throwback

Well, that wasn't ideal. Too many walks from veteran pitchers. Gotta think Mac was too amped up today - it worked for 3 innings with all the Ks, but he faded really fast after the energy ran out. Christo & Cleavinger have to be better at staying in the zone, too. Was surprised Brumbaugh started. We'll see if he sticks in that leadoff spot. Nice (and very surprising) to see Stone get an at bat - there was talk he might miss the season a few weeks ago. Clearly rusty, though. That was not a good at bat. And I was glad to see Cymbalista was healthy enough to catch the 9th. You don't want to wear out Helligso on the first weekend. Freshmen looked good on the bump - the coaches do like their young arms. Easier to pitch when you're down by several runs, though, - we'll have to see how they pitch in a tight game, but a good way for them to start out. Really like Buttenback, and Carey had a nice day. Frost just missed a couple of pitches. In that lineup, our 2 thru 7 hitters are going to be a handful for teams. Mostly we looked like a northern team that was kind of feeling its way vs a southern/western team that doesn't need an indoor facility. Plus I think UCI is pretty good. That lefty they brought in second was nasty. Hope we can bounce back tomorrow. Not sure if Worthley is available, but if he is, look for him to be next up after Horn.

NU 71 NW 61

Hard to believe UCLA and USC are so down - UCLA has missed the NCAAs 2 straight years for the first time since 2003. And the OWH says they may lose their ballpark after this season in a property line fight with the US Dept of Veterans Affairs. Crazy. USC might be crazier - they have 1 NCAA appearance since 2005. That might be the craziest stat I've ever seen. A team in LA should basically make the NCAAs without trying. I mean Minnesota has 5 NCAA appearances since 2005. Oregon restarted baseball in 2009 and has 9 NCAA appearances since then. USC lost their baseball field to an expansion of the football practice fields before last season and are playing an hour from campus. This is a program with a dozen CWS titles. Insane how far they've fallen and how no one there seems to care. Both are probably a sign of the budgetary issues their athletic depts were having and why they jumped to the B1G.

B1G preseason coaches poll - still picking only 6 even though 12 make the tourney - the B1G is so weird sometimes. Big Ten Preseason Poll 1. Oregon 2. Nebraska 3. Indiana 4. UCLA 5. Michigan 6. USC https://bigten.org/base/article/blt4cc4393dd3e906dd/ Top 3 are pretty consistent in all the polls - after that, it's a crapshoot. NU has two advantages when trying to win the league - pitching depth & a soft league schedule. I think NU will lead the league in pitching again. The rest of the B1G doesn't have much returning production on the mound.

3-2 is a good start considering the field they were in, but after beating the Vols, I'm sure they were hoping to do better. That Tech loss was the killer, as Tech didn't throw their ace and Bahl threw for NU. Needed that one. Still not bad for a northern team to have a 3-2 (almost 4-1) start against 2 SEC teams and 3 other southern teams on the opening weekend. Unfortunately, like baseball, there's just not much margin for error for a northern team. 4-1 would've been really nice.

OWH B1G prediction: https://omaha.com/sports/huskers/baseball/evan-blands-preseason-big-ten-baseball-rankings-for-2025/article_13f0d3df-2f9d-5f84-b0e6-c08d20b82535.html 1 - NU 2 - Oregon 3 - Indiana 4 - Illinois 5 - Iowa* 6 - Maryland* 7 - Penn St 8 - Michigan* 9 - Purdue* 10 - UCLA* 11 - Mich St 12 - Rutgers* ________ (tourney cutoff) 13 - Ohio St 14 - Minnesota* 15 - USC* 16 - Washington* 17 - N'western* * - NU plays If nothing else, this schedule sets NU up to potentially win the regular season title. Pretty soft schedule at first glance, although I have to think USC & UCLA are going to finish better than this prediction.

He had a great summer & followed it up in the fall - he's definitely going to get tested tho - his first 3 starts could be vs Vandy, Louisiana, and LSU.

NU 77 MD 70 3

I think the decision was just math to account for 18 teams. This way the top half of the league (1 thru 9) gets a bye. Finish in the lower half and don't get a bye (or even an invite to the tourney for the last 3 teams).

No surprise, but it sounds like on the bump we're going: Mac - UCI Friday Horn - Vandy Sat Walsh / Brockett - San Diego St Sun / GCU Mon (I don't think they've decided which order these two will pitch in yet) Worthley & Stone appear to be questionable with injuries - Worthley really hurts as he's our best lefty out of the pen, but it sounds like a short-term thing. Stone didn't practice in the fall & has not recovered as expected - his could be longer-term. Sanderson, Swanson & Buttenback are all options at 1st base. There's no plan to have Walsh hit and play 1st this year at this point - he's going to focus on pitching only. I suppose that could change depending on how things shake out, but that's not part of the discussion now. Overall, our defense likely will be down a bit from last year, but it's probably worth the tradeoff to get more punch in the lineup. Not sure either of our backup catchers are quite ready after offseason surgeries, so Helligso will definitely do the majority of the catching and could catch all 4 games - not ideal, but not a huge concern since we have no DHs scheduled. Monday will be the toughest one as the 4th game in 4 days and an afternoon game following a night game. Buttenback & Jesske could be emergency catchers if we get into a pinch.

NU just won its season opener 7-1 over #6 Tennessee - Bahl tossed a complete game and hit a 2-run HR. Incredible start to the season, especially beating one of the top pitchers in the country from UT.

N 75 OS 65

World Herald had a story today about how JuCo players getting an extra year could affect NU quite a bit in 2026 - Frost, Daiss, Stokes, Silva, Overbeek, and Stone all are seniors who could potentially take another year. Mac & Broderick would be jrs who would also qualify, but they're probably heading toward the draft if they have their expected seasons. Even if they came back, they wouldn't have to decide til after next season. Can't imagine we'll bring back all 6 - some of them might turn pro or just decide to move on - especially with rosters having to go down to 34 next season from 40 this season. But Bolt likes having an older offense, so I'd bet some of them are here another year.