- Who’s been reading the small print on the WCWS brackets? If you raised your hand, then you know the losers of today’s game jump to games in the opposite bracket, in this instance a Sunday afternoon contest against Texas. The Texas Tech-Tennessee loser would get UCLA
WCWS vs. Alabama – THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- Nebraska should probably receive a plaque commemorating honorary membership as this evening’s contest will be their 8th this season against a member of the SEC, who have 13 teams. That’s probably as many teams as most fellow conference members played.
- The Huskers are 5-3 against the conference after Thursday’s victory over Arkansas
- The Tide, like the Huskers, have their strength in their pitching with ERA’s of 1.51 and 1.82 respectively. They both also have two very high-quality starters they can roll out.
- That being said, I would expect both to roll out their #1’s again with each having a day’s rest. Some might wonder why Nebraska wouldn’t roll out a fresh 3rd-team All-American Alexis Jensen. Simple – their ace will be fresh and as Bones said in Star Trek, “”You know, back home we have a saying: ‘If you’re gonna ride in the Kentucky Derby, you don’t leave your prize stallion in the stable’”. Folks, we’re in the Derby.
- Don’t feel bad for Jensen – she will take on the ace role in Lincoln for the next three years. And she will see the circle before this run over.
- If both Frahm and Briski start, we have a boss-level match-up between two bosses. I’m picking the Huskers for three reasons.
- 1) A slight advantage offensively – BA Huskers .332-.325; HR’s Huskers 95-99 but in four fewer games; Runs per game Huskers 7.0-6.4.
- 2) If Alabama has a flaw, it’s a lack of quality games against ranked non-conference teams. Sure, the SEC is hands-down the nation’s best conference. But Nebraska has the country’s most experience against its best teams in out-of-conference match-ups. Playing a top-seeded conference opponent is very familiar ground for this senior-loaded squad.
- 3) Jordy Frahm. Briski is deadly, but, again, experience falls to Nebraska here. Frahm has it in spades when it comes to dominating the sport’s biggest stages.
HUSKER GAME INFO
Schedule: (All times CST)
May 30 vs #1-seed Alabama 6:00 p.m…