Nebraska baseball takes down GCU 10-8 in wild series finale

Nebraska baseball (4-3) jumped out to a seven-run lead, lost it and managed to recover and pull out a 10-8 victory and series win over GCU (5-3) on Sunday afternoon.

Head coach Will Bolt’s squad finished the weekend 3-1 against a team that was the preseason pick to win the Western Athletic Conference. Strong starting pitching performances from Drew Christo and Brett Sears on Thursday and Friday allowed the Huskers to take a well-stocked bullpen into the fourth game of the series.

“It’s a huge confidence builder, especially the way the series started” Bolt said postgame on the Huskers’ Radio Network. “We lost a hard-fought game last night, a lot of emotion. I couldn’t have been prouder of how our guys showed up ready to compete. We get out to the large lead there. It’s gonna take momentum into the next week and we’ve got a happy plane ride home, a well-earned day off coming up and then we’ll be back on the road again soon.”

Here’s more on Nebraska’s victory and what lies ahead.

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After a 2-1 start that saw the Huskers manufacture runs in each of the first two innings, Nebraska blew the game wide open by batting around in the third. The inning began with Riley Silva, who was promptly plunked for the fifth time in the series. But just three pitches later, the Huskers were in a two-out hole with Silva on second.

Tyler Stone got the ball rolling with a RBI single through the right side to score Silva. Then came the first of two GCU errors in the frame on an overthrow from shortstop that allowed Garrett Anglim to reach. A walk loaded the bases and Nebraska tacked on another run after a wild pitch. Cole Evans’ two-RBI single drove in two more runs to make it 6-1.

The Huskers tallied two more hits in the frame including one from Cayden Brumbaugh that drove in a run. A wild pitch and throwing error from Antelope catcher Alton Gyselman allowed the Huskers to score another. All told, Nebraska plated six in the inning and all came with two outs to bring the score to 8-1.

GCU began to chip away scoring one run in the third and fourth before countering with a big inning of its own in the fifth. A leadoff single forced a pitching change for the Huskers. In came Tucker Timmerman who hit a batter, walked another to load the bases, allowed an RBI single and surrendered a game-tying grand slam.

Jalen Worthley stepped in and worked three scoreless innings to hold the score at 8-8 and that gave the Huskers a chance to retake the lead in the eighth.

A leadoff single, sacrifice bunt and hit batsman put Nebraska in business. Brumbaugh put the Huskers back on top by scoring on a passed ball and Dylan Carey stole home to give NU a 10-8 cushion.

“It’s something we’re always kinda looking for to get that edge,” Bolt said. “I think we did it a couple years ago with (Brice) Matthews. I’m just proud of Carey for showing the guts to get out there and be bold and what a call by coach Harvell right there.”

The combination of Bobby Olsen, Grant Cleavinger, Rans Sanders and Kyle Perry turned the Antelopes away in the final two innings and clinched the series win.

Nebraska grinds out a series win

It wasn’t always pretty, but Nebraska made the plays it needed to (and failed to make last week) to pick up its first winning weekend of 2024.

An emotional loss on Saturday followed by some postgame conflict setup much higher stakes for Sunday’s finale. The Huskers found a way to scratch across runs on the base paths and put pressure on the GCU defense throughout. NU hit .364 with runners in scoring position, .375 with two outs, .500 from the leadoff spot and converted 60.9% of its advancement opportunities.

Nebraska tallied five two-out RBIs and scored seven of its 10 runs with two outs.

“We just said, ‘Bring it on,'” Bolt said of the Huskers’ mentality entering the day. “We’re on a quest to try to be the toughest team in the country. There’s no stats to go with that. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It’s just staying in the fight and finding a way to get the job done.”

Meanwhile, a number of bullpen arms got chances to earn redemption after NU’s two blown leads in the ninth last week. Worthley was excellent after taking over for Timmerman. He picked up a well-deserved win with three scoreless inning while scattering three hits.

Cleavinger and Sanders were called upon in critical spots to make their first appearance as Huskers. The duo took down the No. 3 and No. 4 hitters in the GCU order respectively. Then Perry, who allowed the home run that got Oklahoma back into the game a week ago, records the final two outs of the ninth and the fourth save of his Husker career.

“Cleavinger, I mean, the stuff was sharp,” Bolt said. “He was on attack right there and that’s their best hitter. He made some really good pitches and got us off the field. It’s funny, I told Rans this morning to stay hungry and stay ready. He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m always ready.’ It was a big out to get the leadoff hitter and played good defense there and good catch to start the inning. KP, the grizzled veteran, on attack. He wanted that moment. He wanted to be on the field there and he was nails.”

Josh Caron makes a strong case for Big Ten POTW

What a weekend for Josh Caron. In fact, it could be just good enough to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

The junior catcher from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, hit .353 for the series with three home runs, a triple and 10 RBIs. In each of the Huskers final three games, Caron drove in NU’s first runs of the ballgame. That included two of his three home runs from the series occurring in the first inning.

Nebraska’s next closest bat has just four RBIs.

After a fast start in 2023 and a poor finish that saw Caron often batting in the bottom of the lineup, it would’ve been difficult to see a weekend like this one coming. He missed most of the fall, too. Should Caron extend this level of play into next week, the top half of the Husker order has a chance to be one of the best in the conference.

What’s next for Nebraska baseball?

Nebraska will hit the road one final time next week before the home-opener series against South Alabama. The Huskers will face off with the undefeated Charleston College Cougars (7-0) in another four-game set that will begin on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. CT.

FloSports is the streaming home for the weekend and all four games can also be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.