The stakes have raised for Husker baseball this month
Penn State will come to Lincoln for a rare Big Ten series this weekend, as both teams are in a fight to secure spots in the conference tournament in Omaha later this month. It is PSU's second trip to Lincoln in five years, where the Huskers have never played in State College yet.
PSU (26-23, 10-8) was swept last weekend against TCU in a non-conference series, along with losing both games with Maryland the weekend before. They find themselves fighting for their life trying to get a spot into the conference tournament. With series remaining against Nebraska (31-17, 11-7) and Iowa (22-23, 8-10), all of their remaining league games will have major implications. The Huskers meanwhile close out with PSU and conference leader Indiana (29-17, 13-5).
Here is a complete preview of this weekend's Husker series against Penn State. Nebraska will not leave the state of Nebraska over the final month of the season.
HOL Radio Show: Penn State weekend preview
Probable starters
Friday, May 13 (6:35 p.m. CST) RHP Derek Burkamper (5-1) vs. LHP Nick Hedge (4-2, 2.58 ERA)
Saturday, May 14 (2:05 p.m. CST) RHP Matt Waldron (5-2) vs. RHP Sal Biasi (5-4. 3.77 ERA)
Sunday, May 15 (11:35 a.m. CST) LHP Jake Meyers (4-1) vs. RHP Justin Hagenman (6-2, 3.24 ERA)
***All three games will be broadcast on 1400 AM in Lincoln and 590 AM in Omaha. Saturday's game will be televised on NET.
What to watch for
RPI talk: After series wins the last three weekends, along with solid play in the midweek, Nebraska has put themselves back into the NCAA tournament discussion. According to NCAA.com, the Huskers RPI sits at No. 47.
All of the major college baseball websites are now projecting three to four Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament, and NU is currently in the field on all of their predictions. The Huskers take on Penn State (115 RPI), Creighton (34 RPI) and Indiana (94 RPI) over their final seven games. The thought right now is a solid showing of 5-2 or 4-3 over this stretch should get Nebraska in the tournament.
Solid starting pitching: The story last weekend for Nebraska was the solid starting pitching they received from Derek Burkamper and Jake Meyers. That seems to be the formula for the Huskers over this hot stretch. If the pitching can continue to be solid, you have to like NU's chanced to come out with at least as series win this weekend.
The road to Omaha: This series is huge for both schools, as only eight Big Ten teams can qualify for the conference tournament in Omaha.
As it stands right now PSU would be in a tie for the final spot with two other teams, and they have just a 1 game lead over Illinois and a 2 game lead over Iowa.
Meanwhile with a solid showing the next two weekends the Huskers can put themselves in a spot to win the conference title, as they sit just 2 games behind league leader Indiana. However, with a major collapse they could find themselves out of the conference tournament all together.
Know your enemy
***Penn State has committed a Big Ten-high 83 errors in the field this year, which is 19 more than the next closest team Purdue who's at 64. Nebraska has committed just 45 errors on the season.
***Teams have stolen 66 of 88 bases on PSU this year. The 66 stolen bases is the second most in the league, only behind Northwestern who's allowed 84.
***The bat to watch closely in the Nittany Lion line-up is infielder Jim Haley, who ranked 11th in the Big Ten with a .340 batting average. Haley also ranked fourth in triples (3) and fifth and runs scored (43).
***Penn State is not afraid to lay down the sacrifice and play small ball. PSU currently has three different guys in their line-up with a combine 20 sacrifices on the year, all of which are in the top 10 of the conference. They ranked No. 3 in the Big Ten with 35 sacrifice bunts and first with 29 sacrifice flies.
***PSU closer Jake Anderson leads the Big Ten with 12 saves on the season, and also is tied for the league lead with 26 appearances.
***Don't expect to see the ball leave the yard much for the Nittany Lions. They rank dead last in the league with 15 home runs, and have only hit six in conference play. That explains why they've had to play more small ball than anyone in the league.