The Huskers have a weekend series with Illinois to open 2023 B1G Ten Play.
Peek At Nebraska
Nebraska rolls in to the B1G opening series after 2 straight losses to Nicholls and Creighton.
The Huskers (11-7-1) lost to the cross-town Bluejays of Creighton Tuesday night on a walk off wild pitch from the arm of Brett Sears. A team Nebraska needs to beat for the sake of winning the in-state recruiting battles and Husker fans everywhere. It seems this Nebraska team has been a bit lost when it comes to finding that go-to guy on the mound to shut situations down but have caught glimpses of the character they are looking for. Previous starting pitchers Shay Schanaman and Kyle Perry (both Veterans) seem to be finding their footing in their bullpen roles.
The Husker bats seem to still be the brightest spot of this team. Brice Matthews is coming off a B1G Player of the Week win but could use a kick in the rear defensively. Matthews has 7 errors thus far including one back on Tuesday night against the Jays. Max Anderson continues to punish baseballs as he is hitting .449 with 11 EBHs and 3 HRs. Newcomers Dylan Carey and Charlie Fischer have rounded this Nebraska lineup out nicely. Carey and Fischer are hitting .338 and .327, respectively.
Nebraska is looking to get B1G play off to a great start with Emmett Olson on the bump Friday night. The Junior for the Big Red has been great so far with his electric pace and strike throwing abilities.
Peek at Illinois
The Fighting Illini roll into Lincoln with a 10-7 record coming off a win against Bradley Tuesday night. Illinois most impressive wins this year came early in the 2023 season @ #18 Southern Miss. A team that consistently finds themselves in the NCAA tournament. The Blue and Orange also hold good wins @ Sam Houston and @ Coastal Carolina, both teams who near the top when it comes to talent at the Mid-Major level of College Baseball.
Looking at this Illinois team, their bats seem to be the key. In all 10 games the Fighting Illini have won, they have put up 8+ runs. Yes, that number is impressive, but it will be interesting to see the outcomes against a relentless Nebraska offense on the other side.
Senior Cam McDonald leads the bats for this team as he holds a .307 average with 9 EBH and 3 homers. He is followed by Sophomore Camden Janik, who sits at .302 with 3 2Bs and 4 homers. The outlier with the highest average is RS Junior Jacob Schroeder. He is bashing .353 with 5 homers but only has 34 ABs on the year. I expect to see Schroeder in the lineup all weekend.
On the mound, Illinois is led by Joe Glassey and Riley Gowens. Combined, they hold a 3-0 record with a .240 AVG against and 56 strikeouts. These will be the 2 guys you are guaranteed to see on the dirt hill this weekend in Lincoln. (Stats shown in expected starters)
Expected Starting Matchups
Friday
Illinois: RHP RS Jr. Riley Gowens (1-0, 27 IP, 25 H, 39 K, 4.33 ERA)
Nebraska: LHP Jr. Emmett Olson (3-1, 29.2 IP, 20 H, 30 K, 3.34 ERA)
Saturday
Illinois: RHP Freshman Julius Sanchez (0-2, 17.1 IP, 24 H, 13 K, 8.31 ERA)
Nebraska: RHP Jr. Jace Kaminska (4-0, 29 IP, 22 H, 16 K, 1.86 ERA)
Sunday
Illinois: RHP Jr. Jack Wenninger (2-1, 19.2 IP, 17 H, 28 K, 5.03 ERA)
Nebraska: LHP RS SO. Will Walsh (0-1, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 6 K, 4.91 ERA)
Keys For Nebraska
In any College Baseball season, it is crucial to have a good start to conference play. Nebraska will need to take 2 of these 3 games to qualify themselves in that category. Once again, it will be imperative for Nebraska to have more quality bullpen appearances, which is something they have lacked thus far. The middle of the lineup for Nebraska will have to come through more as well against this middle tier staff of Illinois. Anderson, Fischer, Caron, and Carey will need to have big weekends with RISP.
Quality starts on the mound have not been hard to come by for this Nebraska team this season, it just needs to be finished on those days to ensure the all-important series victory. I voted Will Walsh to get the start on Sunday. The Redshirt Sophomore has earned it in my book and hopefully he can fill that giant void Coach Bolt has been looking at.
GBR.