Advertisement
baseball Edit

Huskers return to Arizona for Big Ten-Pac-12 Challenge

***Broadcast note: There will be no TV/video streaming coverage of this weekend's games. Thursday’s 2 p.m. game against Oregon State will be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln and on 590 AM in Omaha until men’s basketball coverage starts on both stations at 5 p.m.

Both Friday's 6 p.m. game against Utah and Saturday's 5 p.m. game against Oregon State will be carried on 1400 and 590 as well as the TuneIn app.

Sunday’s 2 p.m. game against Utah will only be carried on 1400 AM in Lincoln.

As always, all games can be heard on Huskers.com or the official Huskers app.

Nebraska faces a stiff test this weekend with top-10 Oregon State and a Utah team on the rise.
Nebraska faces a stiff test this weekend with top-10 Oregon State and a Utah team on the rise.
Advertisement

The Nebraska baseball team returns to Arizona this weekend for four games in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Surprise. The Huskers last participated in the event in 2014, which was also their last game against Oregon State (the Huskers beat the then-No. 1 Beavers 9-2).

After two rainouts cut the opening weekend short, Nebraska sits at 1-1 on the season coming off a split of a double-header with UC-Riverside. This weekend, the schedule ramps up in difficulty with two games against a top-10 Oregon State team and two games against a Utah squad that won the Pac-12 last year.

Under head coach Darin Erstad, the Huskers are 10-7 in games played on the second weekend of the regular season. This is the eighth straight season Nebraska has played a team from the Pac-12 conference. In addition to Oregon State and Utah, Nebraska will play Arizona in the Frisco College Baseball Classic next weekend.

After beginning the season ranked 33rd in Collegiate Baseball's preseason rankings, the Huskers are now unranked by all polls. They are still receiving votes in the NCBWA's top 25.

Probable starters

Thursday, Feb. 23 (2:00 p.m. CT): Nebraska RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 0.00 ERA) vs. Oregon State (TBA)

Friday, Feb. 24 (6:00 p.m. CT): Nebraska RHP Derek Burkamper (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Utah RHP Jayson Rose (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

Saturday, Feb. 25 (5:00 p.m. CT): Nebraska LHP Jake Meyers (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Oregon State (TBA)

Sunday, Feb. 26 (2:00 p.m. CT): Nebraska RHP Jake Hohensee (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Utah LHP Josh Lapiana (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

What to watch for

***Nebraska's pitching rotation will look a whole lot different in Week 2 than it was slated to be on opening weekend. Once again, sophomore Matt Waldron will start off vs. Oregon State, but senior Derek Burkamper will get his first start against Utah after returning from injury. Junior Jake Meyers pitched only Sundays and mid-week games last year, but Erstad is choosing to switch things up and have Meyers go vs. Oregon State on Saturday. Former Lincoln East standout and junior right-hander Jake Hohensee will finish his five-game suspension on Thursday and is slated to get the start Sunday against Utah. Freshman Paul Tillotson and senior Ben Miller, who were in the rotation last week, will not start this weekend.

***Sophomore closer Chad Luensmann pitched three innings of relief on Friday, which was what Erstad said he intended all along. "We want to maximize our best players," Erstad said. "(Luensmann) is our best pitcher, he's got some of the biggest outs for us, and we're going to find a position to use him efficiently, effectively, and maximize what he can bring to the table." The coach wants to build up Luensmann's pitch count to the point where he could start if need be.

***Erstad was also impressed with the contributions of freshmen Nebraska natives Ben Klenke and Mojo Hagge, as well as senior catcher Brady Childs, late in the batting order last weekend. Erstad said Hagge, a walk-on, "worked his butt off" just to stay on the team, much less have the kind of production he did against UC-Riverside. Hagge went 2-for-3, scored a run and drew a walk in Game 2 of Friday's double-header.

***Meyers is entering uncharted territory this weekend, as he's scheduled to start in the outfield Sunday after getting the start on the mound Saturday. This will mark the first time in Meyers' career at Nebraska that he has followed a pitching start with a start in the field. "I did it in high school," Meyers said of the challenge. "That was quite a bit ago, but I believe I can do it."

Know your enemy: Oregon State

***The Beavers are ranked No. 8 in the nation by D1Baseball.com after starting the season 4-0. Beginning the season in Surprise last weekend, Oregon State defeated Indiana (1-0 and 4-1) and Duke (6-3 and 11-2).

***Going 35-19 a year ago, Oregon State was considered by many to be a lock for the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Beavers were snubbed, but return some key players and add the 20th-ranked recruiting class according to Perfect Game. The Beavers started 2016 as No. 3 in the preseason rankings and started 2017 as No. 7.

***Oregon State led the nation in triples a year ago with 32. Nick Madrigal is the top hitter for the Beavers through the first four games, hitting .400 with six hits and four RBIs already. In contrast to Nebraska's youth, Oregon State only starts one freshman hitter - catcher Adley Rutschman.

***Redshirt sophomore pitcher Sam Tweedt picked up last weekend right where he left off in 2015. After missing the entire 2016 season, Tweedt returned to throw six shutout innings in the win over Duke. Two seasons ago, he finished with an 8-1 record. Luke Heimlich started the first game of last weekend and contributed to the shutout of Indiana, scattering four hits.

Know your enemy: Utah

***The Utes are scoring early and often this season. After a series-opening loss to Cal State Bakersfield, Utah rebounded to take the final two games of the series, averaging nine runs per game over the first weekend. Pitching and defense came together in Utah's 15-3 Sunday rout over the Roadrunners.

***Utah ended 2016 with a losing record but won the Pac-12 outright, defeating Washington in the final series of the regular season. The Utes upset regional host Ole Miss in the NCAA tournament, but lost their next two games to end the Cinderella campaign.

***The Utes return several bats from a lineup that averaged 8 runs per win in the month of May last year. They've made a living on the "keep the line moving" philosophy so far in 2017, knocking 12 doubles on 42 hits through three games. Senior Dallas Carroll already has three of those doubles on eight hits, leading the team with a .667 batting average. The Utes have not hit a home run yet this year.

***Junior lefty Josh Lapiana is the only Utes starter with a win this year after scattering six hits and a run over 5.0 innings against Bakersfield. A transfer from Akron, Lapiana is one of Utah's most experienced returners, spending all last season as the Sunday starter. Lapiana is scheduled to start Sunday against Nebraska's Jake Hohensee.

Advertisement