Welcome Tucker Timmerman to Nebraska’s weekend starting pitching rotation against Michigan. And not just the weekend, but the Friday-night opener at Haymarket Park.
Appropriately.
“He’s a dog, he’s a bulldog,” Jackson Brockett said of the sophomore right-hander. “You know what you’re going to get from him every time he goes out there. He’s going to give you his best shot, and no matter what happens, he’s going to lay it out there for you, for all of us.”
Timmerman, who missed much of the season after suffering a facial injury against Vanderbilt in mid-February, the second game of the season, is replacing senior left-hander Will Walsh, who has struggled since a seven-inning, two-hit, one-run outing at Big Ten-leading Iowa April 11.
Walsh stepped in when Mason McConnaughey went down for the season with an injury.
“Not that Will hasn’t given us a shot, but we just felt like Tucker maybe could get us off to a better (weekend) start,” said Coach Will Bolt. “And he’s built up, and he’s had an 80-pitch outing already.”
Timmerman throw 84 pitches in 3 2/3 innings of relief against Maryland April 25.
“He’s got the mentality,” Bolt said. “I know he was excited to get the opportunity.”
Pitching coach Rob Childress told him about the start before Sunday’s game against Minnesota. Their conversation was “very brief,” said Timmerman. “He just told me he wanted me to go out and compete and do everything I can to put us in the best spot to win. Obviously I was excited but didn’t want to make too much of it, need to make sure to go out and be the same guy, no matter if it’s Friday, if it’s Tuesday, or if it’s a come-out-of-the-bullpen, just be the same guy, go out and compete.”
Nebraska has only one Big Ten series remaining after this weekend, at Purdue next week, beginning Thursday. The Huskers are 11-13 in conference play, good for 11th. The top 12 teams qualify for the conference tournament in Omaha. Michigan is 14-10 and sixth. The Wolverines are 31-17 overall and have won eight in a row. They outscored last-place Ohio State 47-8 in three wins last weekend.
Nebraska dropped back below .500 with Tuesday’s 8-7 loss to Creighton, sitting at 24-25.
Michigan is batting .297, third-best in the Big Ten, led by shortstop Benny Casillas, hitting .420, second-best in the conference. The Wolverines’ team earned-run-average is 4.90, fifth-best.
Brockett’s description of Timmerman as a “bulldog” is appropriate, according to Bolt. “He’s the guy you’ve just got to pull the reins back on because he’s just chomping at the bit constantly to improve in every area,” Bolt said. “So I know it’s been a lot of hard work he’s had to put in behind the scenes.”
Ty Horn remains the Saturday starter, with Brockett still starting Sunday.
Walsh will go into the bullpen. “Again, nothing disparaging about Will,” said Bolt. He’s been super-competitive and all the things you’d lover to have in a pitcher. It’s just, you gotta look at the totality of things, and it hasn’t really worked out that well.”
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Saturday will be Senior Day, with pregame acknowledgement of the Huskers’ 11 seniors.
“These guys, some of them have been here for four years, and kind of been our first full recruiting class and seen the ups and downs,” Bolt said.
They are Walsh, Brockett, Drew Christo and Gabe Swansen.
The other seniors include: Riley Silva, Joshua Overbeek, Rhett Stokes, Hogan Helligso, Cael Frost, Casey Daiss and Tyler Stone. “They’ve poured a lot into creating the culture here and the family atmosphere here and the clubhouse, just the way that it is,” said Bolt.
“I’m going to miss those guys. And it’s crazy, too, that we’re sitting here talking about a potential ruling of some of these guys having another year … some guys that go through Senior Day that theoretically could come back.”
Those are players who have been at junior colleges: Silva, Overbeek, Stokes, Daiss and Stone.
Brockett, who pitched a nine-inning no-hitter last season against Kansas State while striking out 12, talked about his final games at Haymarket Park Thursday, reflecting, no doubt, the attitude of the other seniors. “I’m not really trying to think about it too much, but it’s definitely in my mind,” he said. “I’ve had a great four years here. I’ve loved every minute of it, and it’s definitely going to be sad, for sure.”
Over the course of his four years at Nebraska, “as a person, I mainly look at it as, I’d rather become a better person than a better baseball player, in that sense,” Brockett said. “Four years with the coaches I’ve had and the mentors, I feel really good about how I’ve developed.”
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Last weekend’s wrap-up indicated that Max Buettenback missed the final two games against Minnesota because of injury. Buettenback, among five Huskers hitting over .300, is sidelined but not because of injury. “He’ll be out, unfortunately,” Bolt said Thursday. “He’s still not feeling well. I think he’s here today for the first time. He’s had fever . . . I don’t really want to get much into the logistics.”
Relief pitcher Jalen Worthley also has been sidelined, not by injury, “not feeling great,” said Bolt.
Friday’s game is slated to start at 6 p.m., Saturday’s at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s has been moved to 11:30 a.m. to accommodate Michigan’s travel.
