Baseball Weekend Preview: Oregon State

The Nebraska baseball team (3-1) heads to Surprise, Arizona, this weekend for the Big Ten/Pac-12 challenge. The Huskers will play a four-game series against Oregon State (4-0) with Game 1 beginning on Thursday and the final one wrapping up Sunday.

The Huskers look to build on the momentum from their season-opener at UC Riverside. Last weekend, NU won three out of its four games against the Highlanders to start off the season with a winning record. In their three wins, the Huskers showed offense production but also struggled on defense at times. Nebraska will be tested on all sides of the ball this weekend, facing the 2018 College World Series champions.

The Huskers' schedule doesn't get any easier in the coming weeks. After the series in Arizona, the team will play its following three games on the road before returning home to face in-state UNO on March 5.

Thursday, 2 p.m.: LHP Kyle Perry (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Kevin Abel (0-0)

Friday, 2 p.m.: RHP Chad Luensmann (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Bryce Fehmel (1-0)

Saturday, 6 p.m.: LHP Nate Fisher (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Sam Tweedt (0-0)

Sunday, 10 a.m.: RHP Colby Gomes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Grant Gambrell (0-0)

***All four games can be heard on Husker Sports Network.

Kyle Perry's start: Freshman left-handed pitcher will make his first career start on Thursday afternoon against the Beavers. The Millard South graduate only pitched 0.1 innings in the Huskers third game against UC Riverside, but got the team out of a seventh-inning bind. On Tuesday, head coach Darin Erstad spoke highly of the freshman pitcher saying he's "always projected him as a starter."

The weather forecast: The Huskers play their four-game series in Surprise, Arizona, this weekend with the first game set for 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Weather could be a factor, though, with a steady rain forecasted for the morning hours with showers continuing through the afternoon. The chance of precipitation is 90 percent, with as much as a quarter-inch expected throughout the day. Don't be surprised if you see a doubleheader played on either Friday or Saturday.

New faces: NU's roster is full of new names, and the Huskers secured a top-25 recruiting class coming into the season. In the Huskers first outing, the newcomers showed potential with six of them batting throughout the series. Three new pitchers also saw time on the mound, in the form of freshman Kyle Perry, freshman Shay Schanaman and freshman Colby Gomes. Perry and Gomes will have a chance to build on that momentum against Oregon State, with Perry starting on Thursday and Gomes getting the call on Sunday.

***The Beavers are currently sitting at 4-0 this season, after opening their season at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Baseball Classic last weekend. The team defeated New Mexico, twice, and also secured wins over Gonzaga and Minnesota to win the Classic.

***Oregon State is the reigning national champion. The Beavers went 55-12-1 in 2018, good for a winning percentage of 0.816. However, this past September legendary OSU head coach Pat Casey announced his retirement after taking Oregon State to six College World Series and winning three national championships from 2006 to 2018.

***The Beavers lead the all-time series against the Huskers, 6-1, with the first meeting between the two teams coming in the late '90s.

***Last season, the teams met twice during the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge resulting in 9-1 and 10-3 wins for Oregon State.