Coming off Gabe Swansen’s amazing three-run walk-off to beat Kansas State, 7-6, on Tuesday night, the Nebraska baseball team enters a critical conference series against MInnesota this weekend.
The Huskers (22-23 overall, 9-12 Big Ten) would do themselves some massive favors by taking at least two of three against the Gophers (21-22, 7-14).
Nebraska is in a four-way tie for 10th in the league standings with Michigan State, Northwestern and Rutgers while Minnesota is T-14th with Purdue.
All six teams are fighting for a spot in the 12-team Big Ten Tournament (May 20-25 in Omaha) with nine conference games left on the schedule.
To gear you up for the three-game set that gets underway tonight, the following is a preview of the Nebraska-Minnesota series with info provided by Nebraska Athletics.
Nebraska vs. Minnesota: How to watch, stream, listen
FRIDAY
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Pitching: LHP Will Walsh (4-6, 5.27 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Sperry (4-1, 4.93 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App
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SATURDAY
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Pitching: RHP Ty Horn (2-4, 6.31 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Remington (1-6, 4.58 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App
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SUNDAY
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Pitching: LHP Jackson Brockett (2-3, 4.01 ERA) vs. TBD
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App
>> All games will be played on Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln
Follow the games
>> All three games of this weekend's series vs. Minnesota can be seen on B1G+.
>> Fans can also listen to Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call the action this weekend on the Huskers Radio Network.
>> Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.
Nebraska vs. Minnesota: Series history
>> Through 73 all-time meetings, Nebraska holds a 39-33-1 advantage over Minnesota in the all-time series.
>> The Huskers visited the Gophers last season in Minneapolis, where the Big Red won two of the three games in the road series.
>> The Huskers are 12-4 against Minnesota in Lincoln since joining the Big Ten in 2012.
***Nebraska Game Notes***
'May Day?' More like 'May Month' for Gabe Swansen
>> Since the 2023 campaign, Gabe Swansen has been a key contributor for the NU offense in the month of May the last two seasons.
>> The senior has hit .357 at the plate with a combined 17 runs, seven doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBI in the month of May the last two seasons.
>> Swansen batted .500 at the plate with an OPS of 1.420 and seven extra-base hits, fueling Nebraska's run to the Big Ten Tournament title last season.
>> In 2023, Swansen had five homers, drove in 17 runs and scored 12 times across 15 games in May.
Lucky number '6'
>> Nebraska is 124-27 under head coach Will Bolt when scoring at least six runs.
>> The Big Red have scored six-plus runs in 20 of the 22 victories this season, defeating No. 16 Vanderbilt (6-4), San Diego State (13-0), Louisiana (6-1), Washington (6-2), Wichita State (10-1), Pepperdine (9-6, 11-4). USC (6-5), Oregon State (7-3, 16-7), Rutgers (8-5, 10-5), No. 22 Kansas (7-5), Iowa (6-4), Creighton (6-3), Northwestern (14-4), Maryland (7-2, 21-5) and Kansas State (7-6).
>> The Husker offense reached the six-run mark 34 times last season, compiling a 28-6 record.
>> Nebraska scored six-plus runs in 33 contests (26-7) in 2023 after tallying at least six runs 23 times (19-4) in 2022, 28 times (26-2) in 2021 and seven times (5-2) in 2020.
Offensive outbursts vs. the Big Ten
>> Since joining the Big Ten in 2012, Nebraska has scored 30-plus runs in a three-game conference series 10 times after last weekend's series win at Maryland.
>> The Big Red totaled its fifth-highest Big Ten series total after racking up 33 runs against the Terrapins in College Park last weekend.
Speaking of an offensive outburst or explosion...
>> Nebraska recorded its highest-scoring game under head coach Will Bolt in the Huskers' 21-5 run-rule victory at Maryland last Sunday.
>> The 21 runs in Sunday's series finale marked the first time the Huskers have totaled 20-plus runs since opening the 2019 campaign with a 21-6 win at UC Riverside.
>> The Huskers have scored 17-plus runs nine times in six seasons under Bolt, including three games with 19-or-more runs.
Five Huskers among national leaders
>> As of April 30, five Huskers rank among the top 50 nationally in five individual offensive and pitching statistics.
>> Ty Horn, 11 games started – 1st (Big Ten) and 17th (NCAA)
>> Drew Christo, 21 pitching appearances – 3rd (Big Ten) and 37th (NCAA)
>> Dylan Carey, 6 sacrifice flies – 1st (Big Ten) and 17th (NCAA)
>> Cayden Brumbaugh, 5 sacrifice flies – 3rd (Big Ten) and 47th (NCAA)
>> Luke Broderick, 9 saves – 1st (Big Ten) and 9th (NCAA)
Hot Husker bats in last 10
>> Led by four Huskers hitting .370-or-better in the last 10 games, the Husker offense holds a .315 batting average with 43 extra-base hits in Nebraska's last 10 games.
>> Joshua Overbeek has powered the Huskers with a .389 batting average, hitting three doubles and three homers with a team-high 15 RBI while posting a .722 slugging percentage.
>> Cayden Brumbaugh has been a spark plug at the top of the lineup, batting .387 with 12 hits, 12 runs scored and a .545 on-base percentage boosted by 10 walks.
>> Gabe Swansen has delivered in key moments, hitting .385 with 10 hits, including four doubles and two homers, and tallying 15 RBI.
>> Dylan Carey has provided production in the bottom-half of the lineup, batting .371 with 13 hits, five RBI, 11 runs scored and a .439 on-base percentage.
Weekend rotation
>> Redshirt senior Will Walsh gets the nod Friday night and holds a 4-6 record on the season with a 5.27 ERA, 46 punchouts and opposing batting average of .247 in 56.1 innings.
>> Sophomore Ty Horn is set to take the mound in game two for the Huskers this weekend. Horn is 2-4 with a 6.31 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings of work.
>> Senior Jackson Brockett is scheduled to start the series finale, holding a 2-3 record with a 4.01 ERA and 30 strikeouts across 11 appearances, including 10 starts.
Walsh among active career leaders in walks per nine
>> Redshirt senior Will Walsh comes into the weekend ranked among DI's active career leaders in fewest walks allowed per nine innings, sitting sixth with 1.73 walks per nine innings.
>> Walsh has surrendered 32 free passes in 166.2 innings in his time as a Husker and is one of three P4 pitchers ranked in the top 10.
Horn and Brockett become Huskers' top mound duo
>> Nebraska's Saturday and Sunday starters Ty Horn and Jackson Brockett have played a large role in the Huskers' series wins against Northwestern and Maryland the last two weekends.
>> The starting duo has a combined 4-0 record and 2.14 ERA over the last two weekends with 20 strikeouts and seven walks across 21 innings.
>> Horn tossed five strong innings with six punchouts against Northwestern and dealt six shutout frames with five strikeouts at Maryland last weekend.
>> Brockett struck out five Northwestern batters over five scoreless innings before allowing two earned runs on four hits in five innings at Maryland.
Bullpen breakdown: Youth movement in April
>> True freshmen Blake Encarnacion, Gavin Blachowicz and Pryce Bender have put up strong numbers in the month of April for the NU bullpen.
>> The trio have totaled a combined 3.12 ERA, allowing six earned runs across 17.1 combined innings of work in 17 total appearances.
>> Bender picked up the first two wins of his career in Nebraska's midweek matchups against No. 22 Kansas and Creighton, while Blachowicz improved to 3-0 on the season in NU's win vs. K-State on Tuesday.
Bullpen Breakdown: Lockdown Luke
>> As of April 30, junior closer Luke Broderick comes into the weekend tied for ninth nationally and is one of 16 closers with at least nine saves on the season.
>> Broderick holds a 2-1 record and nine saves with a 4.15 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 21.2 innings across 18 appearances this season.
>> The Omaha, Neb., native's nine saves are the most by a Husker reliever since Spencer Schwellenbach (10) in 2021.
>> Broderick is one save shy of reaching ninth on the single-season charts at NU and becoming the 12th Husker reliever in program history to reach double-digit saves in a season.
All stats & info provided by Nebraska Athletics