Around the Horn: Nebraska hosts Indiana in critical home finale

Nebraska baseball’s final home series of the season just may be the most important three-game set of the year.

The Huskers sit in the middle of a logjam atop the Big Ten standings and are tied with two other teams for second place at 12-6 in conference. One of those two squads, Indiana (27-19-1, 12-6), comes to the Star City this weekend. Just 1.5 games separate conference leader Illinois and fifth-place Iowa.

Head coach Will Bolt’s squad finishes with the Hoosiers and then at Michigan State next weekend. Indiana has won five straight Big Ten series.

“You’ve got to fight for what you want,” Bolt said. “We’ve been working hard just like everyone else has for the last nine months. You don’t get to this point by hoping somebody else screws it up for you. You’ve gotta go take it, you’ve gotta go earn it, you’ve gotta go fight for it and you’ve gotta run through the finish line.”

Here’s more on the Huskers’ final home stand, their opponent and what’s on the line at Haymarket Park.

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Projecting Nebraska’s pitching matchups

Friday, 6:05 p.m., RHP Brett Sears (Stats: 7-0, 2.18 ERA, 78.1 IP, 77 K) vs. LHP Ty Bothwell (Stats: 6-2, 5.46 ERA, 61.0 IP, 62 K)

Saturday, 6:05 p.m., RHP Mason McConnaughey (Stats: 6-3, 3.19 ERA, 48.0 IP, 55 K) Vs. RHP Connor Foley (Stats: 4-1, 4.53 ERA, 47.2 IP, 67 K)

Sunday, 12:05 p.m., TBA Vs. TBA

What to watch for the Huskers

Knowing the stakes

If this weekend wasn’t already important enough, Wednesday’s late collapse and 10-6 loss to South Dakota State added another layer of intrigue to this Indiana series. Theoretically, Nebraska could finish as low as 11th in the conference standings in a doomsday scenario.

Taking a series win over the Hoosiers (RPI 60) would set the Huskers up well in the conference standings for the final week and provide a needed RPI boost.

“We haven’t really looked big picture,” NU ace Brett Sears said in a Thursday media session. “We just try to stay one game at a time and go from there.”

Sears added that he doesn’t look at the standings much. Nebraska’s destiny is in its own hands. Fellow senior pitcher Kyle Perry said the team tries to stick to its mantra of staying in the present.

But, it’s hard to miss the discourse on Twitter.

“It’s something that we’re thinking about in terms of trying to remain at the top to give ourselves a shot,” Perry said. “Trying to attack the game that’s in front of us each day is our goal. So it’s crucial these next couple of weeks, but this weekend is big time.”

Who walks on Senior Day?

Nebraska will honor 11 seniors this weekend. Senior Day falls on a Saturday this year due to Sunday’s Mother’s Day festivities.

The Huskers will honor Clay Bradford, Garrett Anglim, Ben Columbus, Cole Evans, Bryce Hughes, Bobby Olsen, Kyle Froehlich, Rans Sanders, Will Walsh, Sears and Perry. Anglim, Walsh and Hughes are all redshirt juniors.

This is Perry’s third Senior Day.

“I think I found all the loopholes,” Perry said.

He’s pitched in all six seasons of his collegiate career and was granted extra seasons due to COVID-19 and a medial hardship waiver. This year he leads the team with 21 total appearances and is third on the team with three saves.

“I think he’s just in it for the gifts,” Bolt joked.

Perry clarified he didn’t get a senior gift during the 2022 season. He still does have his framed jersey from last year’s Senior Day. Bolt went on to commend the southpaw for his leadership this season, it’s a role Perry has relished.

He’s also the only player remaining from 2021’s Big Ten Championship team and NCAA Regional qualifier. That time of year is rapidly approaching again as the Huskers hope to break their postseason drought. Perry said the most noticeable difference is how everyone hangs on each pitch in the postseason. Now it’s time to find another gear.

“We definitely have it in us, and the last couple of weeks we could definitely have taken that up a notch,” Perry said. “That’s the next level this team can take. Just taking everything we’ve done and bumping it up a notch and taking us to that next level. That’s what it’s gonna take for us to succeed down the stretch. I hope the boys are up to the challenge but I definitely think we have it in us.”

Nebraska notes:

***Case Sanderson has reached base in a team-leading 19 consecutive games. In that stretch, he is hitting .370 (20-for-54) with five extra-base and seven RBIs.

***Riley Silva is Nebraska’s first player to swipe 29 or more bases in a season since Jamal Strong stole 35 in 2000. He has also been hit by a pitch 22 times this season. Daniel Bruce owns the record for HBPs in a season at 28 set in 2002.

***The Huskers are one of 15 teams nationally to be in the top 75 of ERA (32nd, 4.51), fielding percentage (60th, .975) and batting average (71st, .294).

***Nebraska leads the all-time series with the Hoosiers 16-14-1. Indiana won a series over the Huskers 2-1 during the 2022 season in Bloomington. IU is making its first trip to Lincoln this weekend since 2018.

Know the foe: Indiana

***Indiana catcher Brock Tibbitts is just 14 hits away from reach 200 in his career. He would be the 25th Hoosier to reach that mark. He missed a month of this season due to a lower-leg injury and made his return against Purdue last week.

***Last weekend, Indiana scored 15 runs in the seventh inning or later. All 10 of the Hoosiers runs on Sunday came during the game’s final three innings, including four of those runs with two outs in the ninth.

***The IU bullpen pitched 20 1/3 innings this past weekend and allowed five earned runs. The series win over Purdue in West Lafayette was the Hoosiers’ first since 2002.

***Indiana has gone 2-1 in each of its three conference road series this year. The last time the Hoosiers went a perfect 4-for-4 was 2014 when the team finished 44-15 and bested Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship by a 8-4 margin.

***Player to watch: OF Devin Taylor

Taylor is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned consensus Freshman All-American honors after setting the freshman record for RBI in a season (59) last year. He closed the year with a .315 batting average with 16 homers and 13 doubles to go with his RBI total. Taylor has improved his average to .362 this season along with 12 home runs and 38 RBI.

On a team full of talented hitters, he is one to keep an eye on.

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 evening:

Series:

Iowa (28-18, 13-8) @ Illinois (28-16, 13-5)

Purdue (32-17, 12-6) @ Michigan (26-23, 11-7)

Michigan State (21-23, 9-9) @ Minnesota (21-21, 7-11)

Standings:

Broadcast Information

TV: Big Ten Network/Nebraska Public Media: HERE/HERE

Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)

Stations: Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM)