI single to push NU’s lead to 6-2. Placzek stepped in for his second at-bat of the inning with two runners in scoring position and Borkovich put an end to the bleeding with a strikeout.

Working with the lead for the first time all day, Kubat faced the top of MSU’s lineup in the bottom of the fifth. He retired the first two batters before giving up a single to Weist and then he hit Salter. Kubat dug in and got a 1-3 groundout from Richardson to keep NU’s four-run lead intact.

Kubat took the mound in the sixth but wouldn’t record an out, as he was replaced by Jeff Chesnut after giving up consecutive singles to start the inning. With runners on the corners, Chesnut got a 5-3 groundout of the bat of Checky, but the grounder was slow enough to score Hughes on the play. MSU went to pinch hitter, Durkin, who lined an infield single off of Chesnut to again put runners on the corners. With the top of the order up and one down, Cam Gibson came to the plate as the tying run. Gibson got a 3-1 hitters count, but Chesnut made the pitch he needed and got a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning with the Huskers ahead 6-3.

The Husker offense got the run back in the seventh with one hit and a pair of sacrifices. Schreiber led off the frame with his sixth hit of the tournament and with Headley up Schreiber took second on a wild pitch Mockbee. Headley then laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Schreiber to third and Miller drove him in with a sacrifice fly to deep right field that gave NU a 7-3 lead.

Colton Howell took the mound for NU in the eighth and gave up a one-out walk, but nothing else, and struck out Richardson to keep the Husker lead a 7-3 through seven.

With three runs on eight hits through the first seven innings, the Spartans scored six runs in the eighth on four hits and three walks to retake the lead for good.

— NU Sports Information —

Minneapolis – The No. 8 seed Nebraska baseball team (34-22) had a 2-0 lead after the top of the sixth, but the No. 1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (46-6-1) scored the game’s final three runs for a 3-2 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night at Target Field. With the win, the No. 5 nationally ranked Illini extended their winning streak to 27 games, the longest streak in the country this season.

After the Illini took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, they turned the ball over to Big Ten Pitcher-of-the-Year Tyler Jay, who retired the Huskers in order in the ninth for his 13th save of the season.

The Huskers entered the game with a 25-4 record on the year when outhitting their opponent and out-hit the Illini 9-7, but couldn’t get the extra hits they needed late. Nebraska also fell to 0-6 on the year in games decided by one-run against Big Ten teams.

Freshman Scott Schreiber was 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run, while Tanner Lubach was 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman Luis Alvarado also added a RBI on the day, his fourth extra-base hit off Illini pitching in the last week after he produced two doubles and home run in Champaign, Ill., during last week’s conference series.

Two-time All-Big Ten pitcher Chance Sinclair made his 31st career start on Wednesday night and gave the Huskers 5.2 strong innings, as he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out four. Sinclair allowed one hit over the first five innings, with three of Illinois’ four hits off of Sinclair coming in the sixth.

Junior Kevin Duchene, an unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection on Tuesday, started for the Illini and went 6.2 innings. Duchene allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out five Huskers. It was the first time Duchene has allowed more than five hits in a start since April 17, when he gave up 10 hits to Indiana.

Nebraska had the game’s first runner in scoring position with two out in the second after Schreiber roped a single and then moved to second when Ben Miller drew the 11th walk of the season off Duchene in 84.2 innings. Jake Placzek stepped in an worked a 3-1 count and got a pitch to hit, but it resulted in a fly ball to left field to end the frame.

Illinois had its leadoff batter on base for the first time in the fourth when Ryan Nagle reached on a walk, but he didn’t advance any more. Sinclair responded with back-to-back strikeouts before Wes Edrington made a bare-handed play on a slow roller off the bat of Casey Fletcher to end the inning.

The Huskers offense was in position to score again in the fifth, but Duchene dug in. Schreiber led off with a single and then Placzek blasted a one-out double to put two runners on scoring position. Duchene got a shallow fly out off the bat of Edrington that wasn’t deep enough to score Schreiber and struck out Ryan Boldt swinging to end the Husker threat.

Sinclair retired the Illini in order in the fifth and the Husker offense finally broke through in the top of the sixth. Lubach got NU going with a one-out double to right-center field and scored the first run of the game when Alvarado doubled down the left-field line. The hits kept coming, as Blake Headley delivered a groundball single that put runners on the corners. Schreiber stepped in an worked an 11-pitch at-bat, delivering a RBI single on the 11th pitch to put the Husker onto 2-0.

The lead didn’t last long, as Illinois answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth. Ryne Roper started the inning with a single to set the table for the top of the NU lineup. Sinclair came back with a strikeout of Adam Walton before Nagle and Reid Roper each singled, with Ryne Roper scoring on the single by his older brother. Jason Goldstein then tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Sinclair was in position to get out of the inning, but Headley committed an error to put runners on first and second. The Huskers went to Jeff Chesnut out of the pen for his 30th appearance of the season and the junior right hander struck out Pat McInerney swinging to keep the game tied, 2-2, through six innings.

Placzek led off the seventh with a walk and was soon in scoring position for the top of NU’s lineup following a sacrifice bunt by Edrington. Duchene struck out Boldt for this third time and with two down the Illini went to right-handed reliever Nick Blackburn to face Jake Meyers. Nebraska countered with pinch-hitter Austin Darby and Blackburn won the battle with an inning-ending strikeout.

The Huskers had their leadoff man on in the seventh when Lubach started the frame with a single, his second hit of the game. Blackburn quickly cleared the bases with a double play off the bat of Alvarado, and then Headley lined out to Walton at shortstop to end the inning.

Illinois got their leadoff man on in the bottom of the eighth with an infield single by Reid Roper and he later scored to put Illinois ahead 3-2 on a single by McInerney. After Goldstein laid down a sacrifice to put two runners in scoring position, the Huskers loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Fletcher. McInerney delivered a single that found its way through the right side of the infield to give Illini the lead. David Kerian and Will Krug then grounded out to end the inning.

Facing the bottom of NU’s lineup, Jay needed just seven pitches to polish off the comeback win for Illinois.

Nebraska returns to Target Field Thursday for an elimination game against 1 p.m.

— NU Sports Information —

The University of Nebraska football team will open its 2017 season against Arkansas State at Memorial Stadium. The Nebraska Athletics Department announced the latest addition to the Huskers’ future non-conference schedule on Monday.

The Red Wolves will visit Lincoln on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, kicking off the 2017 campaign. The game will mark the third all-time meeting between the schools, with Arkansas State also playing at Memorial Stadium in 2009 and 2012. Nebraska defeated the Red Wolves 38-9 in 2009, and won 42-13 in the 2012 matchup.

Arkansas State has played in a bowl game five times since making the move to the FBS ranks. The Red Wolves have played in the postseason each of the past four years and have won three Sun Belt Conference titles in the past four seasons. In addition to its 2017 trip to Lincoln, Arkansas State has upcoming non-conference games against USC, Missouri, Auburn and Miami among others.

The addition of Arkansas State completes Nebraska’s 2017 schedule. The Huskers’ non-conference schedule also includes a Sept. 9 game at Oregon and a matchup with Northern Illinois at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 16, 2017. The Huskers will also play nine Big Ten Conference games in 2017, including home contests against Rutgers, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Northwestern and Iowa.

The agreement with Arkansas State completes Nebraska’s schedules through the 2019 season. The Huskers will play four non-conference games and eight Big Ten games in 2015, before the conference shifts to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016.

— NU Sports Information —

Lincoln – University of Nebraska junior guard Terran Petteway announced Thursday morning that he is forgoing his senior season to declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.  Petteway, a fourth-year junior from Galveston, Texas, is on track to earn his degree in May and has spent the last three seasons at Nebraska after transferring from Texas Tech.

“I want to start off by thanking the city of Lincoln and state of Nebraska for all of the love and support that you guys have shown me over the last three years,” Petteway said. “This is a bittersweet moment for me because Lincoln has become a second home to me, but in the same instance has helped me grow as a man and ballplayer, and I love y’all.”

“I’m happy for Terran and his family,” Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said. “While I had hoped he stayed with us for his senior year, I completely support his decision, and we will help him as much as we can through this process. I believe any team in the NBA or otherwise would love to have Terran on their team.”

A two-time All-Big Ten performer at Nebraska, Petteway earned first-team honors in 2013-14 and third-team accolades this past season. He started every game for the Huskers over the last two seasons and ranks 20th on Nebraska’s career scoring list with 1,143 points.

He holds two of the top-10 scoring seasons in school history (579, seventh, 2013-14; 564, eighth, 2014-15), while his 18.1 points per game career scoring average at Nebraska ranks second in school history. Petteway joined Dave Hoppen as the only two players in program history to score 1,000 points in their first two seasons at Nebraska, and Petteway reached double figures in 59 of 63 games as a Husker.

This past season, Petteway topped the Huskers and ranked fourth in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.2 points per game, while also placing among the Big Ten leaders in 3-pointers (2.2, eighth), assists (2.8, 14th) and steals (1.1, 15th) per game. He led NU in scoring, assists and blocked shots (27), while ranking second on the team in rebounding (4.9 per game) and steals (35). A preseason Wooden Award Nominee, he was one of 15 players on the Julius Erving Award Watch List, recognizing the top small forward in the country. He reached double figures in 29 games in 2014-15, including 13 performances with at least 20 points. He closed the season with a strong performance against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, scoring a game-high 29 points, as he hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range and went 11-of-13 from the foul line.

Petteway put together one of the best sophomore seasons in school history in 2013-14, leading Nebraska to 19 wins and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998. He averaged a Big Ten-leading 18.1 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, as he was second on the team in assists and rebounding. A first-team All-Big Ten performer, Petteway was also a first-team all-district honoree by both the NABC (coaches) and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.  He was a consistent scorer for the Big Red, reaching double figures 30 times in 32 games, including a pair of 30-point outings. His best performance came in a win over Minnesota, when he had a career-high 35 points.

He began his college career at Texas Tech during the 2011-12 season, where he played in 27 games and made 11 starts for the Red Raiders, averaging 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.

— NU Sports Information —