2024 Season Notes

caveman99 said:
Yes I still feel the same. First baseball is a funny game, and nothing is guaranteed and on Tuesday it felt like the Huskers were pressing at the plate against Creighton and they failed to do what they have done all season long so far in generating runs. Mid-week college baseball games are often crap shoots to begin with as the caliber of arms is much lower than in the weekends, look at how bad Creighton looked last night against North Dakota State, hanging on to win 8-7. On Tuesday Central Arkansas beat a ranked Miss St. team and Tarleton State almost beat perennial power Dallas Baptist losing 7-8. Yesterday Maryland almost lost to UMBC winning 13-12.

I would love to see NU and Creighton match up in a weekend series, it would be a fun one. The Huskers are halfway through the season with 27 left to play and they are already at 20 wins against a pretty decent schedule, 33rd overall SoS per Warren Nolan, and have a predicted final record of 43-13. This guaranteed nothing, but the Huskers have done enough over the first half of a good schedule to earn my confidence in them being a pretty good team. Just how good is still TBD, but a single mid-week game doesn’t change that. 
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That is a well thought out and even better articulated response. Thank you!! 

Personally, I felt like the game plan going in was to swing with power to get the ball in the air and let the wind carry it out. (Hence swing twice at balls in the dirt early and struggling the entire game with the slider.) I do think Husker fans tend to not give Creighton credit. Creighton this year is a very solid ballclub that just might stand in the way of us hosting. We have 2 more midweek games to get the head to head. I'm sooo hoping we are successful.

As for the predicted.. As hopeful as I am that we can win the final 2 against the bluebabies it's double for eating crow on my predictions. I desperately want Nebraska to host. So I obviously prefer having to eat crow. I've said I expect us to drop at least 1 game this weekend. I still feel that way but if we just win each and every series that should get the conference regular season title but Illinois is going to be a contender.. They have by far the easiest remaining schedule and to host we have to be a conference regular season champion. Sadly, we don't play Illinois this year.

 
Loebarth said:
That is a well thought out and even better articulated response. Thank you!! 

Personally, I felt like the game plan going in was to swing with power to get the ball in the air and let the wind carry it out. (Hence swing twice at balls in the dirt early and struggling the entire game with the slider.) I do think Husker fans tend to not give Creighton credit. Creighton this year is a very solid ballclub that just might stand in the way of us hosting. We have 2 more midweek games to get the head to head. I'm sooo hoping we are successful.

As for the predicted.. As hopeful as I am that we can win the final 2 against the bluebabies it's double for eating crow on my predictions. I desperately want Nebraska to host. So I obviously prefer having to eat crow. I've said I expect us to drop at least 1 game this weekend. I still feel that way but if we just win each and every series that should get the conference regular season title but Illinois is going to be a contender.. They have by far the easiest remaining schedule and to host we have to be a conference regular season champion. Sadly, we don't play Illinois this year.
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Creighton is a very solid team this year, they are off to their best start in a long, long while. That being said, it will be VERY difficult for Creighton to earn a Regional host, their SoS is just not going to be very good. Currently their SoS is 164th and it won’t get better as the Big East is very poor this year; UConn is WAY down and it looks like it could be just a 1 bid league this season. I forget which 1620 show it was, but an early projection has NU hosting with Creighton in the same regional as a 3 seed and St. John’s as the first team out. 
 

I am not fully sold on ILL yet, they still have to play Maryloand and I think Iowa will start to look more like the tough team everyone thought they were at the beginning of the season; they just have too good of a staff not to win some games. There are a few teams that will challenge NU IMO, definitely Rutgers and Maryland with ILL and Iowa right behind that top group. It will be a wild ride!

 
Sears named to the Golden Spikes watch list. List consists of top 45 players (all positions). Leads country in whip, 3rd in nation in era, and 7 in nation in runs allowed/nine innings. 
 

we all know it could come to a halt as it tough to maintain the current pace, but what a start to the first half of the season. Also had tied current Padre and former Husker Matt Waldron for the most consecutive “quality starts”.

 
I'm watching the Michigan/Iowa game. Iowa's arms are throwing mostly breaking balls. Honestly, I'm not sure I've seen a consecutive fastball/fastball thrown. Loads of sliders and curves. Ugh... hate off speed pitchers. Give me the heat baby!!

 
Loebarth said:
I'm watching the Michigan/Iowa game. Iowa's arms are throwing mostly breaking balls. Honestly, I'm not sure I've seen a consecutive fastball/fastball thrown. Loads of sliders and curves. Ugh... hate off speed pitchers. Give me the heat baby!!
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I completely believe you, but it surprises me because they have guys with rockets. They have at least two guys who can almost touch 100. But those guys have also been beat up a little bit humming in fastballs.

 
That offensive explosion (or more accurately stated implosion) drops the Huskers from the polls. Could be the best thing to happen to them. Maybe it will be the wakeup call needed to shake things up and get them rolling again because they've been dreadfully awful these past two/three weeks. Sadly, the best team in the midwest again isn't in a power five conference. Indiana State is again proving to be the lone regional host representative in the midwest. Kind of pathetic if one thinks about it. What the heck happened to Nebraska baseball? VanHorn was highly competitive. Anderson/Childress (all be it with VanHorn recruits) made it to the CWS. Erstad was one win from a regional victory and here we are unable to hold ranking in the worst power 5 conference. Maybe time to re-think how the NIL is spent and whom is deserving. Hopefully I'll have a northern school to root for again in the CWS. (Indiana State was last year) Time will tell. 

When Husker baseball can't sell 3K tickets to a home game (yes the weather hasn't been very cooperative) it's telling. Question is, is anyone hearing? Players need to wake up and start living up to expectations. This BS offense or lack thereof can be blamed fully on lack of focus and a lackadaisical approach. Carey may finally be coming around. Silva, he can bunt but his 30 hits over 104 attempts.. (.302 BA) isn't good enough. Cary is at .243 BA, Caron at .310, Brumbaugh (the most consistent) @ .341, Cole Evans @ .299. The B1G is better than outsiders think but the B1G isn't anywhere close to the SEC or even the Sun Belt.. There is absolutely no reason Nebraska can't have a +.340 lead off hitter with speed and a +.350 bomber in the 4 or 5 spot. No excuses when you're facing average and at best only 1 above average pitcher each weekend. No Excuses!!!

 
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