The Nebraska baseball team has had an up and down season so far in 2018. With a mid-week series against Oral Roberts starting, what should you watch for?
The Nebraska baseball team is 11-8 on the season but has been treading water for a little while now. Darin Erstad and his team are hoping they might be able to finally break through against a traditional baseball power.
It feels a little odd for the Cornhuskers to be the “little brother” to a team like the Golden Eagles. If there were basketball the Huskers would be favored to win. If it were football, they’d be favored by 50 or more points.
When it comes to college baseball, it’s ORU that has the impressive resume. In the last decade, Oral Roberts has won its conference seven times. They’ve made the NCAA tournament eight times, including three straight seasons.
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Nebraska wishes it could make those claims. This season the Golden Eagles are 11-6 and are rolling through their schedule again. This is why a mid-week series might be just what the Huskers ordered.
The Huskers are coming off a weekend split against Northwestern State and it seems as if they are finally getting a bit angry about the way they’ve played of late. “It seems like once we get punched in the face a few times, we tend to get a little angry,” head coach Darin Erstad told Rivals. “We’ve got to get that going sooner. It’s in there, they have the ability to play high-level baseball.”
Sophomore Luke Roskam, who is having himself a heck of a season expounded on that point by saying he doesn’t think the team comes out focused enough. That’s both concerning and seems to be something they should be able to fix.
So just how “unfocused” are they? The Cornhuskers have lost four straight series openers.
Part of the good news is that in this two-game series, they will get to miss preseason first-team All-American Miguel Ausua. The other good news is that Oral Roberts is not an offensive juggernaut as they have been in the past.
If the Nebraska baseball team can find a way to come out and fight before they get punched in the mouth, this series could be just what the doctor ordered. This weekend marks the official beginning of Big Ten play and the real season begins.