Baseball Weekend Preview: Minnesota

Nebraska baseball will travel to Minneapolis this weekend for a three-game series against Minnesota. The Huskers are currently 12-7 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten Conference play. The Gophers are sitting at 9-13 overall, but have also started off conference play 3-0.

The Huskers opened Big Ten play last weekend when they hosted Michigan State at Haymarket Park. NU won Game 1, 4-1, before going on to secure the series sweep with a 5-2 and 6-2 win over the Spartans. NU secured another win during the mid-week, beating in-state opponent Creighton, 6-3, on Tuesday night.

Minnesota is coming off a series sweep over Penn State last weekend, before going on to beat Augsburg at home on Wednesday evening.

This weekend's series will kick off at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon, with Game 2 at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Friday, 4 p.m.: RHP Matt Waldron (1.86 ERA, 3-0) vs. Max Meyer (1.24 ERA, 2-1)

Saturday, 1 p.m.: LHP Nate Fisher (2.63 ERA, 3-1) vs. Patrick Fredrickson (4.76 ERA, 1-2)

Sunday, 1 p.m.: RHP Reece Eddins (6.19 ERA, 1-2) vs. Joshua Culliver (5.08 ERA, 2-1)

***All three games can be listened to on Husker Sports Network, and will be aired on BTN Plus.

Strong starting pitchers: The Huskers found success at the mound over the weekend with starting pitchers Matt Waldron, Nate Fisher and Reece Eddins. The trio combined for 21.1 innings pitched over the three-game series against Michigan State University. The three seniors only allowed eight hits and one walk over the weekend, and this weekend will look to do the same.

Injury update: Junior right-handed pitcher Chad Luensmann suffered a cut finger, but is available for use if needed against Minnesota. Spencer Schwellenbach has not played for the last four games and will not be available for NU's series against the Gophers. During the Huskers second game against Air Force on March 20, the freshman infielder rolled his ankle on the first-base bag and has been battling a sprain ever since.

***The Gophers had a slow start to their season, losing eight of their first 10 games. Since then, they've bounced back and now hold a 9-13 record, 3-0 in Big Ten play.

***Minnesota found huge amounts of success during their 2018 campaign, winning 18 conference games and finishing the season with an overall record of 44-15. The team's superior season helped them to finish atop the Big Ten Conference, also good for 15th in the nation.

***When the Gophers came to Lincoln in 2018, they won two of the three-game series. Minnesota won Game 1 by a score of 5-1, but lost the second to the Huskers, 8-2. The team bounced back on Sunday, though, to take the third game, and the series, 2-0.