Around the Horn: Previewing Nebraska Baseball's trip to San Diego
Nebraska baseball’s wait is over. The Huskers travel to the Golden State this weekend to begin the 2023 season with a visit to the University of San Diego Toreros.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the weekend including streaming information, projected starting pitchers, what to keep an eye on and more.
Weekend Starters
Friday, 8:00 p.m.: LHP Emmett Olson (2022 Stats: 2.86 ERA, 66 IP, 65 K) vs. RHP James Sashin (2022 Stats: 5.26 ERA, 25.2 IP, 16 K)
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.: RHP Jace Kaminska (2022 Stats: 5.49 ERA, 78.2 IP, 86 K) vs. RHP Garrett Rennie (2022 Stats: 4.01 ERA, 67.1 IP, 50 K)
Sunday 3:00 p.m.: LHP Caleb Clark (Freshman) vs. RHP Ivran Romero (2022 Stats: 2.53 ERA, 46.1 IP, 44 K)
Monday, 2 p.m.: TBD vs. RHP Morgan Lunceford (2022 Stats: 14.73 ERA, 11 IP, 8 K)
What to watch for the Huskers
Can Kaminska and Olson meet expectations?
The preseason discussion surrounding Olson and Kaminska has set a high bar. The two are about to get their first opportunity to show their stuff.
Olson is relatively proven making seven starts last season. Five of those were “quality starts” where a pitcher completes six or more innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs.
Kaminska struggled in his sophomore campaign but some of that may have been due to how little pitching support was around him. He certainly thinks so and has said it multiple times. In nine of his 12 starts last season, Kaminska threw more than 93 pitches.
It’ll be intriguing to see how he operates with more depth in the bullpen.
Adjusting to live action
It’s a common thread of discussion this time of year.
Midwestern or Northern baseball teams seem to struggle in their first few weeks of the season because of fewer outdoor practices. That puts Nebraska (generally) at a disadvantage to its Southern and Western brethren.
A year ago, the Huskers had seven errors in the season-opening series against Sam Houston. That’s the most errors Nebraska had in any four-game stretch last season with the exception of the disastrous Texas A&M Corpus Christi series.
The bats
Strikeouts were a major issue for Nebraska last year.
The trend was evident right out of the gate. The Huskers had double digit strikeouts in two of four games with the Bearkats and eight punch outs in the other two contests. One of those games was the first of a double header and only lasted seven innings.
Nebraska posted 10 or more strikeouts in 20 total games last year. That is equivalent to about 40% of the team’s games. The Huskers went 5-15 in those instances.
It’s clear Nebraska believes its bats are well tested by a deep pitching staff. The Huskers will get a chance to prove that this weekend against their first real opponent.
Nebraska Notes
***Pitcher Caleb Clark will become Nebraska’s 10th true freshman to start in a season-opening series since 1999. In those games, the Huskers are 6-3.
The Canadian is in good company. Shane Komine, Kyle Kubat and Johnny Dorn are three of the five true freshman that did not allow an earned run in their first start.
***Nebraska is 6-3 in season openers since 2014 but 1-2 under Will Bolt. The Huskers hold a 10-8 record in California since 2015. NU has lost its last two season openers to Sam Houston and Purdue.
***The Huskers starting rotation has received some national recognition from D1Baseball. Clark is No. 10 on the outlet’s Top 20 Impact Freshman list while Jace Kaminska and Emmett Olson are No. 17 and No. 11 for D1’s top Big Ten prospects.
***Shay Schanaman is chasing some records this season. With 18 appearances this year and 16 strikeouts, he would move into the top ten for each category in program history. John Lepley is 10th in appearances at this time and Zack Kroenke holds the position for strikeouts.
***Throughout Bolt’s 116-game tenure, the Huskers have scored first in 74 games. They are 48-26 in those instances. Additionally, Nebraska is 50-8 in games in which it score six or more runs under Bolt.
***The Huskers bring back a good amount of production at the plate. Nebraska has 65% of its at-bats, 66% of its hits, 66% of its RBIs and 62% of its home runs back on the roster.
The pitching side is a different story.
There NU returns just 39% of its wins while retaining 53% of its innings pitched and the same percentage of strikeouts.
Know the foe: San Diego Toreros
***San Diego finished 37-20 last season and made the postseason after winning its conference tournament. There, the Toreros downed Vanderbilt in the opening round of the Corvallis Regional before losing the next two games and making an early exit.
***San Diego’s opened the 2022 campaign by hosting Oregon. The Toreros won three of four games while the Ducks went on to finish the season at the Louisville Regional with a record of 36-25.
***On Tuesday, the WCC released its preseason poll and awards. San Diego was picked to finish second in the league just five points behind Gonzaga.
The Toreros also received two spots on the preseason all-conference team. Junior infielder Kevin Sim and third baseman/outfielder Jack Costello were selected among the WCC’s top nine position players. Sim and Costello hit .292 and .307 respectively in 2022.
***Last year’s top San Diego hitters each became MLB Draft selections. Caleb Ricketts (.373) and Chase Meidroth (.329) were drafted in the top eight rounds. Sim and Costello are the team’s best two returning batters.
***The all-time series between the Huskers and Toreros is tied 2-2. San Diego bested the Huskers 12-11 the last time the two squads met in 2020. Nebraska won the first ever meeting between the programs in 1980 by a score of 16-9.
***Sophomore Max McGwire transferred to San Diego from Oklahoma last offseason. He’s the son of MLB great Max McGwire who earned 12 MLB All-Star selections in 16 seasons.
***A torero is better known as a bullfighter and San Diego’s mascot is named Diego.
Around the Big Ten
Here are a few Big Ten series to keep tabs on this weekend:
Indiana (0-0) @ Auburn (0-0)
Details: Friday-Sunday series. TV is SEC Network+.
Michigan (0-0) vs. Michigan State (0-0)
Details: Standalone game on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and broadcast on MLB.com.
Penn State (0-0) @ Miami (0-0)
Details: Friday-Sunday series televised on the ACC Network.
Broadcast Information
TV: WCC Network (Stream online for free HERE)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)
Stations: Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM)
