Nebraska baseball projected to make NCAA tournament as Big Ten tourney begins

The Nebraska baseball team wrapped up the regular season last weekend as the second-place team in the Big Ten conference thanks to a 16-8 mark in league play, as well as 34-19 overall.

Nebraska baseball was left out of the NCAA tournament last season. But entering the Big Ten tournament, D1 baseball has the Huskers projected to make the field as a No. 2 seed in the regional of No. 7 Oklahoma.

If that projection is accurate, the Huskers are among the top 32 teams in college baseball. That jives with RPI which has Nebraska ranked No. 31 overall.

As the No. 2 seed, the Huskers will open the Big Ten tournament in Omaha against seventh-seeded Ohio State. During the regular season, Nebraska baseball took two out of three games against the Buckeyes. It will be interesting to see who Will Bolt taps to be his starting pitcher for game one (Tuesday, 2 PM CST on Big Ten Network).

Who will Nebraska baseball start?

Brett Sears should be named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year on Tuesday. He led the league in ERA and was 8-0 following a win last Friday over MSU. Sears posted one of his wins this season over Ohio State and was special in a complete-game shutout. The Nebraska baseball ace allowed just two hits and struck out 10.

Mason McConnaughey (7-3) also notched a win against Ohio State and is third in the Big Ten in ERA. He’s been a solid second starter this season and would be another solid choice.

Drew Christo and Will Walsh have also started nine games each for Nebraska this season along with Jackson Brockett, who tossed a no-hitter but was beaten last Saturday in East Lansing. Yet, Brockett would be on short rest so that seems unlikely.

The trouble with using McConnaughey is that he would need to go on short rest too. Starting Sears on Tuesday would make sense because there’s a chance he could be brought back to start another game on the weekend if the Huskers made it.

In an ideal world, Sears could start game one on Tuesday and return to start the championship game on Sunday. However, getting through a tournament like this will put a strain on the pitching staff. The bullpen has also been a major issue, so that’s something to watch.

Nebraska needs the bats to work too

The last thing Nebraska wants to do is suffer an upset loss. They need to be sharp and the offense will have to do its part too led by Case Sanderson (.373), Rhett Stokes (.339), Cayden Brumbaugh (.323), Tyler Stone (.313), and Josh Caron (.311), who are all batting over 300 with at least 100 at-bats.

Caron leads the Huskers in home runs (10), RBI (54) and hits (64). Dylan Carey, the Nebraska baseball leader in doubles is another power hitter to watch along with Cole Evans. They have a combined 12 home runs and 25 doubles.

Ohio State enters the Big Ten tournament having won five of its last seven games, including its last two Big Ten series. The first pitch is set for 2 PM CST on Big Ten Network. If Nebraska baseball wins, it will play on Thursday at 2 p.m. or on Wednesday at 7 PM with a loss.

UPDATE: Due to weather, the opening game of the Big Ten tournament has been pushed back to 1 CST. Nebraska baseball will play after at approximately 5 p.m.

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