Husker baseball ready for familiar Hawkeyes

It will mark five games between the two teams in nine days after they split a pair of games last weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Huskers won, 4-0, on Saturday before the Hawkeyes won, 3-1, on Sunday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN/Husker Athletics) — The Nebraska baseball team (5-3) heads to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend for three games against the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-5) at Duane Banks Field. It will mark five games between the two teams in nine days after they split a pair of games last weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Huskers won, 4-0, on Saturday before the Hawkeyes won, 3-1, on Sunday.

Both teams posted a 2-2 record last weekend in Minneapolis, as they split a pair of games with each other and split a pair of games with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

This week’s series is set to start on Friday, March 19, at 4 PM. It will be a duel between left-hander starters, as Cade Povich will match up against Trenton Wallace. Both pitchers are 1-0 on the year.

The middle game of the series is set for a 2 PM start on Saturday, with Nebraska’s Chance Hroch (2-0) meeting Iowa’s Drew Irvine (0-1). The series concludes on Sunday at 1 PM, and the scheduled starting pitchers are Shay Schanaman (1-0) for the Huskers and Duncan Davitt (1-0) for the Hawkeyes.

All three games this weekend will be carried on BTN+, a online streaming service through the Big Ten Network.

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Nick Handley call the action this weekend on the Learfield/IMG College Husker Sports Network. Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

Game Info

Friday, March 19 (4 PM)
Pitching: LHP Cade Povich (2-0) vs. LHP Trenton Wallace (1-0)
TV/Streaming: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Saturday, March 20 (2 PM)
Pitching: RHP Chance Hroch (2-0) vs. RHP Drew Irvine (0-1)
TV/Streaming: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Sunday, March 21 (1 PM)
Pitching: RHP Shay Schanaman (1-0) vs. RHP Duncan Davitt (1-0)
TV/Streaming: BTN+
Radio: Husker Sports Network

Last Time Out
Nebraska played four games last weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. including two each against the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Huskers started the trip with a 2-0 record, but then dropped a pair of games on Sunday to finish the weekend at 2-2.

3/12: Nebraska 10 – Ohio State 4
3/13: Nebraska 4 – Iowa 0
3/14: Ohio State 6 – Nebraska 4
3/14: Iowa 3 – Nebraska 1

Next Up
After playing 11 games away from Lincoln to start the season the Nebraska baseball team is set to host its home opener on Friday, March 26, at 2 PM. The Huskers will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers for four games, including one game on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.

3/26: Minnesota vs. Nebraska (2 PM)
3/27: Minnesota vs. Nebraska (DH starting at Noon)
3/28: Minnesota vs. Nebraska (Noon)

Leading Off
• 11 players have made their Husker debuts this season, including true freshmen  infielders Max Anderson, Brice Matthews and Jack Steil, as well as freshman pitcher Emmett Olson.

• Freshmen Max Anderson (.367) and Jack Steil (.333) rank first and second in batting average for the Huskers in 2021. Anderson is tied with Joe Acker for the team lead in RBIs with eight each.

• Nebraska’s defense leads the Big Ten with a .997 fielding percentage. The Huskers have committed one error on the year, while second-place Indiana has committed two. Every other team in the conference has committed six or more. Northwestern and Maryland have both committed a conference-high 14 errors.

• Griffin Everitt leads the Big Ten with three sacrifice bunts.

• Chance Hroch is one of six pitchers in the conference with two wins on the year.

• The Huskers rank 12th in the Big Ten with 10 doubles, but are fourth in hits (73) and fourth in home runs (10). Rutgers leads the league with 17 home runs.

Scouting the Hawkeyes
• The Hawkeyes split a pair of games against both the Huskers and Ohio State Buckeyes last weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. Entering the weekend the Hawkeyes are 3-5 on the year.

• Iowa opened the 2021 campaign with four games against the Michigan Wolverines in Round Rock Texas. Michigan took the season opener, 4-2, before Iowa responded with a 8-3 win in the first game of a doubleheader. Michigan took game two of the double dip, 7-0, and secured a series win with a 11-4 win in the series finale.

• In its five losses this year Iowa has been outscored 33-13. In its three wins Iowa holds a 15-4 advantage in runs.

• Senior infielder Matthew Sosa leads the Iowa offense with a .400 average (10-for-25), three doubles and seven RBIs.

• The Hawkeyes have a Big Ten low one home run this season, but rank sixth with 16 doubles.

• Iowa has relied on its pitching staff, which ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in multiple categories

– Fewest hits allowed (3rd – 56) (Indiana leads, 28)
– Fewest runs allowed (4th – 37) (Indiana leads, 15)
– Most strikeouts (4th – 82) (Ohio State leads, 97)
– Lowest Batting Average (3rd – .223) (Indiana leads, .127)

• Sunday’s starter Duncan Davitt saw the Huskers last weekend in the finale for both teams and was stellar. The sophomore from Indianola, Iowa, struck out six and didn’t allow a hit through 5.1 innings. The right hander ended his day by allowing one run on two hits and two walks over 6.0 innings

• Rick Heller is in his eighth season at Iowa, taking the reigns in 2014. The 2021 season marks Heller’s 35th as a collegiate head coach and enters the weekend with a career record of 907-708-4. Under Heller the Hawkeyes have advanced to two NCAA Regionals, and claimed the first Big Ten Tournament title in program history. The 2017 title was Iowa’s first since winning the regular season crown in 1990. Heller is one of two Iowa head coaches to lead the program to the NCAA Tournament.

• Since 2015 the Hawkeyes own a 95-27 record at Duane Banks Field.

The Series with Iowa
• Nebraska and Iowa have split 40 previous meetings, 20-20.

• The teams are 1-1 against each other in 2021.

• Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2012 the Hawkeyes hold a 14-10 advantage.

• The Huskers have lost three straight series in Iowa City and are 4-8 at Duane Banks Field since joining the Big Ten Conference. In four trips to Iowa City the Huskers lone series win came in 2013 when they went 2-1.

• Series History in Iowa City Since 2012
2019 – Iowa won 2-1
2015 – Iowa won 3-0
2014 – Iowa won 2-1
2013 – Nebraska won 2-1

• The teams have met twice at the Big Ten Tournament and split the games. Iowa won 2-0 in Bloomington, Ind., in 2017, while Nebraska won, 11-1, at TD Ameritrade Park in 2019.