One out of three ain’t bad when it’s the third game of a three-game series after a pair of losses, which is the situation the Nebraska baseball team found itself in.
The Huskers opened Big Ten play with the weekend series against Washington at Haymarket Park, the first two games on Saturday because of weather conditions Friday. Washington, which came to Lincoln with a 5-8 record, swept Saturday games, 11-5 and 6-3.
But Nebraska recovered Sunday, winning 6-2, behind the pitching of Jackson Brockett and Drew Christo and a three-run, fifth-inning home run by Dylan Carey, his second of the season.
Freshman Devin Nunez hit his third home run of the season to lead off the eighth. Cayden Brumbaugh and Gabe Swansen also hit home runs during the weekend.
Now back to Brockett, whom Coach Will Bolt identified as his “happiest” part of the Huskers’ bounce-back.
“Oh man, Brockett for sure, in terms of … his ability to overcome some things out there,” Bolt said. “We have not done a good job of that, when we have made mistakes.”
Sunday, however, was different.
Brockett, who entered the game having allowed 13 hits and five earned runs in five innings, pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Washington had runners on in every inning, including two in three of the innings and three in the fifth, when Christo came on and got the third out, a strikeout.
Christo went three innings, allowing one run and striking out six to earn the win.
Freshman Luke Broderick pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the save.
But back to Brockett. “I told him after the game, told the team, that was as competitive as I’ve ever seen him in a game, including throwing a no-hitter, just because we had a chance to crumble a couple of times there, with multiple runners on base, some of their best hitters at the plate, because we don’t play defense behind him, and he just stayed out there, kept competing for his team,” said Bolt.
Two baserunners against Brockett were there because of errors, two of five committed by the Huskers during the series.
“And I thought him and Christo, two senior leaders on the team, them doing that, that set the tone for the team,” Bolt said.
Washington scored five runs in its first at-bat of the series, but the Huskers battled back to cut the lead to 5-4 before another five-run inning sealed their fate.
Will Walsh started the second game, pitching six scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and seven strikeouts, before Washington responded to a two-run Husker sixth by scoring three on a hit batter, an error and a home run. Walsh finished the inning with two more strikeouts. But the damage was done.
“We talk about Sundays being ‘championship Sunday,’ and today, obviously, you know … Sundays are going to look different every single weekend. And some weekends it’s going to be an opportunity to sweep, some weekends it’s going to be an opportunity to win the series, but these days are important, too, where you can go and salvage one, especially at home,” said Christo.
“And then they matter in the long run. So the attitude coming back … today was just, ‘Go take it. Don’t leave anything kept inside. Give it all for your teammates.’ And we were happy with the result.”
