Nebraska baseball pummels Minnesota 11-5 for series win
Nebraska baseball wrapped up its weekend on the winning end using a eight-run fourth inning to best Minnesota 11-5 on Sunday afternoon.
Will Bolt and company triumphed on another gusty day that featured plenty of wind-altered balls and a solid start from Will Walsh. The Huskers move to 24-16-1 on the season and 9-6 in Big Ten play.
A leadoff base hit and bunt single put Walsh in some early trouble in the top of the first. But, Nebraska’s starter remained composed delivering two strikeouts and a grounder that ended the inning. The Huskers grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom half capitalizing on two Minnesota errors and a wild pitch.
Walsh continued to work around traffic on the basepaths in the next three innings. The left-hander stranded two after a one-out double and hit batter in his second. Walsh also left a Golden Gopher in scoring position during the third and fourth, protecting Nebraska’s edge.
The Husker bats sputtered throughout that same stretch but an explosion was just around the corner. In the bottom of the fourth, Nebraska brought 13 to the plate and scored eight runs on five hits. Cole Evans blew the game open with a three-run bomb to left that would have been foul on a normal day. Gabe Swansen was the next Husker cleared for lift off with a first-pitch homer to right.
“Ha! No,” Evans said when asked if he thought his homer was fair initially. “That was a foul ball off the bat for sure. Fortunate I guess.”
With the aid of a 9-0 cushion, Walsh sat Minnesota down in order for the fifth but the Golden Gophers broke the ice in the sixth. A sacrifice fly to right brought in one on what was originally ruled a 9-2-5 double play for the runner’s early tag. Yet on review, the call was overturned and two at-bats later Minnesota’s Kris Hokensen homered to right making it 9-3.
Corbin Hawkins relieved Walsh for the seventh inning and the sidearm hurler hit a batter before coaxing an inning-ending double play. A two-out error from Ben Columbus set up a Gopher rally in the eighth. Hawkins allowed a walk immediately after and Hokensen drove in his third two-out RBI of the day moments later.
On the offensive end, Nebraska had significant issue figuring out Minnesota reliver Connor Wietgrefe. The left-hander retired 13-of-15 batters he had faced with six strikeouts before Max Anderson made his presence felt. The second baseman, who had been previously 0-for-3, launched his 16th home run of the season 438 feet to right center.
The Huskers led 11-4 entering the ninth as the coaching staff turned to freshman Jalen Worthley to close the game out. Despite some tenuous early moments, the southpaw protected Nebraska’s lead while allowing a single run.
The Huskers get back on track
Make no mistake, Nebraska needed a weekend like this. After a rough start and ninth-inning collapse on Friday, the Huskers outscored Minnesota 29-5 in the final two games of the series.
“We had a tough last weekend and a rough couple of midweeks,” Evans said. “Kinda stumbled but that happens in the game of baseball. I think we did a really good job of just sticking to our process and let the chips fall where they may.”
Nebraska got things rolling from a pitching perspective, too. All three Husker starters had outings that lasted six full innings or longer and each posted five or more strikeouts. Emmett Olson was the only starter to truly struggle surrendering three earned runs in the early innings of his appearance.
Walsh did an excellent job of scattering seven hits throughout his six innings in which he stranded six Golden Gophers.
“When runners get on base, you’ve really got to bear down and execute your pitches,” Walsh said. “Coach Christy was calling the right pitches, I could trust Josh (Caron) behind the plate to block balls that were low in the zone and the defense made great plays behind me.”
There’s no doubt that Nebraska’s resilience has been put to the test. What remains to be seen is if the lessons learned in from Iowa and moments this week carry over to the final month of the season.
“I think the Iowa weekend was kinda an eye-opening experience,” Evans said. “I think we all realized that we didn’t compete the way we should have. It wasn’t so much about our physical ability or how we played. It was more so a mental thing and I think we found that a little bit this weekend.”
Competitiveness and focus are key
Nebraska hasn’t lacked confidence in the past two weeks according to Bolt.
“We’ve got an older bunch and at times I know the focus hasn’t been exactly where we needed it to be,” Bolt said. “The confidence to me has never been an issue.”
When Nebraska is locked in, the yields show in winning competitive situations. Bolt highlighted the early moments of Sunday’s game as a prime example when a single and perfect bunt put a pair of runners on with no outs in the first.
“Those things don’t always show up when the score is lopsided in the end,” Bolt said. “You don’t necessarily think about it, but I thought that was a big moment there in the first inning. We’ve got a chance to go win a series and rather than chasing a possible crooked number there, we get out of that inning. Walsh made some pitches and we made some plays to get off the field.”
Bolt said he is looking for that level of competitiveness and conviction in every moment.
“This group of guys has been as good at sticking to the process on practice days as I’ve ever had,” Bolt said. “Just showing up with a great mindset. It’s just, like I said the focus part of it. The challenge is to just challenge these guys daily to be locked in the way we need to be locked in. No better time than now to put it all together.
What’s next for Nebraska baseball?
The Huskers host North Dakota State for a second midweek matchup on Wednesday. That game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Next weekend features another major road series. Nebraska visits the league-leading Maryland Terrapins for a three-game set. The trio of contests will also be on Big Ten Plus.
