Iowa Baseball Series Preview: Nebraska Cornhuskers

WEEKEND SERIES: VS NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (15-18, 4-8)

The Iowa Baseball team is set to begin the second half of the 30-game Big Ten slate this coming weekend, after concluding the first half with a 12-3 record, including a series win over Northwestern last weekend in Evanston. They dominated the first two games of the series, outscoring the ‘Cats 19-2, but were unable to complete the sweep, falling 5-4 in walk off fashion on Sunday. Still, the Hawkeyes tacked on a midweek win over Milwaukee to move to 21-10 on the season, having now won 18 of their last 22 games.

This weekend, the Hawkeyes are back at Duane Banks Field, hosting a Big Ten series for the first time since they swept Ohio State in mid-March. They will welcome border rival Nebraska to town for a pivotal three-game series, with both sides needing to win the weekend for different reasons. Iowa leads the all-time series 30-27, including sweeping Huskers the last time they visited Iowa City (2023).

“We don’t like Nebraska, and I think it’s even with baseball because there’s no Wisconsin or Iowa State,” says Kellen Strohmeyer. “We don’t need to make it bigger than it is, but I’m definitely excited for this weekend.”

Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Will Bolt, the Huskers are 152-115, including a pair of NCAA Regional appearances. Nebraska entered this season as a preseason top 25 team, but lost ace pitcher Mason McConnaughey for the season after three starts, while their offense ranks 15th in the Big Ten in runs per game (6.09).

Nebraska Last 10 Games (5-5)

March 25 at Kansas State: L 12-8 March 28-30 vs Oregon State: W 7-3, L 16-5, W 16-7 April 1 vs Creighton: L 9-5 April 2 at Omaha: L 11-9 April 4-6 vs Rutgers: W 8-5, W 10-5, L 7-5 April 8 at Kansas: W 7-5

IOWA HAWKEYES PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION

LHP Cade Obermueller (Friday) – Through eight starts this season, Cade Obermueller ranks second in the Big Ten with a 2.51 ERA, tallying 65 strikeouts to 21 free bases over 46.2 innings. He has completed 5.0 innings in all eight starts, including four starts of 6.0+ innings. In last Friday’s win over Northwestern, Obermueller tossed a 7.0 inning complete game, with the Hawkeyes winning via run-rule (12-1). He allowed one unearned run on one hit, including a career-high 12 strikeouts to just one walk. Cade threw 67 of his 93 (68.4%) pitches for strikes. Over his last three starts, he has not given up a single earned run over 19.0 innings, tallying 32 strikeouts to just 14 total baserunners.

RHP Aaron Savary (Saturday) – Through eight starts this season, Aaron Savary has a 3.43 ERA over 42.0 innings, including 47 strikeouts to 27 free bases given up. It had been a couple of rough starts in a row for Aaron, but he was solid against the ‘Cats last Saturday, allowing one run on three hits over 6.0 innings, including seven strikeouts to two walks. He still leads the starting rotation in few hits per inning given up (0.64) but has given up at least three free bases in four of his eight starts.

RHP Reece Beuter (Sunday) – Through eight starts this season, Reece Beuter has a 4.21 ERA over 36.1 innings, including 36 strikeouts to 19 free bases given up. He has been trending in the wrong direction over the last couple of weeks and will be looking to get back on track this week. Over his last two starts, Beuter has allowed five runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings, including six strikeouts to five free bases given up. He lasted just 2.0 innings against Northwestern, allowing three runs on four hits.

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION

LHP Will Walsh (Friday) – A veteran on the Huskers staff, left-hander Will Walsh is in his fifth season and has racked up 38 appearances, with 25 starts, over the course of his Nebraska career. This season, Walsh has appeared in eight games, with seven starts, posting a 4.36 ERA over 43.1 innings, including 39 strikeouts to just nine walks. He’s always been a strike thrower, and this season is no different, as he will enter the weekend with a 66.7% strike rate. That being said, he has been roughed up a bit in Big Ten play, with a 5.55 ERA, including a 1.28 WHIP. Last time out against Rutgers, Walsh allowed five runs on nine hits over 5.0 innings, throwing a season-low 57.0% of his pitches for strikes.

RHP Ty Horn (Saturday) – A sophomore right-hander, Ty Horn appeared in 13 games, mostly out of the bullpen, last season, with a 5.91 ERA. This season, he has moved into the starting rotation, making eight starts in nine appearances. Horn has a 7.25 ERA over 36.0 innings, including 33 strikeouts to 15 walks. Opponents are batting .299 against him and have done damage, with 46.5% of his 43 hits allowed going for extra bases, including nine home runs. He’s going to mostly be in the zone, with a 61.0% strike rate, but has given up 3+ runs in six of his eight starts.

LHP Jackson Brockett (Sunday) – Used as a midweek starter last season, where he threw a no-hitter against Kansas State, left-hander Jackson Brockett was the one to slide into the weekend rotation when Mason McConnaughey went down. Brockett has appeared in eight games, with seven starts, posting a 4.91 ERA over 29.1 innings, including 19 strikeouts to ten walks. He has been hit around quite a bit, allowing opponents to bat .328 and average 1.40 hits per inning. Over his last four starts, his ERA has jumped to 6.35, including allowing 1.47 hits per inning.

HUSKERS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. UTL Cayden Brumbaugh – One of just two players to start all 33 games this season, Cayden Brumbaugh is putting together numbers consistent with the year he had last season. Brumbaugh is slashing .304/.368/.430, with a team-high 41 hits, 29 runs scored, nine doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI’s. He’s not a big walk candidate, but has dropped his strikeout rate from 21.2% last season to 16.6% this season. Cayden has been swinging it well lately, tallying a hit in nine of his last ten games, including totaling ten hits and eight runs scored over his last five games.

2. 1B Case Sanderson – One of three everyday starters for the Huskers, Case Sanderson is one of four players batting over .300 on a Nebraska team that ranks 15th in the Big Ten in average. In 30 games, Sanderson is slashing .307/.450/.386, with 31 hits, five doubles and 13 RBI’s. An interesting stat, Case has slashed his strikeout rate from 22.0% to 14.1%, but his batting average is 31 points lower this season, despite putting the ball in play 7.7% more often. That being said, he is batting .400 over his last five games, including ten hits.

3. SS Dylan Carey – One of the top power hitters in the Nebraska lineup, shortstop Dylan Carey is in his third year as a starter. He totaled 25 extra base hits, including seven home runs last season, but is on track for push for 30 this season. Carey is slashing .283/.368/.483, all career-best numbers, with 34 hits, nine doubles, five home runs and 28 RBI’s. He has not hit particularly well against Iowa in his career, batting just .154 (2/13), with six strikeouts.

4. OF Cael Frost – A transfer from South Dakota State, outfielder Cael Frost was named Summit League Player of the Year for the Jackrabbits last season, with 21 home runs and 59 RBI’s. In 28 games this season, Frost is slashing .250/.382/.476, with 21 hits, four doubles, five home runs and 19 RBI’s. He got off to a slow start, but has picked it up as of late, batting .344 with 11 hits and 11 RBI’s over his last ten games, including seven extra base hits. Frost is a strikeout candidate, tallying 29 strikeouts in 102 plate appearances (28.4%).

5. OF Max Buettenback/DH Tyler Stone – Neither of these two have been full-time starters this season. Stone has made 20 starts, while Buettenback has 15 starts, so there’s no guarantee that either of them play in every game this season. That being said, whether one of them or both of them are in the lineup, they are guys to beware of.

Appearing in 22 games, sophomore outfielder Max Buettenback leads the Huskers in batting average, slashing .317/.419/.650, with 19 hits, five doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI’s. He has played more as of late, appearing in nine of Nebraska’s last ten games, totaling 13 hits in 24 at-bats (.542). Buettenback is pretty boom or bust, with 37.5% of his plate appearances ending in an extra base hit or a strikeout.

As for the senior DH Tyler Stone, he has appeared in 25 games, slashing .262/.330/.536, with 22 hits, eight doubles, five home runs and 19 RBI’s. A common theme with the Huskers hitters, Stone is batting .324, with 12 hits and 11 RBI’s over his last nine starts, including six extra base hits. He is just as boom or bust as Buettenback is, with 37.7% of his 93 plate appearances ending in an extra base hit or a strikeout.

6. RHP Drew Christo – The Will Walsh of the Huskers bullpen, right-hander Drew Christo has been a starter, a long reliever, a short reliever, basically anything the pitching staff needed on that day. He’s been very reliable, appearing in 48 career games with a 4.59 ERA. This season, Christo leads Nebraska in appearances (15), posting a 5.74 ERA over 26.2 innings, including 30 strikeouts to 13 walks. He had some rough outings early, but has really found his groove, allowing just seven runs over his last 21.0 innings, holding opponents to 0.67 hits per inning over that stretch.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set the over/under at 1.5 wins for the weekend. This feels like a pretty crucial series for both sides. The Hawkeyes are trying to stay atop the Big Ten standings and make a push into NCAA at-large territory, while the Huskers are fighting to stay on the right side of the Big Ten Tournament bubble. As with every rivalry series, throw the records out the window, but especially with this one. The Huskers have won consecutive weekends against #9 Oregon State and Rutgers, while they took down #22 Kansas on Tuesday. It’s a Nebraska team that, on any given weekend, can perform well above what their record suggests and Oregon State found that out just a couple of weeks ago. Add in the rivalry factor and this is no doubt the Hawkeyes toughest series to this point of the season.