So it’s on to Omaha for Nebraska, as the eighth seed, following a fifth-consecutive Big Ten series win with a 14-2, eight-inning victory against Purdue in West Lafayette Saturday.
The Huskers and Boilermakers split the first two games, Nebraska winning 11-9 Thursday, with Purdue walking off a 5-4 victory Friday, a game delayed over two hours by weather.
The Huskers showed resilience Thursday, falling behind 8-0 after three innings then scoring 11 runs before Purdue managed a run in the bottom of the eighth, and they showed resilience Saturday, coming off Friday’s frustrating loss during which they committed four errors, contributing to two unearned runs. Purdue’s Branden Anderson hit a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth for the win.
As a result of the victories, Nebraska finished the regular season 15-15 in the Big Ten, tied with Penn State and Rutgers for eighth in the standings. The Huskers had the tie-breakers, however, including winning a series against Rutgers, so they’re scheduled to play A Pool 12th seed Michigan State, 13-17, at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Top-seeded Oregon, 22-8, is the other team in the A Pool. The Huskers will play the Ducks Friday at 6 p.m., with the pool winner advancing to a semifinal matchup against the Pool D winner Saturday at 2 p.m. If all three teams in a pool go 1-1, the highest seed advances.
The Nebraska team that took the field Saturday is the one Coach Will Bolt wants to see in Omaha. The Huskers were “very competitive in the box, much more focused (than Friday) defensively, played well in all three facets, and that’s … what we’re capable of,” he said on Huskers.com.
Nebraska scored two runs, after the first two batters made outs, in the first inning on Case Sanderson’s single, after a Cayden Brumbaugh double, Gabe Swansen being hit by a pitch and Dylan Carey walking. The Huskers scored four runs in the second, with Riley Silva, Joshua Overbeek, Brumbaugh and Swansen driving in the runs. They scored two in the third on a wild pitch and a Robby Bolin sacrifice fly, and one in the fourth on a Swansen triple and Carey sacrifice fly.
Eleven Huskers accounted for 15 hits, with Will Jesske going 4-for-5 and scoring three runs.
Get the picture? Everyone was getting into the act. And Purdue managed only one run during the first four innings. “We haven’t really done a whole lot of scoring in the first inning, it doesn’t feel like,” said Bolt. “And today that was really, really good to see. I made that point to the team.”
Off-the-bench players contributed to the four-run, game-ending eighth inning. Pinch-hitter Cael Frost hit a two-run home run for a 10-run lead. Then Jaron Cotton got hit by a pitch and Rhett Stokes singled, setting up RBI singles by Hayden Lewis and Carey.
“That’s all part of being a team, being ready when your name’s called,” Bolt said. “Some of the best swings we took on the day were from some of those (off-the-bench) guys.”
Bolt also complimented the bullpen during his post-game comments on Huskers.com. Jackson Brockett started and was credited with the win, even though he pitched only two innings, allowing no runs on two hits, with two strikeouts and a walk.
Brockett was followed, in order, by Gavin Blachowicz, Pryce Bender, Caleb Clark, Blake Encarnacion and Grant Cleavinger. “We knew that Brockett was just going to open today. It worked out perfect,” said Bolt. “He got through the lineup at 40 pitches in two innings and (then) we go to the pen.”
Also, Luke Broderick recorded his 11th save Thursday.
Five Huskers had two hits Thursday, with Brumbaugh and Carey driving in three runs each. Carey hit his eighth home run of the season. Devin Nunez hit his fourth in Friday’s loss.
Saturday is “how you play team baseball,” Bolt said on Huskers.com. “You’re never out of the at-bat, never out of the game.”
And that’s the team he wants to see in Omaha.
