Same deal this week, just a new name (I think I like it a bit better). Here’s a look a quick look at the temperature of the local teams, just as the weather gets a bit warmer outside.
NEBRASKA BASEBALL:
Heat Index: 7
Trend: Up
Nebraska put themselves back into the at-large postseason conversation with a series win over a ranked Michigan State team. More encouraging than the result, however, is how the Huskers are faring on the mound over the past few weekends. The return of Derek Burkamper on Friday nights, and the additional of Jake Meyers on Sundays has given Nebraska a boost on the mound. Darin Erstad’s group might be playing their best baseball of the season, and its coming at just the right time.
CREIGHTON BASEBALL:
Heat Index: 7
Trend: Down
It wasn’t a disastrous weekend for the Jays, but after Sunday’s loss to lowly Georgetown, the chances of Creighton hosting a regional went down significantly. Sadly, it’s just the state of affairs in the Big East, where there’s no room for error. Barring a major collapse, Creighton is still in good shape for an at-large bid to the postseason, and could still challenge for a top-three seed. If the Jays catch fire again (which they certainly could) and surpass 40 wins, perhaps a regional in Omaha comes back into play, but I still think it’s a long shot.
UNO BASEBALL:
Heat Index: 6
Trend: Up
Make it three straight Summit League series wins for UNO following a sweep at Oral Roberts back in mid-April. Tyler Fox was named Summit League pitcher of the week, and UNO is back over .500 for the season (24-22 overall, 14-10 conference). The Mavs sit alone in second place this week in the league standings, two full games clear of third place South Dakota State with two series to play in the regular season. UNO is too far behind to catch Oral Roberts for the regular season crown, but the final series of the regular season will bring the top two teams in the league together in Omaha.
OMAHA STORM CHASERS:
Heat Index: 5
Trend: Down
It wasn’t the best week for the Chasers, splitting a road series with Memphis, before dropping three of four to Iowa at Werner Park. Omaha still sits in first place in the division (thus the “5”), but the Chasers haven’t pitched nearly as well lately, giving up a combined 34 runs to the Cubs over the weekend. It’s a small sample size, but Omaha will need to be better on the mound going forward.
GRETNA HS GIRLS SOCCER:
Heat Index: 9
Trend: Up
Why not? The state soccer championships start this week, and Gretna enters the tournament as the #1 seed in Girls Class B action. The Dragons recently avenged their only loss of the season (a 3-0 defeat on April 23rd) with a doubt-OT victory over Omaha Skutt in the District B-3 final. Gretna will start their championship quest vs. Omaha Roncalli on Thursday night.
