Mike Anderson knows what people are wondering about David Stewart and Tyler Farst, two inexperienced players on his Nebraska baseball team who recently have gone from a blip to a blob on the radar screen:

Is there more of what just came from them?

Like on Sunday, when the 6-foot-5, 222-pound freshman Stewart, receiving just his fourth and fifth conference starts as the Huskers’ designated hitter, drove in seven runs to help fuel a doubleheader sweep of Big 12 leader Texas A&M?

Or on Tuesday, when the 6-1, 215-pound sophomore Farst, making his third straight start at first base for the recovering Craig Corriston, produced his first three-hit performance in a win at Creighton?

Anderson shrugs off those questions, but he does know this: Both of those guys are going to get more chances as NU attempts to carry a wildly successful year into the postseason.

“There’s still some learning curves. David, there’s good days and bad days with him, so we need to figure out how to get him through some of the bad days and to help him be a run producer for us,” said Anderson, who watched Stewart deliver two more hits coming off the bench Tuesday. “Tyler Farst —  Corriston we think can be ready for Missouri — but Tyler is swinging it well.

“We’re trying to create opportunities, some left-right matchups, that we can count on.

Tyler is somebody that’s come on — can go the other way, face left-handers. David Stewart can face right-handers. It’s creating some options, which is a good thing.”

Nebraska concludes the regular season with a three-game series at Missouri this weekend. The Huskers enter with faint hopes of claiming their second Big 12 regular-season title in four years, as they trail A&M by 11/2 games. They’re also 11/2 games up on third-place Oklahoma State.

Equally as important to NU as the final standings is how it feels entering the postseason, which begins with next week’s league tournament at Oklahoma City.

To that end, Farst and Stewart could play critical roles. 

Farst — a transfer from Grayson County (Texas) College who enrolled at NU in January and began his career with the Huskers one season earlier than originally planned — has raised his batting average to .255. He’s also provided stellar defense while filling in for the senior Corriston.

Stewart’s recent tear has allowed him to raise his batting average to .294 and also has left him with the fourth-best slugging percentage on the team. Considering he was a 31st-round pick in last June’s amateur draft and was recruited heavily by LSU, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and TCU, the St. Louis native’s early production might not come as that big a surprise.

But senior catcher Mitch Abeita knows that receiving key production from newcomers is far from automatic.

“No one’s really expecting that much out of them being first-year guys. But seeing them come out, following other guys’ footsteps — very proud to see,” Abeita said. “We’ve got good leaders — Bryce Nimmo, Jake Opitz, Thad Weber, Johnny Dorn — guys that come out and kind of pave the way for these younger guys, and help them get that confidence, teach them a little something along the way. It’s great to see them coming up late in the year.”

It’s a phenomenon that Abeita is convinced can have a difference-making impact on the Huskers.

“It’s very seldom that you start with a team and you end with the same guys,” he said. “We’re going to have some guys step up coming off the bench, just like any other time.”

Stewart noted how he’s coming to the plate now with more confidence, and how having some success helped him be in the proper frame of mind for when his name got called.

Farst, who missed some early-season games because of a pulled hamstring, described how his comfort level has increased the more he’s played.

“I think more than anything, we’re starting to understand our roles more than ever,” Stewart said. “Early on, it was kind of hard to see who’s doing what. I think once we understand our roles, which we have been, we know what to do and we’re executing well.”

For both, the most gratifying thing about that is they’re contributing at the time of year when stakes are highest.

“Like A&M, it was great to be a part of that, probably the greatest games I’ve ever been in in my life,” Farst said.

He suspects the postseason will be even more intense.

“I think that’ll be a little bit of a surprise to me,” Farst added. “I’m expecting it to be a lot more energy. Everybody’s going to want to win. Everybody’s going to play as hard as they can. Every game’s probably going to be like all three A&M games, down to the wire.”

Briefly

* Though Missouri has not lived up to the ‘Big 12 favorite’ tag league coaches put on it in the preseason, the Tigers are 20-5 at home this season.

* Mizzou junior Aaron Crow (11-0, 2.82 ERA) is considered by Baseball America to be the top right-handed pitcher and No. 5 overall talent available in this year’s major league amateur draft. And he’s not the only big prospect on the Tigers. Last week, sophomore pitcher Kyle Gibson (8-1, 3.59 ERA) and sophomore outfielder Aaron Senne (hitting .356 with 13 home runs) were among 32 players invited to participate in USA Baseball’s 2008 National Team Trials.

* Senior pitcher Johnny Dorn has been named as one of 16 semifinalists for the 2008 Dick Howser Trophy. Dorn is  5-1 with a 2.65 ERA in 12 starts this season. Dorn is one of two players from the Big 12 on the Howser semifinalist list, joining Crow.

* A Big 12-high nine Husker players were among the 62 student-athletes selected to the 2008 academic All-Big 12 team. Seven players were named to the first team including senior center fielder Bryce Nimmo (third time) and third baseman Jake Mort (second time).  Other first-team picks include outfielders DJ Belfonte and Nick Sullivan, infielder Jeff Tezak and pitchers Zach Herr and Dan Jennings. Jake Opitz and Thad Weber were both recognized as second-team picks.

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.