Nebraska baseball: Loss to Illini all but cements no postseason

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Nebraska baseball’s season is all but over after this weekend.

The Nebraska baseball team came into the three-game series against Illinois knowing they probably needed a sweep in order to make the Big Ten Tournament.

The Cornhuskers actually probably needed a sweep and some help. Now they’re definitely going to need a ton of help in order to have any shot at the postseason.

The Huskers 5-2 loss on Thursday also likely made sure that Erstad’s seventh team is going to the second under his stewardship that will post a losing record. The loss dropped them to 23-27, meaning they will finish the regular season at 25-27 at best.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Football
Nebraska Cornhuskers Football

Nebraska Cornhuskers Football

Of course, in order to even achieve 25 wins, they’re going to need to do what the couldn’t on Thursday. The Huskers are going to need to cash in on opportunities when they are at the plate.

The team is also going to have to do something they haven’t really done all year. The pitching staff hasn’t done much when it comes to needing a big performance in a tight spot.

The lack of clutchiness continued in the fourth inning, when Nebraska fell behind 3-2. Two innings later, the Illini added some insurance when they scored two more to get to the final score.

The loss caps a rather odd week for the Cornhusker baseball team. Athletic director Bill Moos reiterated that Darin Erstad’s job was as safe as safe could be.

That was an especially odd juxtaposition considering two other head coaches, the Men’s Golf and Men’s Tennis coaches, were told they were not having their contracts renewed.

Erstad came under a bit of fire from Husker fans earlier in the week when a spotlight was put on the coach for a disciplinary action. One of the Cornhuskers’ star players was benched after a bit of showboating following a home run in the team’s first game against Indiana last weekend.

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The Huskers lost the final two games of that series, and a debate sparked over whether Erstad needed to be worrying about that sort of thing in the midst of a brutal season. With the Thursday loss, it’s a safe bet there will be plenty of rehashing of the Nebraska baseball season during the postseason, while other teams play the conference tournament, regionals, super regionals and College World Series.