Horn, Huskers Stay Alive with 4-1 Win on Saturday
Ty Horn allowed one run across 7.1 innings and Cayden Brumbaugh slugged the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the fifth, as Nebraska kept its season alive with a 4-1 victory over Holy Cross in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Nebraska (33-28) scored four runs on 10 hits, while Holy Cross (31-27) scored one run across five hits.
Devin Nunez had a career day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Brumbaugh went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, while Hogan Helligso was 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and a run scored.
Max Buettenback and Rhett Stokes tallied one hit apiece for the Huskers on Saturday afternoon.
Horn allowed just one run across five hits in 7.1 innings to improve to 4-4 on the season. The sophomore surrendered a walk and struck out six batters. Luke Broderick collected his 13th save of the season after dealing 1.2 shutout frames to move into a tie for third-most in a season by an NU reliever. Broderick is the first Husker with 13 saves in a season since Colby Gomes in 2019.
Nebraska threatened in the bottom of the third after loading the bases with no outs. Helligso drew a full-count walk and Riley Silva was hit by the pitch, before Nunez singled through the right side to load the bases. Holy Cross eluded the harm by retiring the next three Husker batters to send a scoreless deadlock into the fourth inning.
A leadoff solo homer to right field to open the fifth inning gave the Crusaders a 1-0 lead over the Huskers.
The NU offense answered immediately with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to grab a 2-1 advantage. Nunez lined his second double of the afternoon to left field, setting the table for Brumbaugh’s two-run blast over the wall in left-center field to give the Big Red its first lead of the weekend.
Horn sat down the Crusaders in order in the sixth and seventh innings, before Helligso doubled NU’s lead to 3-1 with a solo homer to left field to begin the bottom of the seventh.
Three consecutive free passes loaded the bases with one out for Holy Cross in the top of the eighth inning, but Broderick induced an inning-ending double play to get out of the frame unscathed and keep Nebraska’s 3-1 lead.
The Huskers added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Helligso drove in a run for the second straight inning. Stoke ripped a 0-1 pitch down the left-field line for a two-out RBI double, while Helligso lined an RBI single into the alley in right-center field to score Stokes from second and make it a three-run game.
Broderick retired the Crusaders in order with a trio of groundouts in the top of the ninth to clinch Nebraska’s 4-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
Nebraska will take on the loser of North Carolina/Oklahoma tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT in an elimination game at Boshamer Stadium. Sunday’s action can be seen on ESPN+, while fans can also listen to Ben McLaughlin and Nick Handley call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.