Nebraska baseball edges Nicholls 7-6 in series opener
Josh Caron showed up in a big way in Nebraska baseball’s series-opening win over Nicholls (17-4) on Friday night. The junior catcher finished 3-of-4 with a double, home run and five RBIs in a 7-6 Husker victory.
Head coach Will Bolt’s squad halted the Colonels’ six-game winning streak with the help of 11 hits and critical moments won by a pitching staff that had an uncharacteristically erratic night. Nebraska posted a season-high six wild pitches to go along with a tying a season-high six walks.
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The Huskers drew first blood in the fourth by breaking up Nicholls starter Jacob Mayers‘ shutout bid. A Josh Overbeek single followed by a Cole Evans walk put two aboard for Caron. He proceeded to launch his team-leading fifth bomb of the season to put Nebraska in front 3-0.
But, the Colonels struck back to plate two in the fifth. The second came on a dropped routine fly ball in right by Cole Bradford who was able to recover and throw out a Nicholls runner at second. Nebraska got one of those runs back via a sacrifice fly from Evans to make it 4-2 after five.
Tucker Timmerman relieved Drew Christo in the sixth after the Elkhorn native finished his outing with one earned run allowed in five innings of work with four strikeouts. Timmerman hung a zero in the top half and a Dylan Carey RBI single helped the Huskers regain their three-run lead at 5-2.
Nicholls rallied with a vengeance in the seventh. Timmerman sandwiched a single with a pair of walks to load the bases for the Colonels with no outs. A sacrifice fly scratched across a run and pinch hitter Jaden Collura delivered a two-RBI double to even the ledger at 5-5. Evan Borst stepped in for the freshman and managed to leave the go-ahead runs stranded at second and third.
Nebraska juiced the bases with no outs and for a moment it looked as if the Husker bats would come up empty. That’s when Caron came through for a second time. His two-RBI single put NU in front for good at 7-5.
Three Husker relievers managed to limit the Colonels to just one run in the eighth. That score came across via a wild-pitch strikeout. Mason McConnaughey tallied the final two outs of the frame and recorded dueling punchouts in the frame.
A leadoff single put Nicholls in business and Nebraska turned to Casey Daiss out of the pen. Seeking his fourth save, the junior coaxed a fielder’s choice groundout (with the help of a lengthy review). A double play sealed the win one pitch later.
What’s next for Nebraska baseball?
Nebraska will resume its series with Nicholls at 2:05 p.m. CT on Saturday morning. Brett Sears (2-0, 1.78 ERA) is set to get the start for the Huskers after his eight-inning, seven-strikeout showing against South Alabama last week. The game can be found on Big Ten Plus and heard on the Huskers Radio Network.
