Huskers Enjoying Power Surge

[Mavric]

Many of the same Husker hitters who did not showcase much power in recent seasons are suddenly hammering baseballs over the fence. And Nebraska coach Darin Erstad isn’t one bit surprised.

NU hit two more home runs in Wednesday’s 11-4 win over Indiana State. It was the third straight multi-homer game for the Huskers — senior Jake Placzek’s hit one in all three.

Nebraska (13-7) now has 23 home runs about one-third of the way through the 2016 regular season, already surpassing last year’s total of 22.

In fact, NU averaged just 0.32 homers per game during the last three seasons (which ranked 215th out of 295 Division I teams). So far this year, only six times have the Huskers finished a day without going yard.

“Look at both counts (Wednesday). They’re 0-0 counts. We’re going to be ultra-aggressive in those counts — and that’s what happens,” Erstad said. “Hitters’ counts. Our guys are doing a good job of understanding which pitch they want to attack and hitting to their strengths.”

That was the offseason objective. Erstad and his staff spent the winter months studying pitcher tendencies in hitter-friendly counts and conveying strategic principles to the players.

 

OWH