Around the Horn: Huskers look to bounce back as they host Minnesota
The Nebraska baseball team (22-15-1) will look to recoup some momentum after a disastrous weekend against Iowa. Along with that, the Huskers are most recently coming off a rough midweek loss to South Dakota State. Despite all of that, the Big Red will host Minnesota (11-28) in a three-game weekend series at Haymarket Park.
The Golden Gophers are also coming off the losing end of a sweeping weekend as they lost three to Illinois. However, most recently Minnesota took down St. Thomas 9-4 in a Wednesday matchup.
Projecting the pitching
Note: These are projections and will be updated once starting rotations are officially announced.
Friday, 7:02 p.m., LHP Emmett Olson (5-2, 4.02 ERA, 56 IP, 59 K) vs. LHP Tucker Novotny (1-5, 4.91 ERA, 51.1 IP, 55K)
Saturday, 2:05 p.m., RHP Jace Kaminska (5-3, 4.53 ERA, 43.2 IP, 27 K) vs. RHP George Klassen (1-5, 5.12 ERA, 38.2 IP, 36K)
Sunday, 1:05 p.m., LHP Will Walsh (2-1, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 24 K) vs. RHP Richie Holetz (2-3, 3.35 ERA, 51.0 IP, 42K)
What to watch for the Huskers
Bounce back opportunity
In the press conference following Wednesday’s game, Nebraska head coach Will bolt was fired up. The fourth year head coach talked about his team’s poor approach and there was a clear message to the players that it was unacceptable.
If there is anything to take from those words, it is that Bolt will expect his guys to come out fiery against the Gophers.
Last weekend, the Huskers fell down and died against the Hawkeyes, losing all three games in the series. The closest any of the games were was five runs, as NU lost both the first and third games by five.
Although the Big Red struggled in that series, Iowa is a top team in the conference. Minnesota on the other hand is not. The Gophers sit third from the bottom in the Big Ten with a 4-8 conference record.
If there was a week to bounce back, Minnesota is a team that is vulnerable against a team that wants to take over.
Husker home run trio
Nebraska’s starters went an average of two and one third innings deep last weekend against Iowa. The longest outing from a Huskers starter was Jace Kaminska who threw three innings, allowing four runs on four hits. The shortest outing was Will Walsh who threw just one and a third innings, allowing three runs on three hits.
This was uncharacteristic of some of the starters. Two and one third innings against Iowa was Emmett Olson’s shortest outing of the year. On top of that, it was Olson’s worst as well. The lefty allowed five runs on six hits in the short time he was on the mound and NU lost 11-6.
The starters last weekend against the Hawkeyes put the Big Red in a tough positions last week. This is something that they will look to change heading into a new series.
Starting pitching to respond
Nebraska has three players who have hit at least 10 home runs this season. Brice Matthews (15), Max Anderson (13), and Gabe Swansen (10) are making history for NU. This is the first time since 2005 that three Huskers have hit 10+ home runs in a season. In that 2005 season, the Big Red were led by Alex Gordon who hit 19 homers. Curtis Ledbetter hit 13 in that season and Brandon Fusilier hit 12.
In the last two seasons, Nebraska’s leading home run hitter has hit 10 home runs. The 2018 season was the last time a Husker hit more than 10 homers, with Scott Schreiber hitting 18.
Against pitchers who have struggled to keep control this season, NU will likely see those home run numbers rise. That is, as long as things go to their plan.
Nebraska baseball notes
***Following a rough day from the batter’s box, both Brice Matthews and Max Anderson fell below .400. They are hitting .390 and .394 respectively.
***Since 1997, the Huskers lead the all time series against the Gophers 28-15.
***NU sits in second in the Big Ten for batting average (.304) and in fourth for ERA (4.72).
***Brice Matthews has the highest slugging percentage in the conference with a mark of .795.
***Max Anderson sits in second in the conference in the batting average category, batting .394.
Know the foe: Minnesota
***Minnesota took down St Thomas 9-4 in their most recent game on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Gophers fell to North Dakota State 10-3.
***Minnesota took down Ohio State 2-1 in a three game series at the beginning of April. This was the Gophers’ first road series win since May of 2019.
***Tucker Novotny, Minnesota’s Friday starter, has thrown 51.1 innings and allowed 47 hits. The lefty has started 10 games and earned just one win.
***Brett Bateman leads the team from the batter’s box. The sophomore has just seven extra-base hits, with 39 of his 46 hits being singles, and all the others being doubles.
***Boston Merila has reached base for the Gophers in 19 straight games. That means he has reached base in every game since March 17.
Around the Big Ten
Here are a few Big Ten series to keep tabs on this weekend:
Maryland (27-15, 8-4) @ Indiana (31-11, 9-3)
Iowa (30-10, 7-5) @ Penn State (23-14, 5-7)
Oklahoma State (28-13) @ Michigan (21-18, 8-4)
Conference standings
| SCHOOL | CONF | PCT | HOME | ROAD | OVERALL | PCT | HOME | ROAD | NEUTRAL | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 9-3 | .750 | 5-1 | 4-2 | 31-11 | .738 | 22-1 | 8-9 | 1-1 | 9-1 | W8 |
| Maryland | 8-4 | .667 | 4-2 | 4-2 | 27-15 | .643 | 14-6 | 13-6 | 0-3 | 8-2 | W4 |
| Michigan | 9-6 | .600 | 6-3 | 3-3 | 21-18 | .538 | 11-7 | 6-6 | 4-5 | 5-5 | L1 |
| Iowa | 7-5 | .583 | 4-2 | 3-3 | 30-10 | .750 | 16-2 | 6-7 | 8-1 | 8-2 | W5 |
| Michigan State | 7-5 | .583 | 4-2 | 3-3 | 25-13 | .658 | 10-3 | 10-7 | 5-3 | 7-3 | W2 |
| Rutgers | 7-5 | .583 | 3-3 | 4-2 | 25-16 | .610 | 10-3 | 14-11 | 1-2 | 9-1 | W6 |
| Nebraska | 7-5 | .583 | 5-1 | 2-4 | 22-15-1 | .592 | 10-4 | 7-9-1 | 5-2 | 4-5 | L1 |
| Purdue | 8-7 | .533 | 4-2 | 4-5 | 19-21 | .475 | 7-6 | 4-11 | 8-4 | 5-5 | L3 |
| Illinois | 7-8 | .467 | 5-4 | 2-4 | 18-19 | .486 | 6-7 | 8-10 | 4-2 | 5-5 | L1 |
| Penn State | 5-7 | .417 | 4-2 | 1-5 | 23-14 | .622 | 13-3 | 2-9 | 8-2 | 7-3 | L1 |
| Minnesota | 4-8 | .333 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 11-28 | .282 | 7-13 | 4-8 | 0-7 | 4-6 | W1 |
| Northwestern | 3-9 | .250 | 2-4 | 1-5 | 7-28 | .200 | 4-5 | 3-21 | 0-2 | 3-7 | W1 |
| Ohio State | 3-12 | .200 | 2-4 | 1-8 | 20-21 | .488 | 9-6 | 6-11 | 5-4 | 4-6 | L4 |
Broadcast information
TV: Big Ten Network (FRIDAY ONLY):Â LINK HERE Big Ten Plus (SATURDAY & SUNDAY): LINK HERE
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found LINK HERE)
Stations: Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM)
