Nebraska baseball salvages Creighton series behind key efforts from Perry, Hawkins
Nebraska baseball bounced back in a big way against Creighton on Tuesday night. After dropping a resumed game with the Bluejays earlier in the evening, the Huskers rallied for a 7-4 victory in the series finale.
Head coach Will Bolt said that he needed some arms to step up after the Huskers’ 20-5 loss to Maryland on Sunday. He got just that in Nebraska’s final duel with Creighton. A wobbly start from Michael Garza gave way to Kyle Perry and Corbin Hawkins who settled the ship and combined to allow one earned run in eight innings of work.
The Huskers got some timely hitting, too. It was a much needed win that gives Nebraska some momentum heading into the penultimate conference weekend of the season.
Brice Matthews began the ballgame with a bang crushing a 3-2 offering to left for his 19th home run of the season. But, it didn’t take Creighton long to respond. The Bluejays plated a run on a pair of doubles and took a 2-1 lead on an RBI single from Tyler Lozano.
Creighton appeared poised to spoiled a leadoff single from Griffin Everitt but Luke Sartori worked a two-out walk and set the table for Matthews. The Husker shortstop singled on a hard-hit ball that ricocheted off the leg of Bluejay starter Anthony Watts to collect his second RBI.
But, Nebraska starter Michael Garza coughed up the lead once again. He allowed a leadoff home run to No. 7 hitter Hunter Helligso and Ben Gbur followed that with a double. With Creighton ahead 3-2, the Huskers turned to the bullpen and Kyle Perry. A sacrifice bunt advanced Gbur to third but the left-hander coaxed a grounder to second and flyball to center escaping the jam.
Perry settled in from there and held down the fort with two more scoreless innings before Nebraska tied it up in the fifth. Casey Burnham opened the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Later in a pinch-hit opportunity, Efry Cervantes plated Burnham on an RBI grounder to tie the game 3-3.
Following a 1-2-3 inning from Perry in the bottom half, the Huskers carried their momentum into the sixth. Ben Columbus started things off with a double to left-center. Dylan Carey opted for the sacrifice bunt and Bluejay reliever Paul Bergstrom airmailed the throw to first allowing Columbus to score and make it 4-3.
But, Nebraska wasn’t done. Casey Burnham worked a walk with two outs to get Max Anderson to the plate who promptly doubled to left-center plating a pair and putting the Huskers up 6-3.
Perry got himself into trouble in the home half. After tallying the first out, he surrendered a single and two walks marking the end of his outing. Corbin Hawkins was the next to get the call and the right-hander limited the damage allowing one run on a hit batter.
Columbus jumpstarted the Husker offense once again in the seventh. He drove in Cervantes with his second double of the night and Nebraska held a 7-4 advantage.
Creighton put together a serious threat in the bottom half with a pair of singles against Hawkins. Then the Huskers pulled off the incredible. A grounder to third made for the first out as Carey fired to second for two. The ensuing throw by Anderson from second to first was offline, but Cervantes chased it down and threw back to second and Anderson applied the tag for the third out.
Nebraska failed to expand its lead but Hawkins remained lights-out on the hill. He shut out the Bluejays in 3 2/3 innings while tacking on a pair of strikeouts. Hawkins sealed the save with a popout from Creighton cleanup man Lozano.
Perry and Hawkins are the Huskers’ MVPs
Nebraska desperately needed the type of outings it got from Perry and Hawkins on Tuesday. Nebraska had four different pitchers throw 30 or more pitches on Sunday and seven eclipsed the 20 pitch mark.
Things looked bleak when Garza exited early in the second. Not just for the game in question, but the weekend as well. Then Perry entered the game and took matters into his own hands. The fifth-year senior picked up the win going 4 1/3 innings while allowing just one earned run and striking out four.
“We needed some zeros and we needed some shutdown innings to keep the momentum in our dugout,” Bolt said. “KP didn’t get the ball last weekend. Didn’t have a good start last week and he came back and was competitive today. We need the entire group to be consistently competitive each and every time out.”
Then when Perry started to tire Hawkins came in and with the bases loaded and one out he slammed the door. Hawkins also notched his first career save. Not to be lost in the shuffle is the outstanding, error-free defense the Huskers put together. From a defensive perspective, everyone answered the bell.
“You got a good example and a game you can look at where you’re playing a team that wants it and they’re scrapping with you,” Bolt said. “Everything didn’t go your way, but you found the way to get the job done.”
A mixed midweek bag
Nebraska completely flipped the script after a disastrous first game. Frustration boiled over in the 90 or so minutes between games. Yet the Huskers didn’t lie down in the second game and went from uncompetitive to cutthroat when they needed it.
Matthews’ long ball to begin the night may have been the wake-up call.
“Brice Matthews is one of the best hitters in the country, he’s been clutch for us all year, and he’s led us all year long,” Bolt said. “It was a big 3-2 count. He got down in the count, worked it back and crushed the ball. Hit it about as hard as you can. It sparked us.”
By no means was it perfect and it came against a bullpen heavy Creighton pitching staff. But, that’s the type of game the Huskers will need to win if they wish to make a run at the Big Ten tournament.
“Eight walks to two strikeouts on offense,” Bolt said. “(We were) setting up an inning, every single inning. We had some tough luck out there but we didn’t let that deter us and we had a rough start on the mound and it didn’t deter us either.”
Recapturing Tuesday’s effort is the key. Time will tell if Nebraska has learned its lesson after the last time it claimed a major midweek victory and proceeded to lay an egg on the ensuing Friday against Minnesota.
What’s next for Nebraska baseball?
The Huskers will open the final home weekend series of the season against Penn State on Friday. That game is set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. Saturday’s tilt is also a nightcap with a 6:02 p.m. start on the Big Ten Network.
Sunday’s senior day finale is slated for an 11:02 a.m. open and will be televised on ESPN2.
