Nebraska baseball’s Lincoln Regional has some “name brands in college baseball.” That was included in a response by Coach Will Bolt when asked about the “other” teams in the regional, Ole’ Miss and Arizona State. No disrespect to South Dakota State, which I’m separating. Bolt didn’t.
The Jackrabbits have his team’s full attention, despite their 24-31 record. South Dakota State advanced by winning the Summit League Baseball Championship. I’ve repeated what Bolt said Monday.
“South Dakota State has our full attention on Friday.”
The 13th-seed Huskers open their regional Friday at Haymarket Park, first pitch slated for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Ole Miss and Arizona State are scheduled for an 8 p.m. start.
“It’s going to be a fun weekend of baseball,” said Bolt.
Nebraska opted to play the afternoon game, which will be the second between the Huskers and Jackrabbits this season. The teams played at Haymarket Park March 4. Nebraska won 5-4.
The game was reflective of the Huskers’ season in a way. Nebraska scored four runs in the first two innings. South Dakota rallied with a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to tie at 4. In the bottom of the eighth Dylan Carey doubled in what proved to be the winning run. Persistence paid off.
So did what Bolt said was “leadership in the clubhouse,” which “is kind of what sets the standard every single day. That’s what we have with this group. It means we have a group of guys that are completely sold out to each other. That’s the biggest thing in any team sport.
“You have a group of guys that are willing to pull as hard for their teammates as they are for themselves. That’s what we have on this team.”
The Huskers’ success, their first regional since 2008, is a result of “guys just holding each other accountable,” Carey said Monday, echoing Bolt. “The upperclassmen this year have taken a huge step in holding guys accountable, making sure that the standard is the standard, and the standard is, first, hosting a regional and (then) going to Omaha (the College World Series), right?
“So being able to hold guys accountable each and every day has been the biggest thing for us.”
Carey is a senior, of course, as is Josh Overbeek, who also spoke Monday. “There’s a lot of confidence, and ultimately, I think it’s faith. We’ve been in those situations, we know what we have, each guy dominates their role, every single day,” he said. “They show up and give it their all, and (we) ask ourselves, how can we best serve our team? And because of that attitude and because of our approach to it, we can play with confidence, knowing our preparation backs up all the way back in the fall.”
Bolt was home, with his family, on the back porch, watching when the 16 regional seeds were announced. “It was emotional, I’ll be honest,” he said. But “I told you (media) guys after the game I felt like we should be a slam dunk, we should be a lock.”
The game to which he referred was Saturday’s Big Ten tournament loss to Oregon.
“I told the players that in the dugout … (but) you can’t assume anything, either,” said Bolt, who was a captain on the first two of Nebraska’s three College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2002. The Huskers also advanced to the College World Series in 2005.
Monday, ESPN showed a clip of Bolt making a catch at shortstop for the final out in the 2001 Lincoln Super Regional, and last game at Buck Beltzer Field, a 9-6 victory against Rice.
In order to reach a fourth College World Series, Nebraska would have to win its regional and win a Super Regional against the winner of the fourth-seed Auburn Regional. The Tigers play Milwaukee in the opening round, North Carolina State plays UCF.
But that’s out of mind for the Huskers right now. Their attention is focused on South Dakota State.
“I assure you of that,” Bolt said.
