Nebraska baseball still winless after tying San Diego 16-16

On3 imageby:Blake Aerni02/20/23

BlakeAerni

The Nebraska baseball team went into the final half-inning of the game leading by six. All they needed to do to earn their first win of the season was get three outs. Anything else and they would lose… Or tie?

Due to travel creating time constraints, the Huskers agreed with the Toreros before the first pitch that no new innings were to be started after 5:00 p.m. CST. This would make for a bizarre ending as the Big Red watched their six-run lead slip, but after recording the final out in the seventh inning, the game was tied.

Click here for a limited time, register, and get full access until the start of the next football season for only $29.99

Recap: Nebraska vs. San Diego

It was a game of streaks.

NU was the first to strike. Dylan Carey lifted the seventh pitch of the game over the left-center field wall, giving Nebraska a 1-0 lead. The freshman drove in another run in the second inning. Brice Matthews and Max Anderson did the same to make it 4-0 Huskers.

After taking what NU thought was full control of this game, the Toreros took their turn.

Jackson Brockett was on the mound to start for the Big Red and he started strong, giving up just one run on one hit in his two innings pitched. After the freshman made way in the third inning, Drew Christo took over on the mound.

Christo’s first inning went to plan, retiring the side. However, his day ended in the fourth inning after a wild throw to first base brought in a run for San Diego. Austin Berggren then grabbed the ball with the bases loaded, where he retired two batters, allowing two runs in the process.

Jake Bunz then took over with two runners on base, and after walking a Toreros batter, allowed a grand slam. Will Walsh then took over and allowed another home run, and by the end of the fourth inning, San Diego led 10-4.

“It’s the simplest thing you can do as a pitcher is just throw the ball over the plate or else you don’t deserve to be on the mound. We were absolutely abysmal at that out of the bullpen all weekend.”

-Head coach Will Bolt

The Husker offense went to work. Garrett Anglim drove in two runs in the top of the fifth, and Griffin Everitt followed up with a base hit that cleared the bases and put the Big Red within one.

The following inning, Charlie Fischer took the lead back with a two-run shot to give NU an 11-10 lead. Luke Sartori‘s seventh inning base hit followed by an error brought in two more runs for the Big Red. A big seventh inning with RBIs from Caleb Fisher and Brice Matthews put the Huskers on top 16-10.

Now with the aforementioned time restrictions, the seventh inning would be the final inning. Nebraska knew this, so three outs would have given them their first victory of the season. However, Nebraska awarded five-straight free bases to start the inning, and after a sac-fly and a three-run home run, it was tied up. After recording the final out, the game ended just like that, 16-16.

Couldn’t close it out

Nebraska knew what they needed to win this game. The offense did enough in the seventh and final inning. Three outs before giving up six runs and they would have had their first win of the season.

But once again, they didn’t close it out.

Shay Schanaman entered the game in the seventh inning, and awarded five straight free bases and a run. This was just the start, as Mason Ornelas followed up with a walk as well and a sacrifice fly to retire the first batter. However, the Toreros had scored three runs at this point. Ornelas retired the next batter, but it was Jack Costello who punished the Huskers with a three-run home run that tied things up.

Dylan Carey impressed

If there was a positive for the Big Red to take out of a winless opening weekend, it was Dylan Carey. The freshman went 8-17 from the batters box, driving in four runs. He hit two home runs and led the team in batting average (.471), slugging percentage (.941), and even earned a walk.

In a weekend where there were few positives for NU, the freshman gave them something to look forward to.

What’s next?

The Huskers are back in action on Friday as they take on South Alabama in a three-game series. Friday’s game is a 6:30 p.m. CST start time, followed by a 2:00 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday. The weekend games can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard on the Huskers Radio Network.

You may also like