Around the Horn: Nebraska baseball hosts Rutgers in crucial Big Ten series
Following a series victory over Oregon State last weekend, Nebraska baseball (12-14, 2-7) welcomes Rutgers (14-17, 4-5) to Haymarket Park. The Huskers look to bounce back from a crushing mid-week slate in which they lost to both Creighton and Omaha.
Nebraska is still in search of a conference series victory, currently occupying the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Rutgers hasn’t faired much better and is slotted one spot below the Huskers in the RPI as of April 2nd.
Here’s more on the weekend including an opponent preview, pitching matchups, the biggest storylines and broadcast information:
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Projecting Nebraska’s pitching matchups
Friday at 6 p.m: LHP Will Walsh (3-4, 3.76 ERA, 38.1 IP, 37 K) vs. RHP Justin Shadek (0-3, 6.91 ERA, 28.2, 25 K)
Saturday at 2 p.m: RHP Ty Horn (0-4, 7.39 ERA, 21.2 IP, 33 K) vs. RHP Landon Mack (3-2, 3.15 ERA, 24.1 IP, 27 K)
Sunday at 12 p.m: LHP Jackson Brockett (0-2, 4.67 ERA, 25 IP, 17 K) vs. RHP Jack Kirchner (0-1, 3.09 ERA, 11.2 IP, 13 K)
Weekend storylines to watch
The response to an embarrassing week
After a potentially season-altering series win over No. 5 Oregon State, the Huskers laid a mid-week egg.
Nebraska gave up 20 total runs on 20 hits in back-to-back losses to Creighton and Omaha. Its starting pitchers lasted just 2.1 combined innings, forcing the Huskers to use 13 different arms out of the bullpen, including Saturday starter Ty Horn.
Just as Nebraska found some offensive rhythm at the plate, its pitching crumbled. Now, in desperate need of Big Ten wins, the Huskers must flush the rivalry losses quickly.
Will Horn and Brockett step up?
After Will Walsh pitched six stellar innings last Friday and Drew Christo put an exclamation point on the performance, Horn gave up five runs in three frames on Saturday. Another shaky start from the right-hander set the tone early.
Nebraska’s bullpen didn’t fare any better, as the Beavers had a record-breaking day with eight home runs in a 16-5 win. Jackson Brockett had a comparably stronger performance on Sunday, but only lasted 3.1 innings and gave up three runs.
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The Huskers are well-suited to win the series if Walsh gives them another strong Friday start. But considering how many arms Nebraska used in the mid-week, Horn and Brockett need to pitch more than 6.1 combined frames this time around.
Know the Foe
***Player to watch: Outfielder Trevor Cohen
Cohen refuses to strike out. The junior leads all Big Ten players with a 4.4% strikeout percentage, the seventh-lowest clip in the entire country. He also leads Rutgers with a .350 batting average as the only Scarlet Knight hitting over .300. Cohen’s 13 doubles are tied for 12th-most nationally, helping him drive in 15 RBIs on the year.
***As a team, Rutgers has the fewest strikeouts in the Big Ten thanks to Cohen, JT Thompson and Pablo Santos. All three have a top-5 strikeout percentage in the conference. The Scarlet Knights’ 164 strikeouts are the second-fewest among Power Four programs.
***The Scarlet Knights are excellent defensively, with a defense that ranks No. 2 nationally with a .987 fielding percentage. Rutgers has not committed an error in 17 straight games.
***Saturday starting pitcher, freshman Landon Mack, was named Big Ten Pitcher and Freshman of the Week after leading Rutgers to victory over No. 9 Oregon in late March. Mack pitched seven scoreless innings in the win.
***Rutgers’ entire pitching staff is young, with 53.4% of its innings coming from freshman. Friday starter Justin Shadek is a redshirt freshman and fresh off consecutive five-frame outings in which he gave up three total runs.
***Against common opponents — Grand Canyon, Oregon State and Washington — Rutgers is 3-5 on the year. The Scarlet Knights took two of three against the Huskies last weekend including a dominant 13-4 win on Saturday.
Broadcast Information
TV: Friday: Nebraska Public Media
TV: Saturday/Sunday: Big Ten Plus: HERE
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Radio simulcast found HERE)
