Huskers Take on Hoosiers and Buckeyes at Bloomington Pod

Friday, May 21 (7 PM) – Indiana
Pitching: LHP Cade Povich (5-1) vs. LHP Tommy Sommer (5-3)
TV/Streaming: BTN, FOX Sports App
Radio: Husker Sports Network
 
Saturday, May 22 (12 PM) – Ohio State
Pitching: TBA vs. LHP Seth Lonsway (3-5)
TV/Streaming: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, May 22 (5:30 PM) – Indiana

Pitching: TBA vs. LHP McCade Brown (5-2)

TV/Streaming: ESPNU, WatchESPN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

 

Sunday, May 23 (12 PM) – Ohio State

Pitching: TBA vs. LHP Griffan Smith (1-0)

TV/Streaming: BTN, FOX Sports App

Radio: Husker Sports Network

 

The Nebraska baseball team (25-11) hits the road for the final time during the 2021 regular season this weekend when it heads to Bloomington, Ind., for pod play against the #25 Indiana Hoosiers (24-13) and Ohio State Buckeyes (19-16). 

Nebraska is 1-1 against both the Hoosiers and Buckeyes this season. The Huskers played Ohio State during week two of the season in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium and saw the Hoosiers twice in Piscataway two weeks ago at the Rutgers Pod.

Nebraska’s weekend at Bart Kaufman Field kicks off on Friday night at 7 PM (CT) against the Hoosiers and the game will be carried nationally on BTN. The Huskers then play two games on Saturday, starting with the Buckeyes at Noon before a 5:30 PM contest against the Hoosiers on ESPNU. The four-game weekend wraps up on Sunday at Noon on BTN when the Huskers and Buckeyes meet for the final time this year.

The Huskers are coming off a 2-0 weekend against the Northwestern Wildcats. Game three of the series was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Wildcat program. Nebraska won easy on Friday night, 12-2, with the Wildcats breaking up a shutout with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth. Northwestern held a 5-2 lead after the top of the seventh of Saturday’s game, but then the Huskers scored six runs in the seventh and three runs in the eighth to win, 11-5. Nebraska is 17-7 away from Lincoln this season, including 11-3 road record and 6-4 record in neutral-site games.

The Hoosiers were in Ann Arbor last weekend for a three-game series with Michigan and lost 2-of-3. The teams split the first two games before the Wolverines took the series with a 6-1 victory on Sunday. Indiana had won its previous four weekend series and it was just IU’s second series loss on the year, with the other coming in Columbus when Ohio State swept four games. The Hoosiers hosted Illinois on Tuesday afternoon, a make-up game from earlier in the season, and lost 3-2 in 10 innings. It was just the third home loss for the Hoosiers this season, as they are 13-3 at Bart Kaufman Field. Prior to Tuesday, Indiana’s last home loss was in the series opener against Iowa on April 30.

Ohio State enters the weekend with a 19-16 record and are coming off a series loss to Michigan State last weekend in Columbus. The Spartans took the first two games of the series, 10-7 and 2-0, before the Buckeyes avoided a sweep with a 7-3 win on Sunday. Since sweeping a four-game series from Indiana at home to open the month of April, Ohio State has dropped three of its last five weekend series, including losses to Michigan (1-2), Maryland (0-3) and Michigan State (1-2). Ohio State is 8-10 away from Columbus this year, including a 3-7 road record and a 5-3 mark in neutral-site contests.

Three of Nebraska’s four games this weekend will be carried on national TV. Friday’s game against Indiana and Sunday’s game against Ohio State will both be on BTN. Saturday night’s game with Indiana will carried on ESPNU. Saturday’s afternoon contest with Ohio State will be streamed on BTN+, an online streaming service through the Big Ten Network.

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action this weekend on the Learfield/IMG College Husker Sports 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.

Last Time Out

Nebraska swept a two-game series from the Northwestern Wildcats at Hawks Field. Sunday’s game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns within the Wildcat program.

5/14: Nebraska 12 – Northwestern 2

5/15: Nebraska 11 – Northwestern 5

5/16: Canceled

Next Up

Nebraska returns home and wraps up the 2021 regular season with a three-game series against the Michigan Wolverines. All three games of the series will start at Noon (CT) and will be carried on BTN.

The Wolverines have previously visited Lincoln for conference play in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

5/28: Nebraska vs. Michigan (Noon) – BTN

5/29: Nebraska vs. Michigan (Noon) – BTN

5/30: Nebraska vs. Michigan (Noon) – BTN

Leading Off

• Dating back to a win at Iowa on Saturday, March 20, the Huskers have won 20 of their last 27 games entering Friday. 

• As of May 17, the Huskers rank in 12th nationally with a .980 fielding percentage. NU has not committed an error in 17 of its 36 games and have committed multiple errors just seven times. Nebraska has yet to commit more than two errors in a game this season. Ohio State is the next closest Big Ten school and ranks 47th nationally with a .975 fielding percentage.

• Nebraska ranks 24th in the country in scoring with 7.3 runs per game. The Huskers are 21-2 this year when scoring six runs or more and have been shutout just twice this season.

• NU ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in multiple offensive categories, including a No. 1 ranking in three categories 

  Batting Avg. – .281 (1st)

  Sacrifice Bunts – 29 (1st)

  On-Base Percentage – .387 (T1st with Michigan)

  Stolen Bases – 60 (2nd)  (Maryland, 61)

  Runs – 2674 (2nd)  (Michigan, 277)

  RBIs – 231 (2nd)  (Michigan, 252)

  Hits – 350 (3rd)  (Illinois, 362)

  Home Runs – 44 (4th)  (Northwestern, 56)

  Slugging – .445 (4th)  (Northwestern, .485)

  Walks – 181 (4th)  (Iowa, 194)

• Nebraska’s pitching staff ranks near the top of the conference in multiple categories including:

  Fewest Walks Allowed – 123 (1st)

  Shutouts – 4 (T1st with Michigan and Michigan State)

  Fewest Runs Allowed – 156 (2nd)  (Indiana, 144)

  ERA – 4.04 (3rd)  (Indiana, 3.17) 

  Fewest Doubles Allowed – 56 (5th)  (Indiana and Ohio State, 53)

  Fewest Triples Allowed – 5 (5th)  (Ohio State, 2)

  Fewest Home Runs Allowed – 31 (5th)  (Penn State, 21)

• Nebraska had a seven-game winning streak earlier this season. It was the longest winning streak since 2016 when the Huskers won eight straight, including wins over Wichita State (2), Indiana State (2), Purdue (3) and Creighton (1).  – Nebraska had an nine-game unbeaten streak in 2017. The Huskers won five straight, tied Indiana, and then won three straight following the tie.

• Three Huskers rank in the top 10 in the league in runs scored, including Joe Acker, who ranks second with 40 runs. Spencer Schwellenbach and Jaxon Hallmark are tied for third with 37 runs each. Acker and Schwellenbach also both rank in the top 10 in walks, as Schwellenbach is third with 26 walks and Acker is tied for seventh with 23 walks.

• Along with being tied for third in runs scored with 37 and ranking third in walks, Spencer Schwellenbach is tied for 10th in the league with 11 doubles and is tied for eighth in RBIs with 28.

• Freshman Max Anderson leads the Big Ten with 51 hits and teammate Jaxon Hallmark is one behind with 50. Anderson and Hallmark each have 16 multi-hit games this year, including a pair of four-hit games each.

• Three Huskers rank in the top 10 in batting average. Max Anderson is eight at .340, Jaxon Hallmark is ninth at .338 and Luke Roskam is 10th at .336.

• Luke Roskam leads the Huskers and is seventh in the Big Ten with 32 RBIs. He is also third in the conference with a .467 on-base percentage and 10th in the league with a .598 slugging percentage. 

• Along with Luke Roskam’s team-leading 32 RBIs, Spencer Schwellenbach and Cam Chick are close behind with 31 RBIs, which ties them for eighth in the Big Ten.

• Jaxon Hallmark ranks second in the Big Ten with 50 hits, is second in stolen bases with 15, is tied for third in sacrifice bunts with five and is ninth in batting average at .338.

• Cade Povich ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a 2.74 ERA, is tied for fourth in wins with five and is tied for 10th in strikeouts with 68. 

• Chance Hroch has issued just 12 walks this year, tied for the fourth fewest by a Big Ten pitcher.

• 12 players have made their Husker debuts this season, including true freshmen  infielders Max Anderson, Brice Matthews and Jack Steil, as well as freshman pitcher Emmett Olson. 

Control the Bases

• Nebraska is the top team in the Big Ten at limiting stolen bases as opponents are converting a steal just 54% of the time (14-26). 

• Ohio State has allowed a league-high 73 stolen bases, Illinois is the next closest with 50 steals allowed. Opponents are stealing bases at a 85% clip against the Buckeyes, converting 73 out of 86 attempts. The Huskers rank second in the Big Ten with 60 steals in 72 tries this season.

• Indiana has allowed just 25 stolen bases this year, but opponents have been successful 83% of the time with 25 steals in 30 tries.

Win the Weekend

Nebraska won seven straight conference series to start the 2021 season (the Minnesota Pod is not included since it was two games each against Iowa and Ohio State). 

• Prior to this season, Nebraska had never won seven straight conference series to start a season.

• The seven-series winning streak was snapped when Nebraska was swept at home by Rutgers. It was the first time Nebraska had been swept at home during the Big Ten era and the first time it had happened during a conference series since 2009 when NU lost three straight to Missouri during the Big 12 era.

• During the Big Ten era, the Huskers previously had never won more than three straight conference series to start a season (2013 and 2016).

• Prior to this season, Nebraska won six straight conference series to start the 2006 season, before dropping 2-of-3 at Oklahoma State. The 2006 Huskers started the year with conference wins over Kansas (2-1), Kansas State (2-1), Missouri (3-0), Texas A&M (3-0), Texas (2-1) and Texas Tech (3-0).

• This season the Huskers have secured a series victory with a win on Sunday five times – Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State.

• This season Nebraska has dropped the series opener three times – Purdue, Iowa and Rutgers.

2021 Series Wins

vs. Purdue (3-1)

at Iowa (2-1)

Minnesota (4-0)

at Illinois (2-1)

Maryland (2-1)

at Penn State (3-0)

at Michigan State (2-1)

Northwestern (2-0)

Common Foes – Indiana

Nebraska and Indiana have played eight common opponents this year. The Huskers are 20-9 against those eight teams and the Hoosiers are 20-8.

 

Nebraska (20-9)

Rutgers (2-3)

Minnesota (4-0)

Penn State (3-0)

Purdue (3-1)

Michigan State (2-1)

Ohio State (1-1)

Illinois (2-1)

Iowa (3-2)

 

Indiana (20-8)

Rutgers (3-1)

Minnesota (5-0)

Penn State (4-0)

Purdue (2-1)

Michigan State (2-1)

Ohio State (0-4)

Illinois (2-0)

Iowa (2-1)

Common Foes – Ohio State

Nebraska and Ohio State have played eight common opponents this year. The Huskers are 19-9 against those eight teams and the Buckeyes are 17-13.

 

Nebraska (19-9)

Illinois (2-1)

Iowa (3-2)

Rutgers (2-3)

Maryland (2-1)

Indiana (1-1)

Penn State (3-0)

Purdue (3-1)

Michigan State (3-0)

 

Ohio State (17-13)

Illinois (3-1)

Iowa (2-2)

Rutgers (1-2)

Maryland (1-4)

Indiana (4-0)

Penn State (2-1)

Purdue (3-1)

Michigan State (1-2)

The All-Time Series with Indiana

• Nebraska holds an 13-12-1 advantage in 26 previous games between the teams. The teams have met 21 times since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference and the teams are tied, 10-10-1.

• The teams met earlier this season at the Rutgers Pod and split a pair of games. Nebraska won the first meeting on a walk-off single, 7-6, and Indiana responded the following day with a 4-2 victory.

 

• The teams first met in 1899 and Indiana won 5-4. They met four more times over the next seven seasons, including 1900 (NU won, 7-6), 1901 (IU won, 5-4), 1905 (NU won, 5-0) and 1906 (NU won, 5-0). The teams then didn’t meet again for 106 years until the 2012 season when Nebraska joined the Big Ten.

• Since joining the Big Ten, the Huskers are 2-2-1 against the Hoosiers in Bloomington.

 

• The teams have met four times on a neutral field, all at the Big Ten Tournament, including twice in the title game, and the Hoosiers hold a 3-1 advantage.

 

• The teams have met for a conference series five times and the Hoosiers have won three of the series, including the last meeting in Lincoln during the 2018 season.

 

Conference Series History

2018 – Indiana won, 2-1 (Lincoln)

2017 – Nebraska won, 2-0-1 (Bloomington)

2016 – Nebraska won, 3-0 (Lincoln)

2013 – Indiana won, 2-1 (Lincoln)

2012 – Indiana won, 2-1 (Bloomington)

The All-Time Series with Ohio State

• Nebraska leads the all-time series, 14-13. The teams have met 25 times since Nebraska joined the Big Ten and NU leads that series, 13-12.

• The teams met earlier this season for a pair of games at U.S. Bank in Minneapolis. The Huskers took game one, 10-4, and Ohio State answered the following day with a 6-4 win.

• Prior to Nebraska’s win earlier this season on March 12, Ohio State had won the last three games dating back to 2018.

• The teams has met nine times on a neutral field, including five times at the Big Ten Tournament. OSU holds a 5-4 advantage in neutral site games.

Conference Series History

2018 – Ohio State won, 2-1 (Columbus)

2017 – Nebraska won, 2-1 (Columbus)

2015 – Ohio State won, 2-1 (Lincoln)

2014 – Nebraska won, 3-0 (Lincoln)

2013 – Ohio State won, 2-1 (Lincoln)

2012 – Nebraska won, 2-1 (Columbus)

Leading Man

Joe Acker moved to the lead-off spot in the Husker lineup for the series opener at Iowa.

• Over the last 28 games Acker has reached base in his first at-bat of the game 16 times, including nine walks, one hit-by-pitch and a home run.

• Acker ranks second in the Big Ten with 40 runs scored and is third on the team with 23 walks.

• In 2021, Acker has posted a .418 on-base percentage. His previous season-highs for on-base percentage were .364 in 2020 (15 games) and .345 in 2019 (46 games).

Swiss Army Knife

Senior outfielder Jaxon Hallmark has been a tough on opposing defenses this year both at the plate and on the base paths. 

• Hallmark ranks second in the league with 50 hits, one behind teammate Max Anderson, and is ninth in the Big Ten with a .338 batting average. He has also laid down five sacrifice bunts on the year, which is tied for third in the league. 

• On the base paths he has swiped 15 bases, which ranks second in the Big Ten. He has stolen three bases in a game twice this season.

Super Schwelly

Junior Spencer Schwellenbach is making is case for Big Ten Player of the Year with his play at the plate, in the field and on the mound. 

• Schwellenbach is hitting .283 and has been NU’s No. 3 hitter in all 36 games this season. He is tied for third in the Big Ten with 37 runs, ranks third in walks with 26, tied for eighth in RBIs with 31 and is tied for 10th in doubles with 11.

• Has drawn 26 walks and has been hit-by-pitch six times, while striking out just 32 times.

• He enters the weekend with a 0.82 ERA over 12 appearances out of the bullpen. Is 2-1 and has five saves in 22.0 innings and didn’t allow a run over his first nine appearances. Notched 26 strikeouts to six walks – didn’t issue a walk over his first eight appearances.

• Has committed just two errors this season in 141 chances.