The Nebraska baseball team (23-11) will return home this weekend for a three-game series against Northwestern (12-16). The Huskers are coming off a pod series against Indiana and Rutgers where they won three out of four games. NU split games with the Hoosiers and took both from the Scarlet Knights.
Last weekend was a bounce-back weekend for the Big Red after they were swept by Rutgers the week prior. Nebraska started the weekend with a win over nationally-ranked Indiana 7-6 with a walk-off single. The following day the Huskers fell to the Hoosiers 4-2 in game one of the doubleheader, but NU came back later in the day with a dominant 15-5 win over Rutgers. To close out the series, the Big Red took the final game over the Scarlet Knights 7-6 in a game that went 13 innings.
Last weekend was the first time that Nebraska had matched up against Indiana, who sat atop the Big Ten. After taking two games from Rutgers, the Hoosiers were on a roll until the Huskers took them down. NU will have two more games against Indiana following the Northwestern series. However, the wins against Rutgers meant more for the Big Red’s mentality as they were able to bounce back from being swept by them.
Northwestern is coming off more than a two-week break after they were put on hold due to COVID-19 precautions. The last time the Wildcats were in action was in a pod series against Maryland and Iowa where they lost all four games. Before that series, Northwestern also lost the final game of their series against Indiana, so they have lost five straight. The Wildcats still rank first in the nation in home runs, averaging 1.93 per game.
Friday, 6:00 p.m.: LHP Cade Povich (4-1, 3.09 ) vs. TBA
Saturday, 2:00 p.m.: RHP Chance Hroch (4-1, 4.61 ERA) vs. TBA
Sunday, 12:00 p.m.: RHP Shay Schanaman (4-2, 5.47 ERA) vs. TBA
***All three games can be streamed on BTN+ and heard on Husker Sports Network. Saturday’s game will also be on NET.
Limiting baserunners
Nebraska and Northwestern rank as the top two teams in the conference in stopping stolen bases, so extra bases will be hard to come by. The Huskers have limited opponents to converting stolen bases just 52% of the time, and the Wildcats allow a steal just 54.5% of the time. On the other side, NU ranks at the top of the Big Ten in stolen bases, converting on 58 of 69 attempts and Northwestern are at the bottom with 13 stolen bases on 22 attempts.
Path to the top
The Big Red will have a chance this weekend to take the top spot in the conference. With Indiana, Michigan and Nebraska all fighting in a tight race for first place, three wins could be huge for the Huskers. The Hoosiers and the Wolverines play each other this weekend and at least one team will drop games. NU also has games against both teams yet this season, so they control their own path to the top spot in the Big Ten.
Show off for the fans
The Big Red are back at home for the first time since being swept by Rutgers, so they will be looking to give the fans a better performance. In the home series against the Scarlet Knights, Nebraska scored nine runs in all three games combined. The Husker bats warmed up in New Jersey as they scored 15 in Game 1 against Rutgers and seven in Game 2. NU will look to continue the offensive momentum from more recent games and show the home fans an exciting performance.
***This will be Northwestern’s first game back since April 26. Due to internal health and safety issues, they have had seven games postponed
***Since the Big Red joined the Big Ten, the two teams have met 18 times with Nebraska leading the series 10-8.
***The Wildcats picked up a notable series win over Illinois earlier this season, taking two-of-three games.
***Northwestern ranks last in the Big Ten for fielding percentage at 0.954. the Huskers rank first in that stat.
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