Nebraska
Sherman: Echoes of a bygone era stir postseason hope for Nebraska baseball
LINCOLN, Neb. — Seven years of postseason magic began a quarter-century ago for Nebraska baseball. It matters more today than at any time since the run came to an end.
I’ll explain.
But first, a story from one of the peak moments of that era: On June 2, 2001, Nebraska hosted Rice in Game 2 of the only super regional ever played at Buck Beltzer Field.
It was, in fact, the final game at the rickety venue, which was quickly razed to make room for football practice space as Dave Van Horn’s baseball program upgraded into its new Haymarket digs. But as the early innings unfolded with a first trip to the College World Series in reach for Nebraska, another day at “The Buck” appeared inevitable.
Rice sent Kenny Baugh to the mound. The hard-throwing right-hander was drafted with the 11th pick of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers three days after his final collegiate appearance that Saturday.
Baugh never played in the big leagues amid the need for shoulder surgery. Part of the reason for his trouble, undeniably, remains buried in Lincoln.
He threw 171 pitches in 8 ⅓ innings against Nebraska. Let that sink in.
None of the first 11 plate appearances for the Huskers ended with a ball in play. Jeff Leise led off the top of the first for Nebraska. It was the visiting team after dispatching the Owls, 7-0, one day prior in the series opener.
Leise struck out. The outstanding player at the Lincoln Regional from the previous week, he walked back toward the third-base dugout. Teammates looked to him for a report on Baugh.
“Good luck,” Leise said he told them, recounting the memory this week. “I didn’t really have much to add other than that. He was mid-90s with his fastball, but it looked harder than that, and he had a power curve.”
Baugh fought his control. Still, several of those 2001 Huskers, in rewatching the game a few years ago, traded texts in wonderment during the replay of the late innings over how Nebraska managed to beat the Owls. The Huskers scored three runs against Baugh in the ninth to take a 6-5 lead and won it in the 10th.
Junior shortstop Will Bolt caught the final out to ignite a dogpile.
The Huskers slayed a dragon. Rice beat Nebraska 16-2 four months earlier in the first game of that season. After another dogpile last Sunday in Omaha when Nebraska won the Big Ten tournament with Bolt at the helm, the Huskers’ resilience and competitive fire echoed a bygone era.
“A lot of memories come flooding back,” Bolt said.
GO DEEPER
Nebraska baseball enters regular-season finale with postseason hopes still on the line
Now, the question is, can they travel a similar path in June?
Van Horn, Bolt’s old coach who has run the show at Arkansas since 2003, masterfully designed his Nebraska program to play with a collective chip on its shoulder.
“People didn’t think much of us when they saw us,” said Leise, a first-team All-American outfielder in 2002 who now provides baseball commentary for the Big Ten Network.
From 1999 to 2005, Nebraska won four Big 12 tournaments. Three times out of the four, the Huskers lost their first games in Oklahoma City, then stormed back to raise a trophy.
These Huskers did the same last week. Instead of Chad Wiles, R.D. Spiehs and Scott Fries who ate innings unexpectedly, it was Will Walsh, Drew Christo and Jackson Brockett. In place of Dan Johnson and Jed Morris who smashed home runs, it was Josh Caron and Gabe Swansen.
“There are certain attributes, certain traits that all (championship teams) have,” Bolt said Sunday. “Toughness is at the top of the list. Talent, you’ve gotta have it. You’ve gotta have the dudes. You’ve gotta have the players.
“The separator is the toughness piece of it, just the unwillingness to waver from a process of showing up and having a job to do.”
In Bolt’s time as a player, Nebraska capitalized on the momentum gained from its second and third Big 12 tourney championships to win regionals. Trips to the CWS followed league tourney titles in 2001 and 2005. Texas beat the Huskers in 2002 to win the Big 12 tournament in Arlington, Texas, before both squads advanced to the CWS.
I had a front-row seat for the rise of Nebraska baseball, reporting on those teams daily during the postseason for the Omaha World-Herald. What struck me was not the heroics on the diamond that put the Huskers over the top in do-or-die games.
It was their composure and togetherness. They were more of a force off the field than on it. I’ve seen more teams like them in decades of watching the CWS up close. Many hoisted trophies in Omaha.
“You can tell this team is close,” Leise said. “They go to bat for each other. When things get tough, they fight through adversity. We played that way. We practiced that way. There was a level of excellence that everybody strived for.”
Ohio State flattened Nebraska 15-2 in the opening game for both teams at this year’s Big Ten tournament. Just as the Huskers responded after several difficult defeats in April and May, they won last week behind ace pitcher Brett Sears. He beat Purdue, and then Nebraska went to work in ending the stays of Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State.
“That confidence and that experience,” Bolt said, “that postseason feel, the butterflies, all of that they’re taking with them this week.”
Championship numbers. 📊🏆 pic.twitter.com/nIS5CWp0cM
— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 29, 2024
The Huskers head to the Stillwater Regional as the No. 2 seed of four teams, set to face Florida on Friday at 2 p.m.
Sears will be on the mound, ready to slay a dragon.
LSU beat the Gators last year in the decisive third game of the CWS championship series. This year, Florida still hits home runs like a national title contender. But it’s 28-27 and snuck into the 64-team field.
“We’ll play anybody in the country and it’s not going to change our approach,” Christo said. “We’re going to show up and be the same team every day.”
That these Huskers last week showed a resemblance to the best teams in school history — with a coach who connects one era to the other — offers hope of a memorable June on the horizon.
(Photo of Caleb Clark: Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)
Nebraska
No. 24 Nebraska wins slugfest over Indiana
A windy day led to a wild slugfest at Hawks Field Saturday, but No. 24 Nebraska baseball knocked off Indiana, 12-7, clinching the conference series for the Cornhuskers while running Nebraska’s home record to 11-0.
The Huskers scored three runs in the first and two in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. The Hoosiers answered with three in the sixth and one in the seventh to cut the NU lead to 5-4. Nebraska took control of the game with seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to grow the lead to 12-4. IU scored one in the eighth, but drew no closer.
Drew Grego was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Dylan Carey drove in five runs and hit a home run, while always drawing a pair of walks. Case Sanderson was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a pair of walks. Jeter Worthley added a 2-for-4 showing with an RBI and a walk. Carson Jasa (5-1) earned the win, throwing 5.2 innings for NU. He allowed four hits while striking out 10 and walking five. For Indiana, Owen ten Oever was 1-for-3 with three RBI. Cooper Malamazian was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Huskers aim for the sweep Sunday at Hawks Field against Indiana. First pitch is slated for noon with pregame coverage at 11:30 a.m. on KLIN.
Nebraska
No Kings protests return to Nebraska, draw hundreds and thousands
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Hundreds of Nebraskans protested against the Trump administration Saturday along Nebraska Parkway in Lincoln, and thousands protested near Northwest Radial Highway in Omaha as part of No Kings demonstrations statewide.
The third iteration of No Kings protests organized border to border gatherings to vent displeasure at President Donald Trump and his administration’s policy decisions. The Lincoln protest was held on the Helen Boosalis Trail between North 27th Street and North 56th Street.
“I don’t like what’s going on … I know it’s not the world I want to live in,” said Ford Kloepper, a 17-year-old Lincoln resident.
Kloepper said people his age are going to take the “brunt” of Trump’s “mistakes.” He pointed to the recent U.S. conflict in Iran as a motivator to protest for him, as he doesn’t want to get “drafted into a war in the Middle East for no reason at all.”
Many of the protesters, much like previous demonstrations, held anti-Trump signs with slogans like, “Trump lies” and “Stop Trump, save democracy.” Others held American flags and wore costumes. Volunteers from different groups gathered signatures for ballot initiatives and at least one candidate. One of the petitions sought to let voters decide on a state constitutional amendment requiring larger majorities to repeal or change any law passed by voters. Volunteers for nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn collected signatures to get him on the November ballot.
Organizers planned 18 protests across Nebraska. In Omaha, the rally was held at Gallagher Park, with thousands of protesters filling the sidewalks and grassy areas near the intersection of Maple Street and the Northwest Radial.
Organizers said the spot let protesters draw attention to historic Benson and all of the restaurants, galleries and coffee shops that have made the neighborhood a cultural destination since 1887. Among the crowd filled with a variety of ages and races was Lorin and Elwin Moseman, waving signs that said, “End Wars Before Wars End Us” and “No Kings No ICE.”
It was the Mosemans’ third anti-Kings rally, and despite the chill of the day, they said they wouldn’t have missed it.
“It could have been an ice storm,” said Elwin, who was motivated in particular by “the Epstein files and Trump being in them, this stupid war we’ve got involved with Iran.”
His wife, Lorin, said she came to “stand up for democracy.”
“I want to show up, stand up and speak out about our country,” she said, decrying “leadership incompetency from the very beginning.”
She said the nation needs a presidential job description and interview, and she was not short on words to describe her disgust and disappointment about current leadership: “Shameful, disgusting, exhausting.”
“We’re in a broken world,” she said.
Nearby, a bundled up woman in a wheelchair held onto a sign that said, “I’m mad about everything.”
Sara Peterson led buses carrying about 75 protesters from First United Methodist Church of Omaha. She said people felt a sense of unity and joy seeing the chanting crowd, which she said reflected her group’s makeup — diverse in age, ethnicity and political party.
“We’re not alone,” she said “It’s an exciting day to be a part of.”
Peterson called the rally a “tangible sign of people coming together … for democracy.” Her group included church members and their friends — some of whom never participated in such a protest or rally before but felt the urge and were nudged “out of their comfort zone to take back our country and democracy.
Since the return of Trump for a second term, the anti-Trump group has organized national protests. Nebraska, much like the rest of the nation, saw multiple demonstrations throughout 2025.
The group also bought ads in local newspapers ahead of the Saturday protests. Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper had no immediate comment on the protests.
As Election Day gets closer, political observers have wondered how organizers might harness the political energy, whether the demonstrations might signal a coming wave of change at the polls, or whether momentum will fizzle after the crowds go home. Some have argued Democrats and progressives are good at mobilizing people for large-scale protests but have lagged conservatives in building local infrastructure to affect sweeping policy changes.
Back in Lincoln, Erik Betts, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, said the political winds are in Democrats’ favor, and he feels the possibilities are endless, even in a reliably red state. He said he thinks Osborn could beat Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, and he hopes the “blue” wave might be large enough to beat Nebraska 1st Congressional District Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, a former speaker of the Legislature.
“We need to really show up this time …We’ve got to take this motivation … and make a difference,” Betts said.
Betts said events like these help him stay hopeful because it reminds him that he is not alone.
“When you are in your own house and just scrolling on social media, it’s easy to feel just defeated,” Betts said. “So I come out as much to show support for everyone else, to feel that maybe a bunch of people agree with [me] and things can change.”
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Omaha woman fighting for medical debt relief in Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – For many families, beating a cancer diagnosis isn’t just about physical recovery. One Omaha cancer survivor is now using her voice to fight for medical debt relief across Nebraska.
Diana Gleisberg Meredith thought she had an upper respiratory infection in January 2024.
“In January of 2024, I felt like I had some kind of upper respiratory – maybe Pneumonia, RSV…” Meredith said.
She was sent from her primary care doctor to the emergency room to a hospital by ambulance in a five-hour span.
“The ER doctor identified that it was cancer, likely lymphoma,” Meredith said.
Diagnosis came as new mother started treatment
The diagnosis came as Meredith became a new mom. She knew she had to immediately start treatment.
“It’s life changing. You go from not having a care in the world to thinking you’re going to die and how is that going to affect my baby. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through emotionally, physically and mentally,” Meredith said.
Meredith said there’s an invisible burden that comes with the diagnosis.
“Not everybody is lucky to have the financial support or the human support to help them,” Meredith said.
Treatment costs could add up to millions
Meredith had 12 chemo treatments. Each used four medications, with one of those costing more than $130,000. For one family, this could add up to millions.
After Meredith entered remission, she began fighting for medical debt relief for other Nebraskans.
“Nebraskans all throughout the state and right here in Omaha – they’re having to make those decisions about should they save their life, or how do they care for their family,” Meredith said.
Advocacy group plans Washington trip
She works with Blood Cancer United alongside other Omaha mothers whose children are cancer survivors. They hold fundraisers like “Light the Night,” collecting thousands of dollars and supporters.
In May, they’ll travel to Washington, D.C., for training on how to push for change at the federal level.
“Our office of public policy gets together to help train these volunteers, help them get to know each other better and develop familiarity with what it means to go to a lawmakers office in Washington DC,” said Dana Bacon, senior director of government affairs for Blood Cancer United.
Meredith is fighting for lower interest rates on medical debt, no foreclosures on homes over medical debt and paused interest rates.
“It’s probably the most stressful thing that you’re going to go through, and then having to add medical debt on top of it? To be honest it’s hell,” Meredith said.
Other states are already protecting families from medical debt. Meredith said Nebraska should be next. Iowa is one of the states that limits liens and foreclosures when a family is drowning in medical debt.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
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