Nebraska Cornhuskers' midweek meltdown is worst of a bad bunch
Over the last two years, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have had a lot of bad losses on Tuesdays and Wendesdays. There may not have been as bad a loss as the one that occurred this Wednesday night.
It's not just that the Nebraska Cornhuskers lost to the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits. It's not that they lost to a team that is dead last in the Summit League. It's not even that they somehow allowed 10 runs to a team that was recently swept by former Huskers head coach Mike Anderson's Northern Colorado Bears. It's how they managed to find a way to lose on Wednesday.
After building up a 6-2 lead, in a game where Nebraska didn't look sharp but looked sharp enough to win, the relief pitchers allowed eight straight runs to South Dakota State. That run included five runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Did I mention they managed to blow a lead and lose a game to a bad South Dakota State team in Haymarket Park? A place that should give the Huskers a pretty decent home field advantage, simply hasn't.
Nebraska Cornhuskers midweek meltdown just the latest in embarassing flops
Over the last two years, there's been a lot of talk about Midweek Maladies, but some of the stats this year are truly incredible. Here's a sampling:
- Since conference play began, the Huskers are 3-10 in games not played on Friday or Saturday.
- Since April 1, the Huskers are just 1-6 in those games.
- The weirdest stat you'll see this morning? That one win was Jackson Brockett's no hitter. The first solo 9-inning no hitter in 70 years. That means that since April 1, if the Nebraska Cornhuskers allow a single hit in midweek games, they are destined to lose.
- Before conference play started, NU was 9-2 in games that weren't played on Friday or Saturday. That there's been that much of a reversal is something head coach Will Bolt is going to have to examine over the offseason.
- Overall this season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are now 4-7 in what are considered midweek games. They were 6-6 last year.
- And the piece de resistance? Will Bolt's squad is somehow 0-2 against South Dakota State in the last two years.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have a problem getting up for certain games. And it's becoming a pattern and that's concerning. It's far to too late to do anything about it at this point for this season, but Bolt needs to figure something out if he wants to stay off the hotseat next year.