Huskers Begin Big Ten Play vs. Illinois

NEBRASKA vs. ILLINOIS
March 24-26, 2023
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park | Lincoln, Neb.
 
Friday, March 24 – 6:05 p.m. CT
Pitching: LHP Emmett Olson (3-1, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Riley Gowens (1-0, 4.33 ERA)
TV/Streaming: B1G+
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Saturday, March 25 – 2:02 p.m. CT

Pitching: RHP Jace Kaminska (4-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. RHP Julius Sanchez (0-2, 8.31 ERA)

TV/Streaming: Nebraska Public Media

Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Sunday, March 26 – 1:05 p.m. CT

Pitching: TBD vs. RHP Jack Wenninger (2-1, 5.03 ERA)

TV/Streaming: B1G+

Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska begins conference action this weekend with a three-game series vs. Illinois at Hawks Field.

 

First pitch between the Huskers and Fighting Illini is set for 6:05 p.m. on Friday night. Prior to first pitch, former Nebraska baseball All-Americans Darin Erstad, Shane Komine and Alex Gordon will have their jerseys retired in an on-field ceremony beginning at 5:48 p.m.

 

Saturday’s game is scheduled for 2:02 p.m., while first pitch for the series finale on Sunday is set for 1:05 p.m.

All three games of this weekend’s series can be seen on B1G+, while Saturdays game will be broadcast live on Nebraska Public Media, with Bill Doleman and Jeff Leise calling the action. Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network, which can be heard on KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln and KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha. Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

 

NU to Retire Jerseys of Erstad, Gordon & Komine

• Former Nebraska baseball All-Americans Darin Erstad, Alex Gordon and Shane Komine will have their jerseys retired in a ceremony prior to first pitch on Friday night.

• Erstad, Gordon and Komine become the first three players to earn the high distinction in the program’s 117-year history.

• Darin Erstad, a first-team All-American played from 1993 to 1995. Nebraska’s first conference player of the year, Erstad ended his career with a school-record 261 hits, and finished second all-time in doubles (46), third in home runs (41) and runs batted in (182) and fifth in runs (188).

• Shane Komine posted a 41-8 record with a 2.84 ERA. He had 18 complete games in 59 starts and his 510 strikeouts are fifth-most in NCAA history. Komine ended his career first in starts, wins, innings pitched, complete games, strikeouts and shutouts, and he was also the first two-time first-team All-American in program history.

• A freshman All-American in 2003, Alex Gordon was a first-team All-American in 2004 and 2005. In 2005, he was the consensus national player of the year, winning the Golden Spikes, Brooks Wallace, Dick Howser and the ABCA National Player-of-the-Year awards.

 

Nebraska vs. Illinois

• Through 28 games, Illinois holds a 15-13 advantages in the all-time series over the Huskers.

• Nebraska is 7-5 against the Fighting Illini at Hawks Field since joining the Big Ten.

• Illinois won the series in Champaign last season, winning two of the three games. The two teams split the first two, while the Fighting Illini walked off the Huskers in the bottom of the ninth in the series finale, which featured two weather delays that combined for four hours and 53 minutes.

 

2-For-.400

• Nebraska is one of seven teams nationally with two everyday starters hitting at least .400 this season at the plate.

• Anderson is hitting .449 with nine doubles, two triples, three homers, 22 RBI and 13 runs, while Matthews is adding seven doubles, a triple, six home runs, 29 RBI and 21 runs with a .414 hitting clip.

• Other teams with at least two players hitting above .400 and have started every game this season include Auburn, Fairfield, Georgia, Grand Canyon, Michigan State, and Monmouth.

 

Third Time’s the Charm

• Third-inning at-bats have proven to be successful for NU pitching and hitting, as the Huskers are outscoring opponents 22-1 in the third inning this season.

• On the mound, the NU pitching staff is limiting opponents to a .164 batting average and  holds a 0.47 ERA with 16 strikeouts and just 11 hits allowed in the third inning of games.

• Offensively, the Huskers are hitting .345 with six doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI and 22 runs in the third frame.

 

Matthews, Caron a Constant on the Base Path

• Brice Matthews and Josh Caron have been a constant on the base paths for the Huskers recently, as both enter the weekend having reached base safely in 15-plus games.

• Matthews comes into the conference series with Illinois on a 22-game reached base streak, while Caron has reached base safely in 19 straight games.

 

Flashing the Leather

• Through their first 19 games this season, the Huskers have committed just 11 errors and rank ninth nationally with a .983 fielding percentage.

 

Superb Southpaw

• Friday night starter Emmett Olson has led the NU pitching staff through five starts this season.

• Olson is 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29.2 innings of work while limiting opponents to a .192 batting average.

• The junior had a complete-game outing in his start vs. Nicholls last weekend. The Des Plaines, Ill., native allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in the 2-1 win in seven innings.

 

Zero Earned Runs in last 18.2 Innings

• Junior Jace Kaminska hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 18.2 innings, going back to his second start of the season against South Alabama.

• In the 18.2-inning stretch, Kaminska has allowed just one run, which was unearned on a passed ball in a 17-1 win against Nicholls.

• Kaminska is 4-0 this season with a 1.86 ERA and is limiting opposing hitters to a .204 batting average in 29.0 innings.

Numbers to Know

18 – Jace Kaminska hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 18.2 innings, going back to his second start of the season at South Alabama.

3 – Nebraska is set to retire the first three jerseys in program history this weekend, as the Huskers will retire the jerseys of Darin Erstad, Shane Komine and Alex Gordon ahead of first pitch on Friday night.

13 – Nebraska has scored first 13 times this season and holds a 10-2-1 record in those 13 games.

10 – 10 different Huskers have recorded a three-hit game this season, led by Max Anderson’s six three-hit games on the year. Dylan Carey and Cole Evans are the lone Huskers with a four-hit performance.

6 – The NU offense ranks in the top 30 nationally in six offensive categories, including batting average, doubles, doubles per game, on-base percentage, scoring and slugging percentage.