Nebraska riding high entering Big 10 Tournament
With three College World Series appearances from 2001-05 and its Big 12 pedigree, Nebraska was expected to be the team to beat in baseball when it entered the Big Ten.
It took six years, but the Cornhuskers finally won their first championship, taking two of three at last-place Penn State over the weekend to finish a half-game ahead of Michigan.
A good portion of the fan base expected a title sooner. But coach Darin Erstad, whose hiring coincided with Nebraska’s first season in the Big Ten, pointed out Monday that the Huskers were in a down cycle when they changed conferences. Plus, the Big Ten was becoming more competitive. Indiana made the CWS in 2013 and earned a national top-eight seed the next year, and Illinois got a national seed and led a record five Big Ten teams into the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
“To see the depth of this conference from the time we’ve gotten here to now, I’m excited about the direction Big Ten baseball has gone,” Erstad said. “You see years in a row with multiple regional teams, and that just hasn’t happened historically in the Big Ten.”
The Huskers (34-18-1, 16-7-1) have won 13 of 17 entering the Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana. The top-seeded Huskers open Wednesday against No. 8 Purdue (2925, 12-12).
Nebraska’s numbers don’t jump off the stat sheet. Scott Schreiber and Angelo Altavilla are the only batters over .300, and the Huskers’ 20 home runs are fewest in the conference. Derek Burkamper (6-4, 3.05 ERA), Jake Hohensee (6-3, 4.01) and Jake Meyers (8-1, 3.09) have been weekend starters all season, and Luis Alvarado has 10 saves.
The Huskers’ Big Ten breakthrough came after finishes of fourth, second, second, eighth and second.
The time for celebration has ended, Erstad said.
“We practiced this morning, and the talk starts (about) walking it back in and what did we do to get there?” he said. “That feeling of winning is great, but we have to get back to business. We’ve started that process. We’ll be there by Wednesday for sure.”
OTHER POWER FIVE TOURNAMENTS
Southeastern Conference, today through Sunday, at Hoover, Alabama: Florida (40-15, 21-9) overcame a spate of injuries to win 16 of its last 19 SEC games after a 0-3 start. The Gators are the top seed over conference co-champion LSU based on winning their series in March. The Tigers (39-17) are 11-1 in their last 12 SEC games, which might be enough to lock up their sixth straight national seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Atlantic Coast Conference, today through Sunday, at Louisville: The host Cardinals (46-9, 23-6) edged out North Carolina (44-11, 23-7) for the top seed despite losing twice to Florida State over the weekend. The third FSU-Louisville game was rained out. That cancellation prevented the Seminoles (35-20, 14-14) from possibly posting their first losing ACC record in program history.
Big 12, Wednesday through Sunday, at Oklahoma City: Texas Tech (42-13, 16-8) earned a share of the regular-season championship with a sweep of Kansas. The Red Raiders got the No. 1 seed based on their win over co-champ TCU (39-14) last month.
PAC-12 WIN RECORD
Top-ranked Oregon State (45-4, 27-3) swept Washington State to set the Pac12 record for conference wins in a season. The Beavers’ 27 league wins are the most since Arizona State won 26 in 1981. Oregon State secured the Pac-12’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid by winning the regular-season title. The Pac-12 does not have a tournament. CHAMPION CHANTS
Defending national champion Coastal Carolina (37-18-1, 22-7-1) swept its last three Sun Belt series and is 12-2 since April 29. At No. 48 in the RPI, the Chanticleers almost certainly will have to win their conference tournament to advance to the NCAAs for the 15th time since 2001.
IT’S A BLAST, 4X
Cal State Fullerton leadoff man Scott Hurst homered four times Saturday in a 16-7 win at Cal State Northridge. Hurst, who also doubled, went five for five with seven RBIs and six runs scored. Louisville’s Brendan McKay is the only other player to hit four homers in a game this season.
0-FER FOR SEASON
Saint Peter’s ended its season as the nation’s only winless team in any NCAA division. The Peacocks from Jersey City, New Jersey, went 0-38 and have lost 39 in a row since last season.