Around the Horn: Nebraska baseball hosts Minnesota

After a walk-off win over Kansas State on Tuesday, Nebraska baseball (22-23, 9-12) welcomes Minnesota (21-22, 7-14) to Haymarket Park for a pivotal conference series.

With a strong weekend, the Huskers can improve to .500 for the first time since early March and position themselves well in the race for a conference tournament bid. Nebraska has climbed to No. 65 in the RPI — fifth among Big Ten teams — after two consecutive series wins.

The Gophers are one of eight teams vying for the final few spots in the Big Ten Tournament. Ranked No. 85 in the RPI, Minnesota has won just two conference series while suffering three sweeps. Nebraska already has a two-game lead in the Big Ten standings, but can distance itself even more this weekend.

The Huskers can’t afford a series loss as they are tied with three other teams who are 9-12 in conference play. Friday’s contest is the second of an eight-game home stand that will likely define the season.

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

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Friday at 6 p.m: LHP Will Walsh (4-6, 5.27 ERA, 56.1 IP, 46 K) vs. RHP Joe Sperry (4-1, 4.93 ERA, 42 IP, 29 K)

Saturday at 2 p.m: RHP Ty Horn (2-4, 6.31 ERA, 51.1 IP, 51 K) vs. RHP Kyle Remington (1-6, 4.58 ERA, 53.0, 46 IP)

Sunday at 1 p.m: LHP Jackson Brockett (2-3, 4.01 ERA, 42.2 IP, 30 K vs. RHP Tyler Hemmesch (3-0, 2.49 ERA, 25.1 IP, 21 K)

Weekend rotation vs. Minnesota.

🗓️🔄 @NESoybeanBoard pic.twitter.com/8wEsaVU4oX

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 1, 2025

Weekend storylines to watch

Gabe Swansen’s return to form

May is here, which means Gabe Swanson’s bat is too. The senior has been in and out of the lineup all season after a brutal hitting drought forced Will Bolt to look for production elsewhere.

Swanson found some rhythm in the Northwestern series, recording his first multi-hit outing since March 8th, and has finally returned to form over the last week. He racked up four hits and three RBIs in Sunday’s 21-5 throttling of Maryland and came up clutch with a walk-off double against Kansas State on Tuesday.

“[Swanson] is a guy that likes to tinker a little bit, so I can tell when he’s in the right spot mechanically, he stops thinking,” Bolt said of Swansen on Thursday. “He got to that point a couple weeks ago. I was hopeful that would come around. When the weather warms up, Gabe usually does too.”

If history repeats itself, Swansen’s bat could propel Nebraska to a strong finish. The Huskers need a significant boost from the veteran if they hope to make noise in the Big Ten Tournament.

Will Walsh bouncing back

For a month after being thrust into the Friday starter role, Walsh looked the part. He lasted 5+ innings in six appearances and held opponents to five runs or less in five consecutive games.

Over the last two weeks, however, Walsh fell apart. The left-hander was pulled after three frames against both Northwestern and Maryland and gave up 11 total runs. After averaging nearly five strikeouts per game, Walsh tallied just three in his last two starts combined.

Minnesota is the second-worst offense in the Big Ten, but much like Northwestern, the Gophers have an affinity for the long ball. Walsh can’t give up four home runs again on Friday if Nebraska hopes to start the series with a win.

“The changeup has to be there for [Walsh],” Bolt said. “It’s his best pitch. It’s the pitch that he gets the most ground balls with. It’s the pitch that kind of got him on the map for us.

“He just hasn’t had great feel for it, but that’s a pitch that he just has to keep going to, so that’s kind of been his focus this week.” 

Know the Foe

***Player to Watch: Outfielder Drew Berkland

Berkland has been the saving grace for Minnesota’s offense this year, driving in 41 RBIs, 11 more than any other Gopher hitter. Despite hitting just .269 on the season, the junior leads the team with 11 home runs, 45 hits and 27 walks. Berkland found himself in a cold streak over the last week but is a bat to watch for. He’s racked up 11 multi-RBI outings this season.

***Minnesota’s offense is among the worst in the Big Ten, ranking just above Northwestern for total runs scored with 274. No Gopher starters have a batting average above .280 and only three players on the team are hitting above .300. Power has not been their problem, hitting 58 bombs on the year, but removing home runs, Minnesota has the fewest extra-base hits in the conference.

***Despite a nine-game winning streak, the Gophers are still 10-8 in the month of April. Minnesota beat up on poor competition, including Ohio State, North Dakota State and South Dakota State — all of which rank lower than No. 150 in the RPI — inflating its record. That two-week stretch was bookended by a pair of sweeps at the hands of USC and Penn State.

***Friday starter Joe Sperry took the place of Cole Selvig, who suffered a season-ending injury in early April. Sperry, a transfer from the University of South Carolina Lancaster, appeared primarily as a reliever this season before making his first Friday start against Ohio State two weeks ago. He pitched six strong frames against the Big Ten’s worst team but didn’t fare as well against USC last Friday. The Trojans racked up eight hits and seven runs on Sperry in just four innings.

***13 different Minnesota hitters have hit a home run this year. Berkland and catcher Weber Neels lead the way with 11 apiece, while seven Gophers have four or more blasts. Three different players have hit a grand slam.

***Saturday starter Kyle Remington is 1-6 on the year but has been on the losing end of multiple close games. Opponents are hitting .270 against the right-hander and he’s only allowed four extra-base hits over his last four appearances. Remington pitched four scoreless frames against USC last Saturday but ultimately fell apart in the fifth. He gave up 14 total hits in the last two games, limiting the damage to seven runs.

***Gopher head coach Ty McDevitt is in his first year at the helm. At just 31 years old, he is the youngest head coach of a Power Four conference team. McDevitt replaced the legendary John Anderson after 41 years and 1,390 wins, the most by any coach in Big Ten history.

good morning ☕️🦢 pic.twitter.com/xdtSiaNhgt

— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) April 30, 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 Thursday evening:

Series:

UCLA (33-11, 16-5) @ USC (30-14, 14-7)

Iowa (31-13, 20-4) @ Washington (25-21, 13-8)

Oregon (31-12, 14-7) @ Michigan State (23-19, 9-12)

Standings:

Team	Conference Record	PCT	Overall Record	PCT	Home	Away	Neutral	L10	Streak
Iowa	20-4	.833	31-13	.705	16-4	13-5	2-4	8-2	L1
UCLA	16-5	.762	33-11	.750	24-6	7-5	2-0	6-4	W4
Oregon	14-7	.667	31-12	.721	23-8	8-4	0-0	7-3	W4
USC	14-7	.667	30-14	.682	14-8	16-6	0-0	8-2	W7
Washington	13-8	.619	25-21	.543	11-6	11-11	3-4	7-3	W1
Illinois	12-9	.571	26-16	.619	14-3	8-7	4-6	7-3	W1
Michigan	11-10	.524	27-17	.614	13-8	8-5	6-4	7-3	W4
Indiana	12-12	.500	24-21	.533	12-7	6-10	6-4	4-6	W1
Penn State	12-12	.500	26-17	.605	11-9	13-7	2-1	4-6	W1
Michigan State	9-12	.429	23-19	.548	8-6	4-10	11-3	6-4	L4
Nebraska	9-12	.429	22-23	.489	10-7	9-13	3-3	7-3	W3
Northwestern	9-12	.429	20-22	.476	7-9	10-12	3-1	4-6	W2
Rutgers	9-12	.429	21-24	.467	11-7	10-17	0-0	5-5	W2
Minnesota	7-14	.333	21-22	.488	10-14	10-6	1-2	5-5	W1
Purdue	7-14	.333	26-18	.591	10-9	5-8	11-1	4-6	W2
Maryland	6-15	.286	20-26	.435	9-11	7-13	4-2	5-5	L3
Ohio State	3-18	.143	11-30	.268	10-10	0-15	1-5	3-7	L1

Broadcast Information

TV: Big Ten Plus: HERE

Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)

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