Pepperdine Preview & Notes
NEBRASKA at PEPPERDINE
March 18-19, 2025
Malibu, Calif. | Eddy D. Field
Tuesday, March 18 – 5 p.m. CT
Pitching: RHP Carson Jasa (1-1, 4.00 ERA) vs. TBA
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Huskers App
Wednesday, March 19 – 5 p.m. CT
Pitching: RHP TJ Coats (0-0, 8.31 ERA) vs. TBA
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers Radio Network, Huskers App
Follow The Game
• Both of the midweek contests at Pepperdine can be seen on ESPN+.
• Fans can also listen to Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call the action this week in Malibu on the Huskers Radio Network.
• Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.
Nebraska vs. Pepperdine
• Through four all-time meetings, the Huskers and Waves are deadlocked at two victories each.
• Nebraska and Pepperdine last met on the diamond in the 1985 NCAA Western 1 Regional in Palo Alto, Calif., where they split two games against each other.
• Nebraska is 1-0 all-time in Malibu against the Waves after picking up a 3-2 win at Pepperdine on March 18, 1979.
McConnaughey to Miss Remainder of 2025 Season
• Nebraska Coach Will Bolt announced the first week in March that junior right-handed pitcher Mason McConnaughey will miss the remainder of the 2025 season after suffering an arm injury against Sam Houston at the Frisco Classic.
• McConnaughey began the season as the first husker named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List since 2016 and earned Preseason All-American recognition from D1Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
A Look at This Week’s Starters
• Carson Jasa is set to make his second career collegiate start at Pepperdine on Tuesday afternoon, while TJ Coats is set to make his second start at Nebraska against the Waves on Wednesday afternoon.
• Jasa fired five shutout innings and allowed just two hits and a walk with a career-high eight strikeouts in Nebraska's 10-1 win against Wichita State last week.
• Coats has made three appearances on the season, including his first start with the Huskers last week against Wichita State. The sophomore pitched a season-high two innings and struck out a season-high three batters against the Shockers.
Lucky Number Six in the Bolt Era
• Nebraska is 110-23 under head coach Will Bolt when scoring at least six runs.
• The Big Red have scored six-plus runs in six of the seven victories this season, defeating No. 16 Vanderbilt (6-4), San Diego State (13-0), Louisiana (6-1), Washington (6-2) and Wichita State (10-1).
• The Husker offense reached the six-run mark 34 times last season, compiling a 28-6 record.
• Nebraska scored six-plus runs in 33 contests (26-7) in 2023 after tallying at least six runs 23 times (19-4) in 2022, 28 times (26-2) in 2021 and seven times (5-2) in 2020.
Bats in the Nebraska Lineup
• Devin Nunez is slashing .348/.400/.543 with a team-leading three homers, 10 RBI and eight runs scored in 14 games, including 10 starts this season.
• Cayden Brumbaugh has scored a team-high 15 runs and is second on the team with a .324 batting average while tallying a team-high seven multi-hit contests this season.
• Case Sanderson is hitting .250 with a pair of doubles and has drawn a team-leading 12 walks this season, while Will Jesske is batting .250 with two doubles, a triple and six runs scored on the year.
• Dylan Carey has a team-high five doubles and is second on the team with seven extra-base hits this season, followed by Gabe Swansen with three doubles, five extra-base hits and a team-leading 14 RBI.
• Joshua Overbeek and Rhett Stokes have split time in the lineup this season. Overbeek has doubled three times and scored seven runs, while Stokes has pieced together a pair of multi-hit performances this year.
• Max Buettenback is one of six Huskers with multiple homers on the year, homering twice this season and scoring nine runs in 35 at-bats.
• Cael Frost has appeared in 16 games, making 14 starts, and has reached base safely in 15 of 16 games.
Huskers in the Pen
• Luke Broderick has appeared in five games for the NU bullpen, picking up three saves against No. 16 Vanderbilt, Washington and Wichita State.
• Drew Christo has appeared in a team-high eight relief appearances and struck out a season-high six hitters in three one-run innings against Washington earlier this season.
• Jalen Worthley and Caleb Clark are tied for second on the team with seven appearances. Worthley is 1-0 in eight innings of work, while Clark has pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs across seven appearances.
• Casey Daiss has dealt three scoreless frames across two appearances this season, while Ryan Harrahill has toed the rubber four times this season, pitching three innings for the Big Red on the year.
• Freshmen Pryce Bender, Colin Nowaczyk, Gavin Blachowicz and Blake Encarnacion have combined to allow just three runs in 18.1 innings in their debut season at Nebraska.
• Grant Cleavinger tallied a season-high four punchouts in 1.2 innings of action in last week's matchup vs. Wichita State in Lincoln.