Husker Baseball Sweeps DH vs Northwestern Saturday

GAME ONE: Huskers Rout Wildcats in Seven Innings

Nebraska run-ruled Northwestern in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with a 14-4 win in seven innings at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (18-21, 6-11 Big Ten) scored 14 runs on 11 hits, while Northwestern (17-19, 8-9 Big Ten) scored four runs on seven hits.

Max Buettenback was 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Cayden Brumbaugh drove in a run and went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Gabe Swansen had a 1-for-2 afternoon with a grand slam.

Joshua Overbeek and Will Jesske had one hit and two RBI each, while Cael Frost, Tyler Stone, Robby Bolin and Dylan Carey tallied one hit apiece.

Ty Horn improved to 1-4 on the season after allowing three runs on five hits across five innings. The sophomore struck out six Wildcats and issued two walks. Tucker Timmerman pitched the final two innings, surrendering one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts and a walk.

The Husker offense went to work early, plating five runs on five hits to take a five-run lead after the opening inning. A pair of one-out singles from Brumbaugh and Buettenback and a walk to Stone loaded the bases for the Big Red.

Swansen cleared the bases with Nebraska’s first grand slam of the season, drilling an 0-2 pitch 362 feet to right. Bolin followed the homer with a single through the right side, before Carey’s sacrifice bunt advanced Bolin to second base.

Overbeek added to the lead with a first-pitch RBI single through the right side that plated Bolin from second and made it 5-0 through the first.

Brumbaugh’s one-out double down the left-field line in the bottom of the second set up Buettenback’s two-run blast to right field that grew the lead to seven.

Horn allowed his first hit of the afternoon with a one-out double in the top of the fourth inning. The Wildcats followed their first hit of the day with an RBI single to left-center field that plated Northwestern’s first run of the afternoon.

Nebraska immediately got the run back in the bottom of the fourth to keep the lead at seven after four innings. Frost led off the inning by reaching first base on a wild pitch on strike three and later came around to score on Stone’s one-out RBI single to left field.

The Wildcats opened the fifth inning with a leadoff single and double to put runners on second and third with no outs. A one-out two-RBI single up the middle brought Northwestern within 8-3.

The Huskers responded with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth to expand the lead to 11-3. Bolin worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, while a second wild pitch in the inning brought him home from third. NU tacked on two more in the inning with Jesske’s RBI double down the left-field line, followed by an RBI single to right-center field from Frost.

Northwestern had runners on first and second with two outs after a double and a walk, while an RBI single through the right side plated the Wildcats’ final run of the game in the top of the sixth.

Nebraska manufactured three runs without a hit in the bottom of the sixth to grow the lead to 14-4. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases to begin the inning, while two consecutive walks plated two runs before the first out of the inning.

A sacrifice fly to deep right from Brumbaugh allowed Carey to score from third and extended the Huskers’ lead to 10.

Timmerman retired the Wildcats in order in the seventh inning to conclude Nebraska’s run-rule victory in seven innings.

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GAME TWO: Huskers Sweep Doubleheader, Clinch Series with Northwestern

Nebraska swept Saturday’s doubleheader vs. Northwestern with a 5-2 win in the series finale at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (19-21, 7-11 Big Ten) scored five runs on nine hits and an error, while Northwestern (17-20, 8-10 Big Ten) totaled two runs, six hits and two errors.

Max Buettenback, Gabe Swansen and Robby Bolin tallied two-hit performances, while Case Sanderson, Joshua Overbeek and Will Jesske had one hit apiece.

Jackson Brockett moved to 1-3 on the season after dealing five shutout frames. The senior surrendered just two hits and struck out five with one walk. Jalen Worthley gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits across a pair of innings.

Pryce Bender and Caleb Clark combined to deal 1.1 scoreless frames, while Luke Broderick picked up the final two outs to collect his ninth save of the season.

Brockett worked around a double in the first and second innings and retired the Wildcats in order in the top of the third to keep Northwestern off the board through three innings.

Nebraska plated the game’s first run with a pair of hits in the bottom of the third. Jesske began the inning with an infield single, before a wild pitch and a groundout moved the sophomore to third with two outs. A second wild pitch in the inning allowed Jesske to score from third and break the scoreless tie.

The Huskers tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to grow the lead to 3-0. Bolin reached second on a bunt single and throwing error, while Dylan Carey laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Bolin to third.

Overbeek lined an RBI double down the left-field line to score Bolin, while Sanderson’s first-pitch RBI single through the right side plated Overbeek from second to give Nebraska its three-run lead.

Back-to-back one-out singles from Swansen and Bolin had runners on first and third for the NU offense in the bottom of the fifth. A double steal of second and home stretched the lead to four for the Big Red.

The Wildcats capitalized on an NU error in the top of the seventh to climb back within 4-1. A leadoff error, followed by an RBI double down the left-field line later in the inning with two outs allowed Northwestern to score its first run of the series finale.

The Huskers answered immediately with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead back to four at 5-1. Silva entered the game as a pinch-runner after Buettenback’s leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The senior took third on Tyler Stone’s flyout to center, before jogging home on Swansen’s sacrifice fly to right field.

Northwestern made it a three-run game again in the top of the eighth with a solo homer to right field.

The Wildcats brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning after a pair of one-out singles had runners on first and second. Broderick entered the game and struck out the next to Northwestern hitters to clinch the series win for the Huskers on Saturday.

Nebraska welcomes Kansas to Hawks Field at Haymarket Park on Tuesday, April 22. First pitch between the Huskers and Jayhawks is set for 6:02 p.m. on B1G+.