Nebraska baseball (28-9, 12-3) put itself back in the win column Tuesday night with a 5-4 defeat against in-state rival Creighton at home. Before that mid-week matchup, the Huskers went 1-2 at Oregon and lost to Kansas in another close game at home the week before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nebraska dropped out of the top 25 with those losses, but now it has a chance to redeem itself this weekend at home against No. 12 USC (30-8, 13-5).<\/p>\n
Here are three things to look forward to for the series:<\/p>\n
Ty Horn will relieve, not start, this weekend<\/p>\n
After the Creighton game, head coach Will Bolt said he is unsure of who the starters will be against USC this weekend. One might think a head coach should have a good idea as to who will be on the mound against a team that is ranked directly behind them in the Big Ten standings<\/a>, but his uncertainty stems from solid reasoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sophomore right-hander Pryce Bender<\/a> started against the Bluejays but had a disappointing performance, giving up four hits for three runs and was pulled after the first inning. One thing led to another, and in the top of the fifth, regular Friday starter and junior right-hander Ty Horn<\/a> took the bump for the Huskers.<\/p>\n Horn\u2019s two strikeouts through three innings, while only giving up one hit for no runs, fueled Nebraska\u2019s win over its rival. But this also means that he will most likely be coming in from the bullpen against the Trojans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, right-handers redshirt junior Cooper Katskee<\/a> and redshirt sophomore Carson Jasa<\/a> will retain their starting roles, and it is possible that sophomore righty Gavin Blachowicz<\/a> could return to the weekend rotation after taking over mid-week duties for almost the past month.\u00a0<\/p>\n While moving Horn to the bullpen might seem like a demotion for the experienced pitcher, it could be the answer the Huskers have been looking for on the mound.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of the four starting pitchers, Horn has the highest ERA of 4.37, and the team has had some close calls on recent Fridays. Against a Penn State tied for last in the Big Ten on April 4, he gave up seven runs off two home runs through three innings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moving forward, Horn is just focused on how he can help his teammates and is excited for the opportunity to play a talented team from the West Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to treat anybody that they’re any better than anybody else,\u201d Horn said postgame Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna go out there and give it all heart and nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n USC is coming off its worst loss of the season\u00a0<\/p>\n While Nebraska was fending off Creighton Tuesday night, the Trojans had their hands full with Long Beach State, a program that is currently second-to-last in the Big West standings but rallied to beat USC 5-3 on its home field.\u00a0<\/p>\n That moves the Trojans to 30-8 on the year, but a few wins against the Huskers this weekend could improve their conference record to 13-5. USC started the year 19-0, its best start in program history, and will be looking to recapture some of that early-season success when it faces off against Nebraska, especially from the mound.<\/p>\n Regular Friday starter and junior lefty Mason Edwards is 6-0 through nine starts and has a 1.35 ERA. Sophomore righty Grant Govel follows suit on Saturdays with a 2.13 ERA and is 7-0 on the bump.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another sophomore righty, Andrew Johnson, will most likely close out the weekend by starting on Sunday. He has a 3.66 ERA and is the only weekend starter for the Trojans to have a loss on his record of 3-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Huskers have fared well against some talented Big Ten arms, but Edwards, Govel and Johnson will prove to be the toughest three-day stretch they\u2019ve had to face yet. They\u2019re going to need some extra juice at the plate this weekend, and there\u2019s one guy in particular who could bring just that.<\/p>\n Hitters to watch: Nebraska\u2019s Drew Grego and USC\u2019s Augie Lopez<\/p>\n One could argue that freshman right fielder Drew Grego<\/a> single-handedly won that game against Creighton on Tuesday. His two-run homer in the second paired with a two-out RBI single the next inning that started a chain of three RBI singles in a row put Nebraska on the board and gave it the lead for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t Grego\u2019s first instance of stringing together a great night at the plate. In fact, he\u2019s been holding his own terrifically as a freshman and is hitting .301 on the year with 22 RBIs, five doubles and five home runs through the 30 games he\u2019s played in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve played some great teams,\u201d Grego said postgame Tuesday. \u201cBut we all trust each other so much that it kind of gives us a sigh of relief, no matter what happens in the game. (USC) is a great team, but we\u2019re gonna play great ball all week at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Other Husker batters, such as junior lead-off man Mac Moyer<\/a> and senior shortstop Dylan Carey<\/a>, have been having great hitting years as well, but it looks like a guy such as Grego in the seventh spot of the order can be the difference in close games.<\/p>\n As for the Trojans, all eyes will be on clean-up hitter Augie Lopez, who is hitting .277 through 33 games and leads the team with both 11 home runs and 33 RBIs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nebraska\u2019s pitching changes and USC\u2019s recent upset are brewing this series up to be a high-scoring storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus, followed by Saturday\u2019s game at 2 p.m., also on Big Ten Plus. Sunday\u2019s series finale begins at noon on Nebraska Public Media.\u00a0<\/p>\n