He doesn’t typically begin news conferences with an opening statement, Will Bolt said. But he opened Wednesday’s by acknowledging the impact of the passing of broadcaster Greg Sharpe.
There was “a lot of emotion over the weekend,” said Nebraska’s head baseball coach.
“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the Sharpe family, and just knowing that we’re better off for having known Greg and having a chance to be around Greg for many, many years, and just his impact that he had on all of us, I think is something pretty unique and pretty special.”
As a result, “I know our guys want to dedicate the rest of our season to Greg, much like we did last year when we found out the news (of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis),” Bolt said.
Among other things, the Huskers will wear patches honoring Sharpe on their caps.
On the day the sad news broke, Nebraska upset then 16th-ranked Vanderbilt 6-4 in the MLB Desert Invitational in Mesa, Arizona. Nebraska was No. 24 in the ESPN rankings.
Vanderbilt is now 15, the Huskers 23.
Nebraska went 2-1 in the Desert Invitational, then lost to Grand Canyon University. The 2-2 Huskers are slated to play three games this weekend against Louisiana, also 2-2, in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Rajin’ Cajuns defeated Texas Southern 14-11 in Lafayette Tuesday.
Mason McConnaughy, the losing pitcher in the Husker opener against UC Irvine, will again be the opening starter, followed by Ty Horn, who started the Vanderbilt game but only pitched four innings. Reliever Jalen Worthley was credited with the victory.
Nebraska’s third starter will be Will Walsh, who allowed five hits and no runs, with six strikeouts and a walk, in a 13-0 victory against San Diego State.
Jackson Brockett went six innings, allowing six hits and one run, with no walks and three strikeouts in the 3-1 loss to Grand Canyon. Reliever Drew Christo was charged with the loss.
Louisiana’s top pitcher is sophomore left-hander Chase Morgan, who allowed five hits and one run in five innings of a 7-2 victory against San Jose State. He struck out seven and walked one.
Morgan is a Perfect Game Preseason All-American, third team.
The Huskers have room for improvement, of course. They batted only .242 as a team and struck out 44 times, though “I don’t really see strikeouts as a concern,” said Cayden Brumbaugh, who has settled in at second base and leading off. “You look at college baseball right now, there’s a lot of strikeouts happening. The game’s changing a little bit. Obviously, we want to compete with two strikes.”
Brumbaugh went 5-for-18 (.278) with two doubles and a triple. He walked four times, struck out five times and scored four runs, in addition to driving in two.
“We want to move the baseball when the game asks us to, whether that’s getting a runner over, getting a runner in, which I thought we did pretty well. We do need to limit strikeouts a little bit. However, I don’t think it’s a major concern,” he said.
Left fielder Gabe Swansen had two doubles, a home run and nine RBIs. He drove in all six against Vanderbilt. Max Buettenback, the designated hitter, hit the Huskers’ other home run and drove in four.
The Sharpe news “certainly gave (us) a little extra juice, but not that you need much (playing) on national television against a team like Vanderbilt,” said Bolt.
It was televised on the MLB Network.
”We talked about competing in a way that made him proud,” Bolt said of Sharpe.
That’s the plan moving forward.
“We’re determined to honor Greg,” said Bolt.
Other Notes:
- Reliever Tucker Timmerman, who was hit in the face by a one-bounce ball in the Vanderbilt game (106 miles per hour), needs surgery and will be out “for an extended period of time,” Bolt said. He is expected to be back at some point this season, though.
- Bolt, Husker pitching coach Rob Childress and Louisiana Coach Matt Deggs have a connection. Bolt and Deggs were on Childress’s staff at Texas A&M, Bolt as a volunteer assistant (2006-07). Before he was an assistant at A&M (2006-10), Deggs was an assistant at Arkansas under former Husker Coach Dave Van Horn (2003-05).
