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Hopefully this GCU game wasn't a preview of how we're going to play in midweek games again. Still, 2-2 is a solid start against that quality of opponents on opening weekend. Really need to go 4-2 the next two weekends - ULL had a bad opening weekend, as did K-State, so 4-2 is definitely doable. The bad: The offense at times was really bad. Way too many Ks again. Still, if the offense was just average vs GCU, we have a 3-1 weekend, so I'm not too worried about it. Frost had a rough start - he's too good of a hitter to go 0-fer much longer. Just needs to get that 1st hit to get going. Too many veteran pitchers struggling with the strike zone. Again, I think we can chalk it up to first weekend jitters. Not too worried about it. Regardless, Childress won't put up with it, so it'll get fixed one way or the other. Wish we could've pitched a few more freshmen, but the game circumstances just didn't allow it. The good: That win over Vandy was really impressive. We pitched out of some tough spots. Yes, the offense struggled outside of Swanny, but the rest of the guys did a nice job working counts and getting on base. That Vandy starter is the real deal, and Vandy threw a lot of plus arms at us, yet we still found a way to win. We really competed - which makes the GCU game that much more disappointing because we didn't compete like we can. Defense - significantly better than I expected - Sanderson was good at first and Jesske stepped up at catcher vs San Diego St - especially for an opening weekend, we were really good in the field Carey - He didn't have a huge weekend in any one category, but he looks so much more comfortable on defense and at the plate. Really impressive. Brumbaugh - I was skeptical of him hitting leadoff and playing 2nd base, but he was really good other than for the opener - nice that he's healthy. Horn - Outside of the first inning jitters, he was dealing against a lineup that looks the part. He is poised for a big season. Walsh & Brockett - If those two guys can pitch like that the rest of the year, we're going to win a ton of games. Very few teams have #3 and #4 starters like that. Jasa - So excited to see him put up 2 strong innings with only 1 walk. Might have the best arm on the team ... as long as he can find the zone. Much more to like than dislike on the opening weekend. Really wish we could've gotten to 3-1, but we can make up for it the next two weekends. Inside the league, Michigan was great on opening weekend. Also liked what Purdue did. N'western won a series at Long Beach. Penn St looked good. Indiana was a mess. More good than bad in the league on opening weekend.

And the Iowegians score 24 in the second half and lose by 26. Guessing Fran-con was close to an 2 in the second half.

Jesske starting at catcher today - Helligso got dinged up last night but might play late if needed - otherwise same lineup as last night - Cymbalista must not be quite ready to go multiple innings.

Erased two double-digit second-half deficits on the road in a two-week span. Let's not need to do that Wednesday and give Fred's hand time to heal.

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Juwan was so big in turning that thing around - just refused to let us continue playing so poorly. Essegian was a very willing rebounder in the second half - he turned up the physicality versus how he's been playing & that was a big difference, too. I think I'll attend NW's graduation ceremony to make sure Berry walks across the stage finally.

Insanity - I think the color purple makes us sleepy ... and then angry.

True. I just hope we get one of his competent clones the next time we see him/them. One bright spot -- at least the College Basketball Referees Association didn't choose to clone Teddy Valentine.

Great bounce-back win - Swanny maybe could've let someone else drive in a run though. Picking up where he left off last year. Lots of gritty efforts on the mound. Hope Timmerman is OK - scary. Brumbaugh had a really nice bounce back game. Even though he hasn't drawn any walks yet, he did a nice job going deep into counts tonight - need to keep that up if he's going to be the leadoff hitter. San Diego St is the weakest of the 4 opponents this weekend - gotta get this one Sunday. Appreciated the radio guys gutting through that broadcast tonight - that had to be one of the toughest broadcasts they've ever done.

Going to be a tough radio broadcast to do tonight

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.

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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.

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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.

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