Maybe you could hear the Bee Gees singing in the background, “Stayin’ Alive.” That’s what Nebraska did in the most unlikely of ways, defeating Michigan State 5-4 in 10 innings in the Huskers’ Big Ten Tournament opener at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field Tuesday.
Robby Bolin’s bottom-of-the-10th, two-out single drove in Dylan Carey for the winning run. But the eight-seed Huskers needed a Michigan State assist to force the extra inning.
With two out in the ninth, the Spartans leading 4-3 and Bolin at second base, Joshua Overbeek hit a fly ball to right field. Michigan State right fielder Parker Picot reached out to make what appeared to be a routine catch to wrap up the victory. Instead, the ball glanced off his glove … and Bolin scored.
Rub your eyes and look again, game tied at 4.
“One of those plays was bound to turn on our side. I mean, we’ve had our fair share of breaks that don’t go our way,” Coach Will Bolt said on Huskers.com. “’Beek’ (Overbeek) swung and put a really good swing on that ball, and some good fortune there, obviously. We took advantage of it.”
The Huskers might have ended it in nine. Cayden Brumbaugh followed with a double, moving Overbeek to third, but Gabe Swansen grounded to the pitcher for the third out.
In addition to driving in the game-winner, Bolin, “man, he was a sparkplug tonight, igniting us at the bottom of the order, bunt base hit to lead off the ninth,” said Bolt.
And, again, scoring after pinch-hitter Rhett Stokes sacrificed him to second.
Michigan State, the 12th seed, took a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning thanks, in part, to some assist by Husker pitching. The Spartans scored two runs without a hit in the second, on three Ty Horn walks, a balk and a ground out, and they scored their fourth run with two outs in the fifth when reliever Tucker Timmerman turned to fake a throw to second with the bases loaded and lost control of the ball.
The bases were loaded because of a walk, a hit batter and a single.
Otherwise, Nebraska’s pitchers were effective, allowing seven hits and striking out 11.
The Huskers responded to a Michigan State run in the first with a run in the bottom of the inning, on a Riley Silva double, a Brumbaugh single and a Swansen sacrifice fly.
Case Sanderson, who was 3-for-5, singled in two runs with two outs in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3. A throwing error by the center fielder moved the runners to second and third.
Luke Broderick, Nebraska’s third reliever, earned the victory, pitching the final 3 1/3 innings.
The victory kept the Huskers’ season alive, though officially it would have been anyway. But a loss would have eliminated Nebraska’s hopes of continuing beyond Friday’s game against top-seed Oregon, regardless of the outcome. The Huskers would need another victory to advance to the semis, otherwise the Ducks would advance no matter the outcome of their game against Michigan State Thursday.
For now, however, Nebraska is still alive, in an admittedly curious way.
