Jon Keller pitched in front of big crowds in the Big 12 Conference last year, but what he saw at Hawks Field in Lincoln, Neb., last Saturday stunned him.

There were 5,298 fans in the stands that day to see Nebraska play California. Keller, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids, was the starting pitcher for the Cornhuskers. He'd seen crowds of 3,000 for a game before, but nothing like this.

"Awesome. Unbelievable. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he told the Metro Sports Report.

"You don't really notice it at first, and then once you settle yourself down and you look around a bit you go, 'Oh my goodness, there are so many people here.'"

It was 64 degrees with clear blue skies that day, unseasonably warm for March 10th in Nebraska. There's a new buzz for Nebraska baseball this year and the Cornhuskers were hosting a quality opponent, so the fans came out in droves.

Keller pitched well that day against Cal. He went 7 1/3 innings and allowed only three earned runs in a 12-5 victory. He threw 100 pitches and walked only one batter.

"Then when I came out of the game, I tipped my cap and I got a standing ovation," he reported. "It was awesome."

Keller, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound righthander from Xavier High School, tossed another strong game Friday in a 22-3 victory over Louisiana Tech before 2,918 fans at Hawks Field. He went six innings and allowed only one earned run.

Keller has a 3-0 record with a 3.72 ERA in six starts this season and is the No. 1 winner on the club. He's already matched his victory total from a year ago, when he went 3-6 with a 3.62 ERA.

His earned run average is about the same, but his control is much better this season. He walked 37 batters in 64 2/3 innings last season, but has walked only seven batters in 29 frames this year.

Last year, he walked 5.1 batters per nine innings. This year, he's walking only 2.2 batters per nine innings.

Keller credits Ted Silva, Nebraska's new pitching coach, with making a few key changes in his delivery. Keller has moved from the left side of the pitching rubber to the right side, and he's adjusted where he keeps his hands.

"I had a few kinks to my delivery. It's really helped me to work downhill in the zone," he said.

Silva pitched at Cal State Fullerton and was an All-American in 1995. He pitched in the Texas Rangers organization for five years and was the pitching coach at UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount before joining Nebraska this year when former Major Leaguer Darin Erstad was named head coach.

Erstad played baseball at Nebraska and has injected new energy into the program. "You can definitely tell there's a new buzz in Lincoln about Coach Erstad and the coaching staff," Keller said.

The Cornhuskers beat Louisiana Tech again on Saturday, 11-4, raising their record to 14-6 after an 0-3 start. They're riding a five-game winning streak.

"I just think we have good chemistry," Keller said. "We just have that killer instinct. If we have a chance to put somebody away, we do it."

Erstad has liked what he's seen of Keller.

"Jon Keller has worked very hard in the offseason," Erstad said before the games began in February. "He has really improved his work habits since he got here, and I think he'll see the rewards."

There are three Cedar Rapids products on the Nebraska ballclub this year. Chad Christensen, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate, is the starting shortstop and is having a strong campaign. Austin Christensen, a Kennedy grad and Chad's brother, is a freshman pitcher and first baseman but has not played due to a strained ligament in his left elbow.

Chad Christensen went 2-for-4 in Saturday's 11-4 victory with his sixth homer and two more RBIs, giving him 27 ribbies in 20 games. He's batting .417 with 35 base hits.

The Cedar Rapids connection has not gone unnoticed.

"We were down in Peoria, Arizona, for our first weekend of the season," Keller related. "There was a guy there from Cedar Rapids. He kept yelling 'Cedar Rapids' the whole game. It was kind of funny."

Austin Christensen hopes to start playing in a few weeks. Once he does, there could be a game when Keller is pitching, Chad Christensen is at shortstop and Austin Christensen is at first base.

"That would be really cool," Keller said. "I hope it happens."