After wrapping up the regular season with a 2-1 series win over the Illinois Fighting Illini, the No. 20 Nebraska baseball team (37-18, 18-6 Big Ten) enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed at the Big Ten Tournament.
The Huskers open tournament play on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. when they meet the No. 7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (30-26, 10-14 Big Ten) at TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha.
The Huskers and Buckeyes met earlier this season for a three-game series in Lincoln, with NU sweeping the series. All three games were close, as Nebraska posted three-straight comeback victories, including a pair of walk-off wins, while NU’s starting rotation of Christian DeLeon, Chance Sinclair and Aaron Bummer each threw complete games.
Wednesday will be the fourth time in three years that the Huskers and Buckeyes have meet at the Big Ten Tournament.
At the 2012 tournament in Columbus, Ohio, the Buckeyes ended NU’s season with a 6-2 win in an elimination game. Last season in Minneapolis, the Buckeyes knocked the Huskers out of the winner’s bracket with a 3-2 win, before the Huskers eliminated the Buckeyes two days later, 5-0.
Nebraska Starter – Chance Sinclair
Chance Sinclair is scheduled to make his 15th start of the season on Wednesday, and will be in search of his 10 win of the year. The junior is 9-1 and ranks second in the Big Ten with a 1.88 ERA
Sinclair is coming off his 12th start of at least 6.0 innings, following a 7.0-inning outing against Illinois.
Sinclair is one of three pitchers in the Big Ten with an ERA under 2.00, as Joey DeNato leads the league with a 1.83 ERA and DeNato’s teammate Christian Morris ranks third with a 1.99 ERA.
In Sinclair’s start against the Buckeyes on April 5, the junior gave up three runs (all unearned) on seven hits and no walks in his first career complete game.
On the Radio this Week
Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call all of the action on the Husker Sports Network – including KLIN 1400 AM and 94.5 FM in Lincoln – and live on the Internet at Huskers.com or the Official Husker App.
TV Coverage for Ohio State Game
None
Web Streams for Ohio State Game
None
Nebraska-Ohio State History
The Huskers lead the all-time series against the Buckeyes, 8-6, with NU also holding a 7-5 advantage since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference for the 2012 season.
The all-time series started in 1991 when the Buckeyes earned a 5-2 victory in Phoenix, Ariz. The Huskers evened the series in 2001 with a 10-5 victory at the Mardi Gras Ball in Lafayette, La.
Ohio State won the first ever conference meeting, 10-2, in April 13, 2012, but the Huskers won the series in Columbus two days later with a doubleheader sweep.
The Buckeyes eliminated the Huskers from the 2012 Big Ten Tournament with a 6-2 victory.
Last season the Huskers took the first game of a three-game set in Lincoln, but then the Buckeyes came back and won the next two games, including a 6-5 winning in 11 inningson Saturday.
OSU knocked the Huskers into the losers bracket at the 2013 Big Ten Tournament, but the Huskers got revenge two days later with a 5-0 victory that eliminated Ohio State from postseason play.
Nebraska swept the Buckeyes this season in Lincoln, with NU’s weekend starters each throwing complete games.