The Nebraska baseball team returns to the Lone Star State this weekend, as the Huskers battle No. 17 TCU in a three-game series on Friday, Feb. 25-27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
First pitch of the series opener is set for 6 p.m. (CT). The Huskers and Horned Frogs square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Last Time Out
Nebraska went 1-3 in the season-opening series at Sam Houston last weekend in Huntsville, Texas. The Huskers dropped the first two games before holding off the Bearkats in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader with a 12-9 victory. In Sunday’s series finale, Nebraska brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning but couldn’t convert, as the Huskers fell 6-3 to the Bearkats.
Next Up
Nebraska returns to Arlington next weekend for four games at UT Arlington, including two games each against the Mavericks and Northwestern State. Next weekend’s schedule includes non-traditional doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. The Huskers and Northwestern State meet at 11 a.m. on both days before the Big Red end each day against UT Arlington at 3 p.m.
Scouting the TCU Horned Frogs
• TCU enters the weekend ranked No. 17 with a 3-1 record after an 11-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night.
• Tommy Sacco leads the Horned Frog offense, hitting .533 with a pair of doubles and three RBI on the year. Brayden Taylor and Kurtis Byrne also have two doubles on the season, while David Bishop has knocked in a team-high nine RBI.
• Brett Walker is 1-0 on the season with 6.2 shutout innings and five strikeouts. Austin Krob has a team-high seven strikeouts in four shutout innings, while Riley Cornelio has a 3.38 ERA with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
• As a team, TCU is hitting .295 with 39 hits, six doubles, two homers and 32 runs. The Horned Frog pitching has team ERA of 2.62, while allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, and striking out 42 hitters in 34.1 innings.
• Head coach Kirk Saarloos is in first season at the helm of the Horned Frog program.
The Series
• TCU leads the all-time series over the Huskers, 4-0.
• The Horned Frogs swept Nebraska in a pair of doubleheaders in Fort Worth on March 27, 1989 and March 19, 1974.
Numbers to Know
7 — Freshman Luke Jessen had a team-high seven hits last weekend at Sam Houston. The Elkhorn, Neb., native hit a blistering .636 and scored three times for the Huskers.
10 — The Huskers had a combined 10 multi-hit games last weekend, including three-hit games from Luke Jessen, Colby Gomes and Max Anderson.
19– The Big Red have scored at least 10 runs in 19 of the 67 games since Bolt’s first year in Lincoln in 2020. Nebraska has also scored eight or more runs in 27 games.
11 — 11 different players made their Husker debut in last weekend’s season-opening series at Sam Houston.
Huskers in MLB Ballparks
• This weekend’s series at Globe Life Field marks the seventh Major League Stadium the Huskers have played in since 2000. In that time, Nebraska has posted a 22-14 record in 36 games.
• The Huskers have played games in the Metrodome (10-4), Target Field (4-4), The Ballpark in Arlington (4-3), PETCO Park (2-1), Minute Maid Park (1-2) and Kauffman Stadium (1-0).
Rely on the Pen
• The Nebraska bullpen had a combined ERA of 2.61, allowing just 11 runs (six earned) and striking out 21 last weekend at Sam Houston.
• 12 relievers combined to throw 20.2 innings, including Koty Frank, who recorded six strikeouts over a career-high 4.2 innings in Friday’s opener.
