Series Preview
Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-3) at #7 Auburn Tigers (7-1)
Location: Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park, Auburn, AL
Dates: Friday, February 27th-Sunday, March 1st
Times (all CST): Feb. 27th @ 6pm, Feb 28th @ 2pm, Mar 1st @ 1pm
Head Coaches: Will Bolt (7th season, 174-129-1) & Butch Thompson (11th season, 331-233-1)
TV/Stream: ESPN+/SEC Network+
Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App
Coach Butch Thompson took over
an Auburn team that despite having a ton of recent NCAA tournament success had failed to make the field for 3 straight postseasons. After missing the field again his first season, he has only done it once since. Coach Thompson has also led the team to two of its six College World Series appearances. The one thing that has eluded the Tigers in his 11 years is a conference title. Their last SEC title was in 1998. This team could be their best chance since.
This years version of the Tigers were in the same College Baseball series as Nebraska last week in Globe Life Field. Unlike Nebraska they were rarely challenged on their way to winning the weekend. They took out Kansas State 5-1, Florida State 8-5, and Louisville 10-6. Other than FSU putting up a 4 run first inning before going dormant until the 9th, Auburn was in control of every game.
While they were expected to be a good team, being ranked preseason #9 in D1Baseball.com’s top 25, the offense in particular got off to a really slow start prior to arriving in Arlington. A pair of 2-1 wins (with 1 bing in 10 innings) against Youngstown State is how the season began for the Tigers. They did finish the sweep with a 17-2 run rule victory in only 7 innings, but then came out and lost 8-0 to a “meh” Cincinnati team in the midweek. They also were losing with 2 outs in the 9th inning, needed a walk-off to beat West Georgia 4-3 in the midweek. Will they continue to be sleepy at home? Or did their trip to Globe Life wake their offense up?
Pitching Probables
Game 1: RHP Ty Horn (0-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Marciano (1-0, 0.82 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Carson Jasa (1-0, 5.06 ERA) vs. LHP Jackson Sanders (1-0, 3.27 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Gavin Blachowicz (1-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Petrovic (2-0, 2.70 ERA)
Through 2 starts, Ty Horn has done just about everything you could ask for in an ace, other than getting a bit deeper into games. He still seems to get a little too deep into counts trying to go for the strikeout each batter, and that has cost him an inning+ in each game probably. He nearly kept an extremely potent Louisville offense off the board, allowing a leadoff double in the 6th who would eventually score on the bullpen. Other than that, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks and 5 hits in 5+ innings of work against that team is something to build on. He left with the lead, which is all you can ask in a big game like that.
Carson Jasa continues to fill up the stat sheet. Through 2 games and 10.2 innings, he has struck out 17, walked 5 and allowed 6 earned runs. Coach Bolt admits he may keep him in a bit too long in his games because his “stuff” at that point in time is still better than what will come out of the pen fresh. He gets a little more wild the further he goes into games. Getting the walks and just overall balls out of the zone in check in the 5th and 6th innings will go a long way to improving his outings and the teams chances of winning his starts.
When asked about the Gavin Blachowicz and Cooper Katskee situation, Bolt quickly said, “Blachowicz isn’t going anywhere.” Katskee for the time being looks to be potentially a weekend bullpen guy and a mid week starter. Bolt points out it’s a long season, and thats where he started last season at before becoming a Friday starter and conference pitcher of the year. Blachowicz has done nothing but impress in his first 2 starts. Since adding a cutter/change and slurve to his fastball and curveball over the offseason, opponents have had major issues getting the barrel on his balls, with 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. His only hit given up against #16 Florida State was a solo shot from one of the top power hitters at the College Baseball Series.
Auburn went out in the transfer portal for some big time pitching prospects. Former Virginia Tech starter Jake Marciano is their Friday ace. He is a smooth lefty that doesn’t have a ton of power, staying mostly around 89-91 mph with his fastball, but still piles up the strikeouts. In 5 innings against Youngstown St, he struck out 12. Then against a potent Kansas State offense, he still struck out 8 in 6 innings of work, allowing zero runs on 2 hits. An easy way to think of him is peak Will Walsh pitching at the Big Ten Tournament. Thats the pounding of the strike zone, efficiency and pace he will pitch with. He has 18 walks in 71+ career innings.
A lot of how Auburn will do this season depends on their starters after Marciano. Saturday starter Jackson Saunders was one of the top pitching recruits in the country, but had an up and down year last season as a reliever. He had a 5.29 ERA and was upside down, giving up 13 walks with only 10 strikeouts in 17 innings. He has lived up to his billing to start this year however, striking out 17 and only walking 2 in his 11 innings. Alex Petrovic was a long shot to get a weekend rotation slot, but an injury to Griffin Graves jumbled up the staff at the last minute. Petrovic has been a reliever that piled up strikeouts, albeit in limited opportunities, pitching less than 30 innings combined over the pervious 2 seasons. He has yet to give up a walk this season, in his 10 innings. So the NU bats will have to be ready to swing.
Scouting Report
There are a number of guys to look at with regard to the Tigers’ offense. Maybe the best place to start is the player that just won Most Outstanding Player down in Arlington. Bristol Carter has really taken hold of the centerfield and leadoff spot for Auburn. The junior had a bit of a down year last year at Auburn, after being a Freshman All American the previous year at ECU. No such issue this year. He gets on base by any means necessary, as his .513 on-base percentage shows. He led the team with 14 stolen bases last season, and has been given the green light even more this season, already 6 for 6 on the season. He also hit a home run in the cavernous Globe Life Field, so he does have the ability to show some power.
The top returner everyone expects to put up some big numbers this season is Catcher/INF Chase Fralich. He was a Freshman All American as a catcher last season, batting .335 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs and 41 RBIs. He has been red hot to start the season, mainly at catcher, but also appearing at first base, a position the team is trying to find a consistent starter for. He is batting .500 on the year, with a 1.343 OPS and has a double, triple, and 2 home runs to go with 8 RBIs in just 8 games thus far.
The Tigers don’t have a lot of freshman, like most top teams in the portal era, but they do have a couple really talented ones trying to break into their lineup. Ethin Bingaman is the most talented of the bunch. He is rated as the 31st best player in his class, and the 6th best freshman to make it to school in the SEC. He has broken into the lineup at the previously mentioned first base and right field. He’s hitting .400 with 2 home runs, and is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. Oh, and he was also rated as the #4 right handed pitcher in his class, though he has yet to set foot on the mound for Auburn yet.
The bullpen has a good mix of experience within the program and new arrivals. In fact they have both competing for saves as a closer. Last season’s primary closer is RHP Ryan Hetzler. He had 8 saves last year with a 3.86 ERA. They added former Michigan State LHP Garrett Brewer. He already has 2 saves on the year, and has yet to allow a run in 3 appearances over 2.1 innings.
One arm out of the bullpen close to returning from injury that the Huskers are familiar with is former Creighton closer, Mason Koch. He only appeared in 3 games in 2025 before being sidelined with a wrist injury. They thought best case scenario was he was 5-6 weeks away when spring practice began 6 weeks ago. They want to be extra careful with him though, needing him to be full strength for the stretch run of the SEC schedule. So if I had to guess, he will remain shelved.
The defense is serviceable, but not the team’s overall strength, ranked 80th in the NCAA in fielding percentage at .979. Coach Thompson admits, his catchers need work at controlling the running game. If Nebraska gets things rolling offensively, they like to use their running game to bury people.
Series History
This is the first time these programs have met on the diamond.
On Deck
- Nebraska is 7-3 in their last 10 games against ranked teams, following the split with Louisville and FSU this past weekend.
- Dylan Carey is up to 50 career doubles after his offensive showcase in Arlington. He is fifth all time at Nebraska, 3 away from Alex Gordon for 4th, and 6 behind his skipper and NU record holder, Will Bolt.
