Friday, April 8
Lincoln, Neb.
6:35 p.m.
Northwestern
at
Nebraska
Northwestern and Nebraska Set for B1G Weekend Series
4/7/2016 2:30:00 PM | Baseball
| NORTHWESTERN BASEBALL AT NEBRASKA | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | |
| Friday, April 8 | Nebraska | 6:35 p.m. CT | Lincoln, Neb. | BTN Plus | |
| Saturday, April 9 | Nebraska | 2:05 p.m. CT | Lincoln, Neb. | BTN Plus | |
| Sunday, April 10 | Nebraska | 1:05 p.m. CT | Lincoln, Neb. | BTN Plus | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUCatsBaseball and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (nucatsbaseball) | Facebook | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. — After wrapping up a five-game homestand Northwestern baseball will head back out onto the road for a Big Ten Conference series at Nebraska this season.
Northwestern (7-22, 1-5 B1G) will open up the set against the Cornhuskers (20-9, 5-1 B1G) on Friday, April 8 at 6:36 p.m. CT and follow it up with a game on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. CT and the series finale at 1:05 p.m. CT.
Northwestern will send Reed Mason (2-2, 4.28 ERA) to the bump for Friday's opener, while Dan Kubiuk (0-2, 4.45 ERA) will get the start on Saturday.
Mason has started a team-high seven games this season and leads the 'Cats in strikeouts with 25 in 33.2 innings pitched. Kubiuk will make his sixth start of the season on Saturday. The right-hander began the year in the bullpen and has appeared in 10 games, including NU's 6-5 win over Ohio State where he earned the save.
Northwestern has not yet announced a starter for Sunday's series finale.
Nebraska enters the weekend against the Wildcats having won 11 of its last 13 games. As a team, the Cornhuskers are hitting .302 at the plate and are led by Ben Miller, who paces the Big Ten with 48 hits on the campaign.
Nebraska boasts a 4.54 ERA in its 29 games this season. Northwestern is likely to see RHP Garret King (3-1, 5.19 ERA) in the opener, followed by LHP Jake McSteen (2-0 3.73 ERA) on Saturday and RHP Matt Waldron (4-1, 3.65 ERA) on Sunday.
Reece Eddins (3-1) has appeared in 13 games for Nebraska, all of which have been relief appearances. His 0.57 ERA in 31.2 IP leads the Big Ten.
MORE NOTES.
HOME IS WHERE THE … HITS ARE
Freshmen middle infielders Willie Bourbon and Jack Dunn have been on a tear since opening up the new Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. In the five games, Bourbon and Dunn have combined for 11 hits, including a pair of home runs, 10 RBIs and seven runs.
Bourbon went 4-for-4 in the home opener with 2 RBIs and finished just a triple shy of the cycle. Dunn also just missed the cycle on Sunday when he went 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBIs.
BIG TIME BOURBON
The Wildcats have leaned on freshman Willie Bourbon for run production this season. The second baseman leads the team with 18 RBIs and is batting .387 with runners in scoring position. He has stepped up in critical situation as well; tallying six of his 18 RBIs with two outs.
TENFOLD
Northwestern has tallied 268 knocks in its 29 games, which ranks third among conference competitors. The Wildcats have eclipsed the 10-hit mark in 15 games this season. Northwestern has matched the team's single-game high mark of 17 hits on three occasions this season – vs. Butler (March 5) and at San Diego State (March 11/March 12).
HOPPY IS STILL HITTING
Matt Hopfner continues to be the workhorse in Northwestern's potent line up. The junior boasts a team-best .374 average with 40 hits on the season, including 11 that have gone for extra bases. Hopfner's hit total ranks him sixth in the Big Ten Conference and he has tallied 15 multi-hit games this season.
GRAND ENTRANCE
After beginning the season with 24 games on the road, Northwestern finally opened up the new Rocky and Berenice Miller Park on March 30. In the five games that the Wildcats have played in its new digs, the team has launched not one, but two grand slams.
On March 30, vs. Chicago State, sophomore catch Jack Claeys cleared the bases with a shot over the left field fence. It was the first home run hit in the new ballpark and first of his career. Just four days later, in the series finale against Michigan, freshman shortstop Jack Dunn took a bases-loaded pitch over the wall to bring home four runs. It was also the first home run of Dunn's career.
IRON 'CATS
Northwestern's infield has had a consistent look this season. Three of the Wildcats' infielders have started and played in every game this season. Freshman shortstop Jack Dunn, sophomore third baseman Connor Lind and senior first baseman Zach Jones have been in the starting lineup for all 29 contests, while freshman second baseman Willie Bourbon has played in every game and started 28.
MIDDLE RELIEF
Since opening Big Ten play at Ohio State on March 25, Northwestern has seen solid outings from fresh, young arms out of the bullpen.
Junior transfer Josh Davis has appeared in five games during that stretch and has tossed 5.0 innings, only allowing a pair of hits and no runs.
Freshman Mack Rosman came out of the bullpen in NU's games against Ohio State (March 26) and Michigan (April 3) to pitch a 3.2 innings. The right-hander struck out four batters and didn't allow a hit or a run during those appearances.
Rosman's classmate Danny Katz stepped up in a big way last week in the club's home opener. The Winnetka, Ill., native entered the game against Chicago State and went on to pitch 5.0 innings and pick up the first victory of his career.
CONNOR CAN
Connor Lind had his streak of consecutively reaching base halted at 24 games over the weekend series against Michigan. Lind failed to reach base in the second game of Friday's doubleheader. The last game Lind did not reach base before Friday was on February 20 against Nevada.
Lind has been effective at the plate in Big Ten games this season. The sophomore has seven hits in six conference games.
QB to RHP
Dan Kubiuk walked-on to the baseball program following the completion of the 2015-16 football season. The Northwestern quarterback began the season in the bullpen for the Wildcats, but has since transitioned to a starting role. Kubiuk has appeared in nine games with five starts.
At Ohio State, Kubiuk entered in the ninth inning of Friday night's game and struck out the only batter he faced to earn the save and lift NU to a 6-5 victory. The Barrington, Illinois, native then started on the bump in Sunday's series finale Sunday versus the Buckeyes and went 5.2 innings, surrendering just four hits and two runs.
HOSCHEIT AND HIS HOMERS
Junior right fielder Joe Hoscheit leads the team with three home runs this season. Hoscheit likes to jump on pitchers early as two of his dingers this season have come in the top of the first inning. The three home runs this season match his total from the 2015 campaign and give him 10 for his career.
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