Six-Run Outburst Fuels Huskers to Series Win
Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics
No. 24 Nebraska clinched its seventh weekend series in a row this season behind a six-run fifth inning in a 7-3 win vs. Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
The Huskers (22-6, 5-0 Big Ten) scored seven runs on 11 hits, while Ohio State (12-14, 2-3 Big Ten) recorded three runs on six hits with a pair of errors.
Cayden Brumbaugh finished 2-for-5, with a double and triple, extending his on-base streak to 20 games. Dylan Carey added a pair of hits and smashed his second home run of the season in the fifth inning. Josh Caron and Joshua Overbeek each recorded two knocks, while Riley Silva and Tyler Stone both doubled.
Mason McConnaughey tossed a season-high 6.1 innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on five hits with five strikeouts. It marked the first quality start of the season for the sophomore and the second consecutive for the Husker rotation. Jalen Worthley tallied four strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief, earning his second save of the season for NU.
The Buckeyes snagged their first lead of the weekend with Mitchell Okuley’s solo homer to right field in the top of the third.
Ohio State doubled its lead to two in the fourth behind a trio of hits. Consecutive singles and a fielder’s choice had runners on first and third, while Okuley’s RBI single through the right side made it a 2-0 game.
The Husker offense exploded for six runs on seven hits in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-2 lead through five innings. Overbeek’s one-out single up the middle was Nebraska’s first hit of the day, while Carey locked the game at two with a 362-foot two-run homer into the left-field berm.
Stokes followed Carey’s homer with a single through the left side, before back-to-back RBI doubles to left field from Brumbaugh and Silva had the Big Red ahead 4-2. Silva took third on a wild pitch and later jogged home on Stone’s RBI double to center field.
Caron brought home Stone with an RBI single through the left side to conclude the scoring in the six-run fifth inning for the Huskers.
Overbeek began the bottom of the eighth with a single to right field and later scored in the inning on Brumbaugh's two-out RBI triple over the head of the OSU right-fielder to give the Huskers a five-run advantage.
The Buckeyes immediately got the run back in the top of the ninth after a plunked batter and a two-out RBI single through the right side made it a 7-3 game. Worthley induced a flyout to center in the next at-bat to clinch Nebraska's win over Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
No. 24 Nebraska and Ohio State wrap up the weekend series Sunday at 12:05 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Sunday’s matchup can be seen on B1G+, while fans can also listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.
