Nebraska Baseball: Indiana Series Preview

After a midweek drubbing of Kansas State, Nebraska heads back on the road to open Big Ten play against Indiana. Nebraska travels to Indiana for the first time since 2012, playing at Bart Kauffman Field for the first time. The series opener at Bart Kaufman Field is set for Friday night at 6:02 p.m. (CT), and will be carried nationally on the Big Ten Network.

The Huskers will look to win their second consecutive road series after taking three of four games last weekend from Cal Poly. Nebraska will keep the same rotation of Jake Hohensee, Derek Burkamper, and Jake Meyers. Darin Erstad did announce that the Huskers will be without Reece Eddins for the rest of the season, who will undergo Tommy John Surgery.

The Hoosiers will counter with Jonathan Stiever, Brian Hobbe, and a TBD. Stiever, the Friday night ace is coming back from injury, and was hammered by Northwestern last weekend, giving up eight runs in less than three innings of work. Earlier this season, Stiever did give up a single run to the potent Oregon State offense.

Between Hobbe and the rest of the Indiana staff, they will have their hands full. Indiana gave up 23 runs in a sweep of a bad Northwestern team. B.J. Sabol and Cal Krueger serve as the stoppers out of the bullpen, as they have combined for 33 innings and under a 1.50 ERA. Matt Lloyd is coming off a three homer game last weekend and also serves as the closer.

Besides the three previously mentioned, Indiana struggles on the mound. Opponents bat .279 against the Hoosiers and have hit 14 long balls. Hobbie leads the team, giving up fifteen extra base hits.

The good news for Indiana is that while they can struggle on the mound, they excel at the plate. Indiana averages six runs a contest, backed by a .270 team batting average and 28 home runs as a team.

Individually Luke Miller, Alex Krupa, Matt Gorski, Jeremy Houston, and Lloyd all bat over .300 for the Hoosiers. Miller leads the team with a .341 batting average and has hit four homers on the year. Craig Dedelow leads the team with six home runs while batting .260. Another hitter to watch will be Tony Butler, a .276 hitter who has walked eight times, and been hit by eight pitches on the season.

While Indiana will pose their challenges, the Huskers could very well walk out of Bloomington with a series victory this weekend. Indiana is reliant on the long ball, something the Huskers excel at controlling. With the trio of solid starting pitchers, if Nebraska can get out to early leads, the Huskers should be able to hold off the Hoosier offense.