Nebraska (26-16-1, 9-5-1) vs. Rutgers (17-25, 5-7)
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park- Lincoln, NE
Friday, May 5th 6:35 PM Radio: AM 590 ESPN Omaha
Saturday, May 6th 2:05 PM Radio: AM 590 ESPN Omaha
Sunday, May 7th 12:05 PM Radio: AM 590 ESPN Omaha
THE TEAMS
Rutgers enters the weekend in desperation mode as they are currently sitting 9th in the conference standings. With only eight teams qualifying for the Big Ten tournament in Bloomington, Rutgers has to make up ground fast. They have seen plenty of offensive production but the pitching and defense has been a weakness. The Scarlet Knights have committed the most errors out of any team in the Big Ten.
Nebraska has won five of their last seven games and are sitting two games behind conference leader Maryland. The Huskers continue to pitch at a high level with one of the best staffs in the league. The offense has been picking up in recent weeks too. Defensively, Nebraska comes with the third fewest errors in the conference.
WEEKEND PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri: NU- (Jr.) RHP Jake Hohensee (5-2, 3.16 ERA) vs. RU- (Sr.) RHP Gaby Rosa (3-4, 6.41 ERA)
Sat: NU- (Sr.) RHP Derek Burkamper (3-4, 3.92 ERA) vs. RU- (Soph) RHP Serafino Brito (3-7, 4.63 ERA)
Sun: NU- (Jr.) LHP Jake Myers (7-1, 2.73 ERA) vs. RU- (Jr.) RHP John O'Reily (4-6, 5.84 ERA)
THE COACHES
Rutgers: Joe Litterio (4th season) 93-109-1
Nebraska: Darin Erstad (6th season) 202-135-1
B1G Standings
1- Maryland 13-5-0
2- Nebraska 9-5-1
T3- Michigan 9-6-0
T3- Minnesota 9-6-0
T3- Iowa 9-6-0
T3- Purdue 9-6-0
7- Indiana 10-7-1
8- Michigan State 7-8-0
9- Rutgers 5-7-0
10- Northwestern 6-9-0
T11- Illinois 5-10-0
T11- Ohio State 5-10-0
13- Penn State 2-13-0
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Rutgers is tied for the 5th best offense in the conference with a team batting average of .278. Senior Mike Carter leads the conference in hits (64) and has one of top batting averages (.368). The Rutgers pitching staff ranks dead last with a team ERA of 6.19. The defensive numbers have not faired much better with a league worst 76 errors.
Nebraska has stayed in the middle of the pack offensively with a .270 batting average but has seen a rise in conference play. The Huskers pitching staff currently has the second best team ERA at 3.58. NU has been led by Jake Myers who improved to 7-1 after Sunday's victory over Ohio State.
