Take your pick. Pitching or hitting?
Either would be an appropriate beginning for a recap of Nebraska baseball’s third victory in the MLB Desert Invitational Sunday in Mesa, Ariz. This time the Huskers defeated Grand Canyon 9-1.
So let’s begin with pitching, specifically starter Gavin Blachowicz’s fourth inning. Nebraska had scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Blachowicz gave up his first two (and only) hits, singles, to start the inning, then gave up his first walk — bases loaded, nobody out.
The Huskers talked about the significance of what happened next in the post-game huddle, Coach Will Bolt said on the Huskers Radio Network. “That was the game (decider),” he said.
Blachowicz gave up a sacrifice fly, then struck out the next two batters.
“Him making pitches to get off the field, that just showed a lot of poise right there,” said Bolt.
Reliever Chase Olson, a redshirt freshman making his first appearance as a Husker, faced a similar situation in the sixth inning. After striking out the first two batters, he allowed back-to-back singles. With runners at first and third, he struck out the next batter. Inning over. “It looked like the inning was going to go south and then he had to make pitches just to get off the field,” Bolt said.
Olson, who came in after Blachowicz gave up a two-out walk in the fifth, earned the victory.
“He was very, very composed,” said Bolt. “That was the separator.”
J’Shawn Unger and Jace Ziola, who followed Olson on the mound, also drew praise from Bolt. “Tonight was all about our staff,” he said. “Those guys allowed us to stretch the lead.”
The pitching “allowed us to take control of the game,” Bolt said.
Nebraska took control if not with the three-run fourth then with a five-run eighth, when it batted around. Jett Buck and Joshua Overbeek drove in two runs each, Dylan Carey doubled-in the fifth. Buck, Overbeek, Carey and Case Sanderson each had two hits, and have had multiple hits in all three games. Will Jesske was 3-for-4 with two runs-batted-in, the first on a lead-off home run in the third to start the scoring. Carey’s home run to lead off the second began the scoring in the Northeastern win.
Jesske had “five quality at-bats last night and four tonight,” said Bolt.
Jesske was 1-for-3, a single, but reached on a walk and a hit-by-pitch Saturday night.
The Huskers had 14 hits, 11 of them singles, with every starter except one getting at least one hit. The hits, three walks and two hit-by-pitches offset 15 strikeouts. Nebraska’s pitchers combined to strike out 11, with four walks, two hit batters and the four singles.
Nebraska’s final game in the Invitational is against Stanford Monday at 2 p.m. CT. Stanford is 1-2, its victory against 24th-ranked Arizona (10-7), the losses to Michigan (7-6) and 12th-ranked Oregon State (3-2). Sophomore left-hander Colin Nowaczyk will start for the Huskers.
Blachowicz was originally the scheduled starter but was moved up to Sunday because Cooper Katskee has been under the weather, Bolt said.
Monday’s game, back in Scottsdale, will be streamed on MLB.com.
Will it be decided by pitching or hitting, or both?
