Around the Horn: Nebraska baseball heads to Purdue for 'must win' series

With the Big Ten Tournament looming, Nebraska baseball (26-26, 13-14) heads to Purdue (30-21, 10-17) for its final series of the regular season. The Huskers have yet to punch their ticket to Omaha but can do so in various ways this weekend.

The Huskers currently rank No. 9 in the Big Ten standings at 13-14 in conference play. Two wins over Purdue would clinch their spot in the tournament, even in the nightmare scenario where eight teams finish tied with 15-15 conference records.

One win over Purdue would likely be enough, assuming UCLA takes care of business against Northwestern. If the dominoes fall in Nebraska’s favor, it could finish as high as fifth.

Here’s more on the weekend, including an opponent preview, pitching matchups, the biggest storylines to watch and broadcast information:

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Projecting Nebraska’s pitching matchups

Thursday at 5 p.m: RHP Tucker Timmerman (2-1, 3.55 ERA, 25.1 IP, 23 K) vs. RHP Carter Doorn (4-5, 5.04 ERA, 60.2 IP, 48 K)

Friday at 5 p.m: RHP Ty Horn (2-4, 5.97 ERA, 63.1 IP, 61 K) vs. RHP Cole Van Assen (4-3, 4.13 ERA, 61.0 IP, 45 K)

Saturday at 1 p.m: LHP Jackson Brockett (2-3, 3.76 ERA, 52.2 IP, 35 K) vs. LHP Easton Storey (4-2, 5.01 ERA, 41.1 IP, 53 K)

Weekend storylines to watch

Offense overcoming injuries

Will Bolt announced on Wednesday that Nebraska will be without Max Buettenback again this weekend, but Tyler Stone will travel with the team. The Huskers are hopeful Stone will be ready after taking a pitch to the wrist on Saturday, forcing him to exit early and miss Sunday’s game.

If Stone can’t suit up, Nebraska will have to find power elsewhere down two of its best sluggers. Bolt is confident that his offense — which has “fought and battled” over the last month — will rise to the occasion.

“With all these injuries and some of these things that have happened, we just kept going,” Bolt said on Wednesday. “That’s a big loss. [Buettenback] was really swinging the bat well and him exiting the lineup, we ended up, four of five after that, still finding a way to win.”

Avoiding slow starts

Nebraska has failed to record a run before the fifth inning in four of its last five outings. Even in multiple wins, the offense has looked sluggish early.

The Huskers might be able to rally late against Purdue, but in a win-or-go-home environment later this month, they can’t afford slow starts.

“We’re not collecting a lot of consecutive really good at-bats, and that’s going to be what it takes to get those crooked numbers early,” Bolt said. “That’s what you’re seeing late in the games, right. Seventh, eighth, ninth innings, we’re putting together multiple really good at-bats in a row to be able to set up some of these big innings.”

Riley Silva has been a spark for the Huskers early in games, particularly against Michigan. The senior outfielder brought home Nebraska’s first run on Friday with an RBI double. On Saturday, Silva tallied two hits before any other Husker got on base. His hot starts will be key over the next two weeks.

“This year, I try to be more of a voice to the guys,” Silva said on Wednesday. “Being a senior and having a lot of experience with college baseball, it definitely helps out a lot of guys that are kind of newer in the game.”

Remaining focused on Purdue

With the Big Ten Tournament less than a week away, Nebraska is determined to keep its focus on this weekend’s series. They’ve been in “playoff mode,” as Bolt put it, for the last month. A trip to West Lafayette will be no different.

“We’re looking at this weekend as must-win,” Bolt said. “We’re looking at each game that we need to win, we need to do whatever it takes to win. No looking ahead. We know we need to just go and play well and win this weekend and then see what happens from there.”

Capping off the regular season in West Lafayette. pic.twitter.com/Dmev2482vs

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 12, 2025

Know the Foe

***Player to Watch: First baseman Logan Sutter

For the second straight week, Nebraska will face one of the most productive hitters in the Big Ten. Sutter ranks No. 2 in the conference with a .375 batting average, only behind Michigan’s Benny Casillas. He leads Purdue with 61 RBIs, 14 home runs and 36 walks to go along with 21 doubles, the most among all Big Ten hitters. Sutter posted an uncharacteristic series against Indiana last weekend, tallying just one hit, a 2-run shot that put Saturday’s game away.

***Michael Vallone is a Swiss Army Knife for Purdue’s pitching staff. Despite making just one start this year, the senior left-hander has tossed 54.2 total innings, more than all but two Boilermaker arms. Vallone regularly pitches three or four frames out of the bullpen and threw five innings in relief twice this season.

His 3.95 ERA ranks No. 12 in the Big Ten and his 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings rank No. 3. Vallone relieved starter Cole Van Assen last Saturday and threw 4.2 scoreless frames, giving up just two hits and lifting Purdue to a rivalry win over Indiana.

***Infielder Lucas Cook has only started 33 games but could become the first Boilermaker to hit .400 since 2009. In 132 at-bats, Cook has tallied 53 hits and 21 RBIs

***Friday (Thursday) starter Carter Doorn has the highest ERA among the starting rotation. Prior to this season, Doorn was primarily a relief pitcher, posting one of the best conference-play stretches in program history in 2024. The right-hander had a nightmare outing against Indiana last week, giving up five runs on five hits in just 2.1 innings. Doorn enjoyed success early in the season but has struggled in conference play. He’s given up five or more runs in five starts this year.

***Due to an extremely light non-conference schedule, Purdue began the season 18-2 before tumbling back down to earth. In conference play, the Boilermakers are bottom-five in nearly every major offensive statistical category, including runs, hits, home runs, strikeouts and on-base percentage. Their pitchers combine for the fourth-highest ERA in the Big Ten and the sixth-fewest strikeouts.

Catching the first pitch from your mom on Mother's Day >>> pic.twitter.com/ykVX3bvkYv

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 11, 2025

Around the Big Ten

Here are a few Big Ten series to keep tabs on this weekend, as well as the conference standings. Records are as of Wednesday morning:

Series:

Oregon (38-13, 19-8) @ Iowa (32-17-1, 21-6)

Northwestern (24-25, 21-6) @ UCLA (37-14, 20-7)

Minnesota (22-27, 8-19) @ Michigan State (27-23, 12-15)

Standings:

Team	Conference Record	PCT	Overall Record	PCT	Home	Away	Neutral	L10	Streak
Iowa	21-6	.778	32-17-1	.650	16-4	14-7	2-6-1	4-5-1	D1
UCLA	20-7	.741	37-14	.725	24-6	11-8	2-0	7-3	W3
Oregon	19-8	.704	38-13	.745	28-8	10-5	0-0	9-1	W7
USC	17-10	.630	33-18	.647	17-11	16-7	0-0	6-4	W1
Michigan	15-12	.556	32-19	.627	14-8	12-7	6-4	8-2	W1
Washington	15-12	.556	27-25	.519	13-7	11-14	3-4	5-5	L4
Indiana	14-13	.519	29-22	.569	14-8	9-10	6-4	6-4	W1
Penn State	15-15	.500	29-21	.580	12-11	15-8	2-2	4-6	L2
Nebraska	13-14	.481	26-26	.500	14-10	9-13	3-3	7-3	L1
Rutgers	13-14	.481	26-26	.500	16-9	10-17	0-0	7-3	W1
Illinois	12-15	.444	27-22	.551	15-6	8-10	4-6	3-7	L3
Michigan State	12-15	.444	27-23	.540	10-8	6-12	11-3	4-6	L1
Northwestern	12-15	.444	24-25	.490	10-10	11-14	3-1	6-4	W2
Maryland	11-16	.407	26-27	.491	9-11	13-14	4-2	6-4	W4
Purdue	10-17	.370	30-21	.588	13-10	6-10	11-1	6-4	L1
Minnesota	8-19	.296	22-27	.449	10-17	11-8	1-2	2-8	L5
Ohio State	4-23	.148	12-35	.255	10-13	1-17	1-5	2-8	L1

Broadcast Information

TV: Big Ten Plus: HERE

Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)

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