Around the Horn: Nebraska baseball hosts Michigan in final home series

Fresh off three consecutive Big Ten series wins, Nebraska baseball (24-25, 11-13) welcomes Michigan (30-17, 14-10) to Haymarket Park for its final home games of the season.

The Huskers currently rank No. 11 in the Big Ten standings, good enough for a conference tournament bid, but risk dropping out of the field with a poor weekend. At 10-14 in conference play, both Michigan State and Northwestern are hot on their tail.

Michigan poses Nebraska’s toughest conference test since mid-March. The Wolverines rank No. 53 in the RPI, fourth among Big Ten teams, and are on an eight-game winning streak. After a mid-week loss to Creighton on Tuesday, Nebraska’s focus shifts to six final conference games that will determine its fate in the Big Ten Tournament.

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

Friday at 6 p.m: RHP Tucker Timmerman (1-1, 4.42 ERA, 18.1 IP, 18 K) vs. RHP Kurt Barr (6-3, 3.39 ERA, 61 IP, 66 K)

Saturday at 2 p.m: RHP Ty Horn (2-4, 6.28 ERA, 57.1 IP, 57 K) vs. RHP David Lally Jr. (4-3, 4.55 ERA, 61.1 IP, 46 K)

Sunday at 11:30 a.m: LHP Jackson Brockett (2-3, 3.99 ERA, 47.1 IP, 32 K) vs. RHP Tate Carey (8-0, 3.98 ERA, 43.0 IP, 42 K)

Weekend storylines to watch

Timmerman earns Friday start

In a remarkable turn of events, Tucker Timmerman will start on Friday for Nebraska after missing nearly two full months with a facial injury. The right-hander returned to action in mid-April, earning two mid-week starts against Kansas and Kansas State and making four relief appearances.

In a pivotal conference series that may determine Nebraska’s Big Ten tournament status, Timmerman will take the bump. He’s ready for the moment.

“He’s got the mentality. He was excited to get the opportunity,” Will Bolt said of Timmerman on Thursday. “His importance to our pitching staff, the demeanor in which he takes the mound is reminiscent a little bit of [Mason] McConnaughey, just in terms of the mound presence and the competitiveness.”

This move is telling, as Nebraska turns to its third Friday starter of the season. Left-hander Will Walsh looked the part for much of the year but collapsed over the past month.

“We wanted to do something different on Friday. It hasn’t really been working out very well for us,” Bolt said. “We’ve found ways to win series but need to win every game we can. Not that [Walsh] hasn’t given us a shot, but we just felt like [Timmerman] maybe could get us off to a better start.”

Big Ten Tournament race

For a team that opened the season ranked No. 24, a mid-May scramble for a Big Ten tournament bid is underwhelming, to say the least. But despite all the injuries and disappointing losses, Nebraska still controls its own destiny.

With four new west-coast additions — all who rank top-five in the Big Ten standings — winning the conference tournament will be a significantly tougher challenge. But Nebraska knows what it takes. The Huskers hoisted a trophy just 12 months ago.

First, they have to get into the dance.

With six games remaining, Nebraska (11-13 in Big Ten play) currently ranks 11th, one game ahead of Northwestern (10-14) and Michigan State (10-14), who occupy the coveted 12th and final spot in the tournament. The Wildcats face Ohio State (3-21) and USC (16-8) to close the season, while the Spartans face Minnesota (8-16) and UCLA (17-7). With those schedules, it’s likely Northwestern and Michigan State finish the year at least 3-3.

If the Huskers can pull off a weekend series win over Michigan, they will all but lock up a spot in Omaha. If not, three games against Purdue in West Lafayette will determine their fate.

Know the Foe

***Player to Watch: Infielder Benny Casillas

Casillas boasts the highest batting average in the Big Ten (.423) with a team-leading 175 at-bats. The sixth-year senior ranks No. 1 in the conference for total hits with 74 and No. 2 for doubles with 19. He has reached base safely in all but one start this season. On Wednesday against Central Michigan, Casillas racked up three hits and three RBIs along with his second home run of the year.

***Casillas and infielder Mitch Voit combine for a daunting one-two punch at the top of Michigan’s order. Casillas primarily bats in the leadoff spot, getting on base for Voit, who ranks fourth in program history with 33 home runs. The slugger leads the Wolverines with 12 home runs and 52 RBI while hitting .356. On Wednesday, he tallied a home run in back-to-back games for the third time this season.

***Friday starter Kurt Barr began the year as Michigan’s Saturday arm before shuffling around the rotation for two months. The right-hander made his first Friday start against Michigan State two weeks ago, tossing six stellar frames and only allowing one hit. Barr earned third-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore last season and his having another strong campaign. He ranks top eight among conference pitchers for both ERA (3.39) and strikeouts (66)

***Although the Wolverines have yet to announce their Saturday and Saturday starters, freshman Tate Carey is the likely choice for the series finale. The right-hander earned the start in each of the Wolverines last four Sunday outings. After beginning the year as a relief pitcher, Carey threw seven no-hit innings in his first start of his collegiate career. His 8-0 record ranks atop the Big Ten with the 11th-most wins in the nation. As a starter, Carey has a 1.93 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

*** Outfielder Greg Pace Jr. is scorching hot at the plate. Over the last 10 games, he’s tallied a .387 average with nine RBIs. After failing to record a hit for over a month, Pace turned his season around in mid-April. He is one of four Michigan starters hitting above. 300.

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 Thursday evening:

Series:

Washington (27-22, 15-9) @ Oregon (35-13, 16-8)

Iowa (32-15, 21-6) @ Oregon State (35-12)

Michigan State (25-21, 10-14) @ USC (32-16, 16-8)

Standings:

Team	Conference Record	PCT	Overall Record	PCT	Home	Away	Neutral	L10	Streak
Iowa	21-6	.778	32-15	.681	16-4	14-7	2-4	6-4	W1
UCLA	17-7	.708	34-14	.708	24-6	8-8	2-0	5-5	L2
Oregon	16-8	.667	35-13	.729	25-8	10-5	0-0	8-2	W4
USC	16-8	.667	32-16	.667	15-8	11-7	6-1	7-3	W2
Washington	15-9	.625	27-22	.551	13-7	11-11	3-4	4-6	L1
Michigan	14-10	.583	31-17	.646	14-8	13-6	4-3	8-2	W6
Illinois	12-12	.500	27-19	.587	15-7	8-8	4-4	6-4	L1
Indiana	12-12	.500	25-21	.543	13-7	9-11	3-3	4-6	W1
Rutgers	12-12	.500	25-24	.510	15-7	10-17	0-0	6-4	W6
Penn State	13-14	.481	27-19	.587	12-11	14-6	1-2	6-4	W1
Nebraska	11-13	.458	24-25	.490	12-9	9-13	3-3	5-5	W2
Michigan State	10-14	.417	21-24	.467	10-13	10-10	1-1	3-7	L2
Northwestern	10-14	.417	21-24	.467	10-13	11-10	0-1	4-6	L2
Purdue	9-15	.375	29-19	.604	10-9	11-1	8-9	6-4	W3
Maryland	8-16	.333	23-27	.460	9-11	10-14	4-2	5-5	W1
Minnesota	8-16	.333	22-24	.478	10-14	11-8	1-2	3-7	L2
Ohio State	3-21	.125	11-33	.250	10-10	0-15	1-5	2-8	L4

Broadcast Information

TV: Friday: Nebraska Public Media/Big Ten Plus: HERE

TV: Saturday/Sunday: Big Ten Plus: HERE

Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)

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