Nebraska baseball shocked many after winning the series over No. 5 Oregon State. The Huskers have the talent. The biggest question is whether they can be consistent.
The highlight came in the series finale when the Big Red had a two-out, nine-run rally in the seventh inning to blow the Beavers’ dam down. Is the first weekend series victory of the season the turning point?
Here are some cumulative metrics from the weekend series win over the Beavers:
Strikeouts
Nebraska fanned the Beavers 20 times over the weekend. Ironically, they only had four in Friday’s 7-3 win. The eight-apiece Saturday and Sunday was promising, but it makes sense with the number of home runs over the two games hit by Oregon State.
Although the offensive performance was clutch from Nebraska’s end, the strikeout rate continues to be high. The Huskers were rung up in 35% of their 100 at-bats. The number is concerning. The biggest came with the 15 strikeouts they had in Saturday’s 16-5 loss.
Home runs
The deep ball was hot in Lincoln over the weekend for both teams. Oregon State set a program record in Saturday’s win with eight in one game alone. The Huskers wound up allowing 11 total over the series. This will need to be significantly cut if the Big Red wants to stay in the win column.
Nebraska was hit or miss over the weekend. Heck, they’ve been this way all season. The Huskers’ batting average speaks for itself, with a few near the .300 mark. The Big Red hit six total, four coming in the 16-7 Sunday pounding they put on the Beavers.
Hits
Oregon State recorded 26 hits over the weekend. The fact that 11 of them were outside of the yard suggests that Nebraska’s pitchers need to be more careful of giving opponents a money ball over the plate at critical times.
The Huskers had 37 hits themselves. It was intriguing that the Big Red could get on base this much with its high strikeout rate.
Walks, HBP and stolen bases
Nebraska’s pitching walked the Beavers 16 times, hit them three, but didn’t give up a stolen base. The concern here clearly lies within the amount of free passes to first. Needless to say, overall pitching performance was poor from the Huskers. Seniors Will Walsh and Drew Christo can be the exceptions from their dominant performance on the mound in Friday’s win.
The Big Red would draw eight total walks, but what stood out was Nebraska getting plunked by the Oregon State pitchers. Ten times a Husker was hit by a pitch. The free pass to first was a bit painful, but the Big Red took advantage of it, with five coming in Sunday’s victory. Nebraska would also steal three bases.
The main takeaway
The Huskers got the job done against a strong Beaver ball club. It was really pretty at times, and it was about as ugly as it gets during others. The bats fighting back is a good sign, yet the high percentage of being fanned at the plate could be something to watch, as it’s cost the Big Red many contests this season.
Nebraska’s pitching has its strengths and weaknesses, and don’t kid yourself, Oregon State’s lineup was the best that the Huskers have faced all season. The majority of their players were hitting above .300.
It’s baseball; pitchers have rough outings and hitters are going to strike out, but if the Big Red wants to get themselves to the postseason, minimizing some of these high percentages could put them in a better position.
Nebraska will return to action for the midweek interstate showdowns. Creighton comes to town on Tuesday. Then, the Huskers will hit I-80 to take on UNO in Omaha. Rutgers will travel to Lincon for this coming weekend’s Big Ten series.
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