15 Feb 2019 Game 1: Nebraseball at UC-Riverside (NU wins 21-6)

[k9_r]

Here's a thing, we've opened three years in a row now vs Riverside. Why? Gotta be the Percival/Erstad connection, right?

So, these two are old friends from their days with the Angels including that time in the 2002 World Series where, game 7 - 9th inning, Percival on the mound throws the pitch which flied out into Erstad's glove for the final out. Celebration follows.

That will cement a friendship.

 

[saluno22]

Last night's win has us tied for 5th in the Warren Nolan Live RPI ...





... with 121 other teams.

 

[saluno22]

Here's a thing, we've opened three years in a row now vs riverside. Why? Gotta be the Percival/Erstad connection, right?

So, these two are old friends from their days with the Angels including that time in the 2002 World Series where, game 7 - 9th inning, Percival on the mound throws the pitch which flied out into Erstad's glove for the final out. Celebration follows.

That will cement a friendship.

Yeah. There was a line in an LJS article about Percival texting photos of UC-Riverside's sun-splashed field to jab at the fact Nebraska had yet to practice outdoors. That probably wouldn't be happening if they weren't true friends.

 

[k9_r]

Yeah. There was a line in an LJS article about Percival texting photos of UC-Riverside's sun-splashed field to jab at the fact Nebraska had yet to practice outdoors. That probably wouldn't be happening if they weren't true friends.

Old buddy Troy probably wishes he hadn't texted that. Should be eating that pic right about now.

 

[sklarbodds]

Last night's win has us tied for 5th in the Warren Nolan Live RPI ...





... with 121 other teams.

I'll book my tickets in Omaha

 

[gunNrun]

Erstad mentioned on the radio show...
The Angels organization went in a different direction, so UC Riverside and Nebraska are doing a Home and Away series. So the Highlanders are suppsably coming to Lincoln in 2020 sometime. If true, Huskers should have a different opening opponent next season.

 

[Wyldcard]

Agreed, I do feel it is possible though for this team. Oddly enough Chad still has a 0.00 ERA since all 5 of those runs were technically unearned.

So, have my posts from the past couple of days been spot on to this point?

 

[RobsterMobster]

So, have my posts from the past couple of days been spot on to this point?

I’m not sure what posts you are referring to exactly so you may need to clarify. What I would say regardless of ones posts is it’s one game and nothing any of us say really matters at this point.

 

[saluno22]

I’m not sure what posts you are referring to exactly so you may need to clarify. What I would say regardless of ones posts is it’s one game and nothing any of us say really matters at this point.

Indeed on the bold part. I remember a couple articles published last year about the best start in years, then we finished with our worst record since the Anderson days.

 

[Wyldcard]

I’m not sure what posts you are referring to exactly so you may need to clarify. What I would say regardless of ones posts is it’s one game and nothing any of us say really matters at this point.

This was game 1 yes against their Friday starter who was their starter last year and it's harder to hit against a finesse pitcher and he was throwing every pitch known to mankind last night lol. we've got hitters on this team, sure we had help with walks but they are proving to be able to hit pitches such as curves and breaker's pretty well and something we haven't very good at doing for several years when it comes to them which is really encouraging. The question was answered albeit game 1 was if they could hit the ball. 20 hits show's they can and will get better each game. By the time we hit conference play imo, we are gonna be a real biotch to deal with. I think by seasons end, we may be better than anyone expected barring anymore injuries.

 

[saluno22]

Highlight video from last night...

 

[sklarbodds]

This was game 1 yes against their Friday starter who was their starter last year and it's harder to hit against a finesse pitcher and he was throwing every pitch known to mankind last night lol. we've got hitters on this team, sure we had help with walks but they are proving to be able to hit pitches such as curves and breaker's pretty well and something we haven't very good at doing for several years when it comes to them which is really encouraging. The question was answered albeit game 1 was if they could hit the ball. 20 hits show's they can and will get better each game. By the time we hit conference play imo, we are gonna be a real biotch to deal with. I think by seasons end, we may be better than anyone expected barring anymore injuries.

Let's see if it holds up in May. One game or one series even doesn't mean anything in baseball.

 

[RobsterMobster]

This was game 1 yes against their Friday starter who was their starter last year and it's harder to hit against a finesse pitcher and he was throwing every pitch known to mankind last night lol. we've got hitters on this team, sure we had help with walks but they are proving to be able to hit pitches such as curves and breaker's pretty well and something we haven't very good at doing for several years when it comes to them which is really encouraging.

It was a very nice start offensively and I do feel having Ledbetter more involved has helped a ton. Kid knew how to hit with the best of them. I think the improved offseason requirements and a little less Fortnight has also helped.

Like I had been saying for a year now, this Freshman class is pretty good and has the potential to give us a big boost if they continue to progress. The improvement by last years Freshman class along with the usual suspects in Roskam, Altavilla, and Mojo would be huge if that continues.

At the same time the real test will come next weekend, the weekend after that, and in May as @sklarbodds stated. I predict Riverside to finish around .500 record wise this year.

Defense is a work in progress but that’s somewhat expected this early in the year. Pitching will be the main thing I’ll be watching the rest of this weekend.

As @saluno22 said, baseball is a season and that’s what we will need to keep in mind after a great game and after a bad game. Win or lose the expectations remain the same by the end of the year. However, hard work and effort is a great foundation for any baseball team.

There really isn’t anything someone on this board has posted that someone else hasn’t also posted at one point. I think most of us are just ready to see it all play out. The off season felt to last way too long.

 

[Wyldcard]

Let's see if it holds up in May. One game or one series even doesn't mean anything in baseball.

That I do know, Riverside wasn't very good last year and if last night was any indication of how the rest of the series is gonna go, We may just roll imo!

 

[Wyldcard]

It was a very nice start offensively and I do feel having Ledbetter more involved has helped a ton. Kid knew how to hit with the best of them. I think the improved offseason requirements and a little less Fortnight has also helped.

Like I had been saying for a year now, this Freshman class is pretty good and has the potential to give us a big boost if they continue to progress. The improvement by last years Freshman class along with the usual suspects in Roskam, Altavilla, and Mojo would be huge if that continues.

At the same time the real test will come next weekend, the weekend after that, and in May as @sklarbodds stated. I predict Riverside to finish around .500 record wise this year.

Defense is a work in progress but that’s somewhat expected this early in the year. Pitching will be the main thing I’ll be watching the rest of this weekend.

As @saluno22 said, baseball is a season and that’s what we will need to keep in mind after a great game and after a bad game. Win or lose the expectations remain the same by the end of the year. However, hard work and effort is a great foundation for any baseball team.

There really isn’t anything someone on this board has posted that someone else hasn’t also posted at one point. I think most of us are just ready to see it all play out. The off season felt to last way too long.

We may not find out how good or bad we are util next weekend against Oregon St. I just hope Luensmann shakes the jitters he had last night by next Thursday. When he is on his game, it's hard to hit him. I think his Tommy John surgery may still be in his head making him hesitant, same mindset as coming back from a torn ACL, worrying about not wanting to hurt it again. IMO

 

[RobsterMobster]

We may not find out how good or bad we are util next weekend against Oregon St. I just hope Luensmann shakes the jitters he had last night by next Thursday. When he is on his game, it's hard to hit him. I think his Tommy John surgery may still be in his head making him hesitant, same mindset as coming back from a torn ACL, worrying about not wanting to hurt it again. IMO

I would agree, Chad may take a few starts to get back into form. Just hoping he keeps his confidence if he does start out rocky.

I also have to assume we will see Curry in the starting lineup at some point as well. Kids got the goods. At the same time it’s a nice benefit having a quality long relief option in your bullpen just in case the starter doesn’t last long. That used to be Reece, so somebody will have to fill that void this year.

 

[Wyldcard]

I would agree, Chad may take a few starts to get back into form. Just hoping he keeps his confidence if he does start out rocky.

I also have to assume we will see Curry in the starting lineup at some point as well. Kids got the goods. At the same time it’s a nice benefit having a quality long relief option in your bullpen just in case the starter doesn’t last long. That used to be Reece so somebody will have to fill that void this year.

Man to do I wish we still had Hoensee and McSteen.

 

[saluno22]

We may not find out how good or bad we are util next weekend against Oregon St. I just hope Luensmann shakes the jitters he had last night by next Thursday. When he is on his game, it's hard to hit him. I think his Tommy John surgery may still be in his head making him hesitant, same mindset as coming back from a torn ACL, worrying about not wanting to hurt it again. IMO

Starting and relieving are completely different animals (obvious statement of the day haha), so to that degree with Luensmann, next week may not be a good gauge, either.

< This part goes beyond your post > I stand by we can have a successful season even if we start 4-7. I think the 08-10 March home series with Baylor will tell us a lot more about this team than the first three weekends. Not saying we should settle for mediocrity on the national scene, but our program is what we know it is given our conference and recent-year results: A well-funded mid-major by baseball standards. By the Baylor series, our pitchers returning from injury should have sufficient reps to shake off rust/gain confidence (even if we suffer losses to great teams) and newcomers should have a much better feel for the college game.

By the middle of the season, my expectation is we will be one of the better all-around teams in the conference. To echo what @RobsterMobster said, I want to see confidence, consistency, and good attitude (not getting too high after games like last night, not getting down in the dumps when we lose a heartbreaker or get blown out) these first three weeks and not caring so much about wins and losses against the elite teams we will be facing. The good thing about last night from an attitude perspective is even though we won by 15 runs, our defense got sloppy when the outcome was still uncertain; that alone should be enough to keep the team focused on improving rather than puffing their chests due to largely UC-Riverside gifts that blew the game open.

 

[Wyldcard]

I honestly believe OSU isn't gonna sweep us and we'll split the series. I think we split between Texas Tech/Mississippi St. Don't know which we will win.

 

[saluno22]

I would agree, Chad may take a few starts to get back into form. Just hoping he keeps his confidence if he does start out rocky.

I also have to assume we will see Curry in the starting lineup at some point as well. Kids got the goods. At the same time it’s a nice benefit having a quality long relief option in your bullpen just in case the starter doesn’t last long. That used to be Reece, so somebody will have to fill that void this year.

It used to be Matt Waldron as well (man, I still remember that 2017 conference tournament loss to Iowa, Matt Waldron was nails in long relief). Seems like we've had decent success finding long relief, but certainly our starting rotation was beyond suspect last season. Without solid starting pitching, teams aren't going anywhere in the postseason (or not making the postseason). But it's always great to have long relief guys to stop the bleeding and/or eat innings on emergency bases when a starter gets roughed up early.

 

[saluno22]

Man to do I wish we still had Hoensee and McSteen.

I think you mean Engelken (?) rather than Hohensee. Hohensee was a sixth-year player.

Having McSteen back would have been fantastic, but with his injuries and limited pro prospects, can't blame him (or anyone) from moving on.

 

[sklarbodds]

I honestly believe OSU isn't gonna sweep us and we'll split the series. I think we split between Texas Tech/Mississippi St. Don't know which we will win.

Man I hope you're right, I would be extremely happy if that happened.

 

[Wyldcard]

I think you mean Engelken (?) rather than Hohensee. Hohensee was a sixth-year player.

Having McSteen back would have been fantastic, but with his injuries and limited pro prospects, can't blame him (or anyone) from moving on.

No I mean Hoensee as he was the best arm we had and could actually throw deep into games in relief. It sucks as I wish he was here this year. I know he was a 6th year player.