Bolt-Ball: Illinois State Preview

Cam Parks
Mar 8, 2023
3 min read

The Huskers take on Missouri Valley foe Illinois State in their first weekend series in Lincoln.

Photo Via NU Athletic Communications

The Huskers get to stay home this weekend to take on the Redbirds of Illinois State. ISU rolls into Lincoln with a 5-6 record and having lost their last series 2 games to 1 at Central Arkansas. The Redbirds have debatably played only one tough matchup thus far when they lost (10-9) to #3 Arkansas back on March 1st. While of course they lost the game, they competed well with one of the nation's best and this series should be a much closer matchup than Northern Colorado has been.

A Look At The Birds

Leading the Redbirds is Head Coach Steve Holm in his 5th year with the program. Holm holds a coaching record at ISU of 87-100 (.465 winning percentage).

ISU has some of the best Missouri Valley Conference performers early in 2023. 5 Redbirds currently lead the conference in different categories.

Derek Salata leads in ERA as he has posted just a 1.72 over his 3 appearances
Daniel Pacella leads with 6 HR and was just awarded the National Player of the Week
Elijah Dale averages 14.3 Ks per 9 innings
Gretna, NE native Blake Stenger leads with 5 stolen bases
Greg Nichols has 15 runs scored on the year

All these names will have an impact on the field this weekend and it will be imperative for the Skers to limit this early spotlight group. Daniel Pacella earned his NPOW award by bashing 2 homers in a game including a Grand Slam and a solo shot for a total of 5 RBI's. He will be the toughest out for the Husker pitching staff in this lineup. A fun piece to follow for Husker Fans will be close-to-home talent that Nebraska possibly could have missed. Auggie Rasmussen will hit leadoff for the Redbirds and Blake Stenger has been a top of the lineup piece as well. Rasmussen is a JUCO transfer from just across the river at Iowa Western and Blake Stenger is a Millard South product.

Expected Pitching Matchups

Game 1

Nebraska- Junior LHP Emmett Olson (1-1, 4.32 ERA, 16.2 IP, 11 H, 15 K)

Illinois State- Senior RHP Derek Salata (2-0, 1.72 ERA, 15.2 IP, 12 H, 22 K)

Game 2

Nebraska- Junior RHP Jace Kaminska (2-0, 3.18 ERA, 17 IP, 16 H, 11 K)

Illinois State- Freshman RHP Tyrelle Chadwick (0-1, 11.12 ERA, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 7 K)

Game3

Nebraska- Freshman LHP Caleb Clark (0-1, 18.00 ERA, 8 IP, 15 H, 3 K)

Illinois State- RS Junior LHP Sean Sinisko (0-0, 12.79 ERA, 6.1 IP, 13 H, 7 K)

Keys For Nebraska

Nebraska will need to take advantage of a very top-heavy staff for Illinois State. Derek Salata seems to be the only guy that has been near consistent when it comes to success on the mound for the Redbirds. The Big Red bats will have to stay hot and come through all weekend. Brice Matthews, Max Anderson, and Josh Caron need to produce runs consistently. Another Husker Gabe Swanson has been hot as of late, his 2 home runs in the last 4 games have shown yet another power threat in this lineup.

ISU's offense doesn’t seem to be an easy one to work through. They are averaging just over 8 runs a game. Nebraska pitching has been much better lately at limiting free passes (besides Ole Miss) and will need to continue to pound the zone. Schanaman, Perry, and Garza out of the bullpen will play big roles in this series. With past Lincoln, NE weather in March, there is no saying in how the ball will be flying around Haymarket Park.

This is a huge weekend for the Huskers in terms of really pushing themselves away from that .500 mark. GBR.