Will Bolt evaluates 'great' hitting performance from Gabe Swansen
Facing elimination from the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday against Purdue, Nebraska got some clutch offense from outfielder Gabe Swansen. And prior to that game, Swansen hadn’t been having a season to write home about.
A year removed from being second-team all-conference and batting .291, Swansen entered the postseason batting under .225 this year. But against Purdue, he finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a base on balls and a pair of runs scored.
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Head coach Will Bolt was happy to load some praise on Swansen for his clutch performance.
“I think just like anybody, just more confidence leads to more convicted swings,” Bolt said. “Getting to see a lot more of the swings he took last year and just being on the barrel more because of that, too. He’s more confident. He’s probably gotten to the point in the season where he’s like, ‘My numbers are my numbers.’ Stop worrying about that kind of stuff and just start thinking about helping the team win. And so he’s been great.”
Bolt also explained how he was content to keep giving Swansen looks in the lineup even as he struggled, in the hopes something like his breakout performance could happen.
“Yeah it’s why we’ve continued to just give him opportunities, because he has a lot of talent,” Bolt said. “He is a great kid and great teammate and he works hard. So you like to give those guys opportunities and I trust every guy on my roster.”
Swansen also discussed his performance
Swansen finished the game going 2-4 at the plate with an RBI and a walk. His hits included a home run in the third inning — which he led off after doing the same the inning before with his game-changing walk — and kept his hot streak alive with a double in the fifth.
“I saw a lot of pitches the AB before which helped in kind of hunting the fastball in an advantaged count,” Swansen recalled. “I got one right over the plate and took advantage of it. … We’ve been hitting the base a bunch of times this year and we’ve just been able to respond every time. No different tonight. We just came out ready to play. Win or lose we were going out there and giving it all we got.”
All told, Nebraska’s bats logged a .315 batting average against Purdue on Wednesday. Across 38 plate appearances, the Huskers logged 12 hits — including seven that went for extra bases (five doubles, two home runs) — while reaching base five times off walks and was only struck out eight times as a group.
After the Huskers were upset 15-2 by 7-seed Ohio State in the first round on Tuesday and facing elimination with a potential loss to the Boilermakers — Nebraska ensured that its hope of winning the Big Ten Tournament stays alive for at least until Friday.