With pair of top-10 SEC powers on deck, Nebraska baseball has a major early opportunity

One by one, Nebraska players sat at a green picnic table on the left-field concourse at Haymarket Park and gave the same thought.

The Huskers will see some big names in Minneapolis this weekend. But it’s no bigger deal to them than any other series. It can’t be.

NU is bussing north for the Cambria College Classic and a shot at recent college baseball royalty. Three days inside the $1.1 billion home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings among a hodgepodge of schools from both coasts and with records ranging from defending national champion Mississippi (6-2) to the winless Gophers (0-7).

First up for Nebraska is Vanderbilt, the 2019 College World Series winner which finished runner-up in 2021. Mississippi comes Sunday. Both are top-10 SEC powers whom the Huskers have never met. A win over either could be the difference in earning an NCAA at-large bid in three months. Sandwiched in between is a date with Hawaii on Saturday.

Nebraska second baseman Max Anderson is approaching the opportunity like a middle-in fastball. Don’t be anxious — and take your best swing.

“All of us have played summer ball and we’ve all played a bunch of these guys,” said Anderson, who has logged two seasons in the Cape Cod League. “We’re just playing baseball again, going out there and having fun.”

Said fifth-year pitcher Michael Garza: “We’re not really worried about the names, just playing the ball.”

The most high-profile stretch of Nebraska’s nonconference slate will nonetheless provide a telling glimpse into the stuff of these Huskers if history is any indicator. Recent regional squads all celebrated key early victories over ranked opposition. The 2019 team upended No. 3 Texas Tech. NU topped No. 14 Arizona in 2017, beat No. 20 Tulane in 2016 and shocked No. 1 Oregon State in 2014.

Such big moments didn’t happen in down seasons. Nebraska last year was swept by No. 17 TCU while never leading at any point. No. 2 Oregon State pounded the 2018 group twice. The Huskers in 2015 and 2013 missed on a combined seven chances against top-25 non-Big Ten competition.

NU in the Big Ten era is 5-17 against top-10 teams. A win Friday or Sunday would rate among the best of any of them.

Nebraska coach Will Bolt said he expects a regional-level atmosphere in the Twin Cities. When his team played in the converted football stadium two years ago against conference schools, pandemic restrictions limited the crowd to only a few hundred friends and family members. This time there might be more scouts in the stands for the event that also includes a top-10 Maryland team.

“I just want us to play well,” Bolt said. “I just want us to continue to get better. It sounds a little boring but it’s truthfully where we need to be. That’s where we’ve got to be as a program, with Husker baseball. We need to feel like we’re improving day to day. This weekend to me is just another weekend to go and just keep getting better.”

The Huskers have done that so far, responding to an 0-3-1 dud opener at San Diego with a three-game sweep at South Alabama. The difference was the bullpen, which posted an earned-run average of 11.57 in 14 innings on the West Coast before tossing 13 1/3 scoreless, three-hit stanzas last week. Players and Bolt said this week that early jitters were mostly to blame.

The offense, meanwhile, will face its stiffest test entering as a top-50 scoring unit (8.6 runs per game) that has flashed early power (1.71 homers per game, 34th). A key will be how it responds to left-handed pitching — all three opponents are projected to start southpaws. Bolt named right-handed-hitting Gabe Swansen, Josh Caron, Garrett Anglim and Anderson in particular who have been strong against lefties.

“Stay locked into hitting the ball the other way,” Anderson said. “That’s just the way to beat lefties. That’s how I’ve always done it growing up as a kid and I feel like it’s still the same game plan.”

Don’t miss your pitch. Nebraska after this weekend will play 15 straight games inside the state including the start of Big Ten play. But with likely few exceptions — series at Iowa (April 21-23) and at Maryland (May 5-7) and maybe Illinois (March 24-26) — this weekend features the rare chance of pocketing ranked wins.

“It’s going to be a good test for us,” Garza said. “I think we’ll be able to respond to that.”