Day one of the annual Big Ten celebration of baseball opened to overcast skies and for the most part, sparse crowds at Charles Schwab Field in beautiful downtown Omaha, Nebraska. There was a little new this year, specifically the format that was designed to involve more teams in the tournament and to save arms for the teams that advance to next week’s regionals.
The other thing new didn’t show up today, but will be in-house tomorrow. After making their presence known all spring, the four former Pac-12 teams finished in the top-five in the regular season, announcing their presence loud and strong.