Nebraska baseball’s Rhett Stokes was asked what the pitch was. It might’ve been a “cutter, slider,” he said. But, he added with a smile, it was really just a matter of “see ball, hit ball.”
Which he did, with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Sunday’s second game against Maine at Haymarket Park. It sailed into right field, driving in Case Sanderson and Jett Buck.
Sanderson had driven in two runs and Buck a third before Stokes capped the five-run rally to give the Huskers an 8-7 victory and sweep of a three-game series against Maine.
Nebraska won Friday’s opener behind the pitching of Carson Jasa 6-3 and Saturday’s game 6-5, with another ninth-inning comeback, this time three runs, on a one-out, two-run single by Devin Nunez followed by the game-winning RBI single by Drew Grego.
Two what almost seemed unlikely wins? “I just think it’s when you’re committed to something, you just … there’s no going back, there’s no turning back,” said Coach Will Bolt. “And our guys are committed to play baseball for nine innings, or longer if that’s what it takes. I’ve said it a few times this year already but … you’ve gotta stay competing pitch to pitch to do that.”
Maine scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 5-3 lead in Friday’s first game, and the Black Bears had a 7-1 lead after scoring all seven runs in the top of the sixth in the third game.
Jasa pitched 6.2 innings, allowing four hits and three runs, walking two and striking out 10 in the second game. When Colin Nowaczyk replaced him, the score was 6-3.
Cooper Katskee retired the final four batters, the fourth by strikeout, for the save.
Jasa was asked what the mentality was in the dugout when the Huskers came into the dugout for the bottom of the ninth of Sunday’s second game trailing 7-3.
“I’m gonna say what I said last week,” Jasa said. “This team is super tough and super together. It’s really fun to do what I did in the (Sunday’s) first game and cheer on my guys in the second game, an absolute thriller. I mean, you see it every week, and we’re tough and we’re built for it.”
You believe “your brothers are going to get it done,” said Jasa.
“It goes back to being committed to a process so you don’t ride the waves of emotion that baseball can provide over the course of a game,” Bolt said.
Nebraska’s other starting pitchers on the weekend, Ty Horn and Gavin Blachowicz, also had decent efforts. Horn pitched 5.1 innings Friday, allowing three hits and two earned runs, walking four and striking out six. Gavin Blachowicz pitched 5.2 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, walking one and striking out nine. He left the game with one in and two on. Reliever Pryce Bender walked two and gave up a three-run triple and three-run home run before a Grant Cleavinger strike out.
Jalen Worthley earned the victory. J’Shawn Unger got his third win Friday.
In addition to the third-game winning hit, Stokes played shortstop “at an elite level this weekend,” Bolt said. Stokes stepped in for Dylan Carey, who has been dealing with upper-leg tightness and was the designated hitter in Sunday’s games. He’ll be good to go this week, according to Bolt.
The Huskers go on the road for six games, beginning Tuesday and Wednesday at Wichita State, after winning nine in a row at home to improve to 14-5.
“Defending the home turf is really, really important, and stacking wins at home is really important,” said Bolt. “Winning the games you feel like you should win is really, really important. I’m really proud of our guys, just really taking that to heart, playing well at home.”
Maine came to Lincoln on a 10-game losing streak. The Black Bears are now 2-16.
They were in position in the ninth inning of two games of snapping the losing streak. But …
“We’ve done it before,” Stokes said of Sunday’s comeback. “It didn’t seem like we lacked the enthusiasm or what-not, ‘next man up’ mentality.”
