LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska baseball has arrived at the final stop of an unusually twisted season. The Huskers will open a three-game series Thursday at Michigan State within reach of their third Big Ten championship in the past seven opportunities.

Nebraska is 32-18 and 14-7 in conference play. Its case for a spot in the NCAA postseason, to be unveiled May 27, appears strong, though it’s not entirely secure with the visit to MSU and a Big Ten tournament in Omaha still ahead.

On the surface, this is a satisfying position. Beneath the appearance of that smooth ride, Nebraska has endured a turbulent spring.

A window opened in March and April for the Huskers to earn an inside lane to go deeper into the postseason since they last won a regional in 2005. But now if Nebraska is to make a run, its path likely must resemble what coach Will Bolt’s team nearly pulled off in 2021. After winning the Big Ten, it pushed national power Arkansas to the final innings of a winner-take-all game in the Fayetteville regional.

“When you get knocked in the face,” outfielder Garrett Anglim said, “one thing you’ve got to do is get back up and show up the next day with that fight.”

Nebraska has absorbed its share of punches.

It’s not alone. The national picture entering the final days of the regular season is clouded. In some cases, it looks upside down. Perennial College World Series participants Vanderbilt, Florida, LSU, TCU and Texas are jumbled near Nebraska with RPIs from Nos. 28 to 44, according to warrennolan.com.

The Huskers come in at No. 31.

“Everybody has more access to talent than we’ve ever had in this sport,” Bolt said. “And it’s hard to win.”

Bolt’s team has won just three of seven series finales against Big Ten foes. Nebraska dropped all three games against in-state rival Creighton and lost 10-6 against lowly South Dakota State on May 8, surrendering six runs in the ninth inning. The midweek defeats crushed hopes the Huskers might sneak into a spot to host an NCAA regional next month.

Two days after the SDSU meltdown, the Nebraska bullpen surrendered seven runs in the ninth against Indiana to lose 10-5.

But, true to the roller-coaster form, the Huskers followed with a pair of clutch wins against the Hoosiers to capture the series and stay alive in the Big Ten race. Nebraska needs to perform one game better than Illinois in this final week to secure a share of the regular-season title and snag the No. 1 seed next week in Omaha.

The Illini (30-17, 15-6 Big Ten) play at Purdue (33-19, 13-8) to end the regular season.

When these Huskers convened before the season, they established a set of defining characteristics. Among the words they selected was resilient.

“Having done this for a while now, the teams that typically are the best are the ones that don’t get too high or too low,” Bolt said. “Baseball can lend itself to being such an emotional roller coaster if you allow it to — because there’s so much failure.”

High moments for Nebraska have included:

• A solid first month that featured a stockpile of road wins against opponents out of conference to boost the Huskers’ RPI.

• Six series wins in seven chances in Big Ten play, powered in weekend openers by ace right-hander Brett Sears, who takes a 7-0 mark and a 2.11 ERA into his next trip to the mound Thursday.

• A no-hitter against Kansas State on May 1 thrown by lefty Jackson Brockett, the first by a Nebraska pitcher in 70 years.

• Last weekend’s showing to close the home season. Cole Evans hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the 10th inning to even the series against Indiana on Saturday. Then Brockett and reliever Drew Christo pitched Nebraska to its second Sunday victory since the start of April.

“Three weeks ago, I didn’t make the travel roster.

Tonight, I threw the first no-hitter for Nebraska in 70 years.”

The No-Hitter by @JaxBrockett13

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— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 14, 2024

When the midweek losses accumulated or when the relievers struggled, Anglim said the Huskers didn’t dwell on the negativity.

“If things don’t go our way,” he said, “it’s not the end of the world. It’s time to focus on the next thing.”

Nebraska has advanced to the NCAA regional round five times in the past decade. Bolt, as a player with the Huskers, was a four-year starter and played on the first two CWS teams in program history in 2001 and 2002.

In teams ready to make a run in June, he said he’s seen the kind of resiliency evident in the Huskers — and a tendency for older players like Brockett, Christo and Anglim to emerge from the shadows to play major roles.

Bolt played his best baseball over the final few games of his collegiate career, he said.

“You’ve got nothing to lose at that point.”

Left-handed reliever Caleb Clark, effective over his past nine outings since mid-April after a rocky start to his sophomore season, said the vibe among the Huskers is one of “pure excitement” as they head to Michigan State.

The series opener Thursday in East Lansing is scheduled for 5 p.m. First pitch is planned for 4 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. The Big Ten Network will televise the final two games of the series, presumably for the Huskers with a lot at stake.

“These were the goals that we set forth at the start of the season,” Clark said. “Being in this position is something that we expected of ourselves.”

(Photo of Cole Evans courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)

Luz Schafersman juggles big duties as a farm wife, working mom and part-time student in Hooper, Nebraska. While pursuing a two-year degree at Northeast Community College in 2021, she asked an important question about her career goals.

The natural resources conservation profession she decided to pursue requires a four-year degree. So, she wondered, does the University of Nebraska–Lincoln provide opportunities to pursue a degree using remote instruction and receiving credit for previous two-year studies?

She was relieved to find that the answer is “yes.” After two years of online instruction with Husker faculty, she is set to graduate May 18 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science.

This opportunity was made possible, she said, through innovative academic pathways supported by articulation agreements between the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and most Nebraska state colleges, community colleges and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

Under CASNR’s A to B Program, students can transfer credits and choose an instructional path that aligns with their career aspirations. They complete their degree on a schedule that works best for them. CASNR created the Bachelor of Science in Applied Science degree to increase access and opportunities.

“I truly credit CASNR for the ability to tailor your educational experience to fit your need,” Schafersman said. “It’s really wonderful.

“Not every person is one-size-fits-all. Everyone has different schedules, and I appreciate that CASNR worked with me on that so I could take as many courses as I needed and be able to graduate on time.”

Through the articulation agreements, CASNR and its education partners draw on their collective strengths to boost Nebraska workforce development.

The Northeast Nebraska Ag and Natural Resources Education Compact “leverages the collective efforts of the partners to serve students,” said Charlene Widener, vice president of educational services at Northeast Community College.

The collaborative approach “assists Northeast Community College students with articulation of credit as they transfer to CASNR, leading to reduced time to degree and earlier entry into the workforce.”

This statewide collaboration helps the more than 300,000 Nebraskans who have earned some academic credits but have no postsecondary certificate or degree. Nebraskans in the workforce who have an associate’s degree can boost their career advancement by pursuing a University of Nebraska–Lincoln bachelor’s degree while continuing to work.

“We think a lot about the continuum of learners and helping learners have an opportunity no matter where they are in their journey,” said Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

A partnership being developed between CASNR and NCTA will provide still another opportunity. CASNR students who want to gain practical, hands-on ag experience at NCTA’s facilities will be able to use a reverse-transfer option to include study at the campus in Curtis.

“We are excited about what the reverse transfer will do for not only NCTA students, but also students working toward a bachelor’s degree in CASNR who want to leverage experiential learning opportunities from NCTA,” said Larry Gossen, dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

“NCTA works to build relationships with many industries throughout Nebraska,” said Jennifer McConville, NCTA associate dean. “Through these relationships, these employees value the skills acquired through NCTA programs.”

Heng-Moss said: “We have demonstrated that we put students first, in recognizing that students have these different starting points and how we can leverage the strengths across institutions to meet students’ needs.”

Schafersman said she was helped greatly by the support from multiple CASNR team members, including her academic adviser Katie Forrest. Marybeth Helmink coordinates CASNR’s transfer program.

“They were incredibly helpful,” Schafersman said. “They gave me so much information about what to expect as a full-time student and an online student.”

Another plus was the ease of use of CASNR’s online instruction. Schafersman said it is very interactive.

“The instructors do a really good job trying to connect with their students and having students connect with each other,” she said. “The interaction, the involvement, the communication have been really amazing.”

CASNR has articulation agreements with NCTA, Chadron State College, Wayne State College and these Nebraska community colleges: Central, Metropolitan, Mid-Plains, Nebraska Indian, Northeast, Southeast and Western.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Next seven days look to bring warmer weather for most of the state, with multiple chances for 80s from Friday into Monday. Might be a good time to buy and apply some sunscreen if you are going to be out and about the next couple of days! Chances for rain and storms are still possible, but are low at the moment where the highest chance is 40%.

Taking a look at lows for Thursday, should remain mostly mild with upper 40s to mid 50s or the eastern half and mid to low 40s for western Nebraska.

Thursday highs for southeast Nebraska look to end up shy of 80°, but will remain in the upper 70s, still a chance of 80s though.

Rest of Nebraska will see the same highs for Thursday, but some places could reach the 80s, most likely in the western half of the state.

Skycast is showing chances for lingering showers for eastern Nebraska in the evening, with the second round of storms breaking up as it makes its way into the metro areas. Thursday should bring a mostly clear and calm day for most of the state with chances for clouds in some places.

By the way we have seen rain come in, the next three days look to be a dry spell, but quickly changes as chances of rain move in over the weekend into Wednesday. All days look to be in-between 20%-40% for rain.

Friday lows are going to be warmer for most of Nebraska, with widespread 50s.

Temperatures really start to heat up Nebraska on Friday, as highs could reach into the 90s for places in western Nebraska, but will mainly be in the 80s for the state.

Highs will scale back for most of the state on Saturday. Eastern Nebraska can still expect upper 70s to mid 80s. Sandhills and panhandle could see low to mid 70s.

Warm days up ahead, with above average temperatures starting Friday into Monday. Chances for rain are possible over the weekend into Tuesday.

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