Big Red explosion powers Nebraska baseball in series-opening win at Minnesota
No. 24 Nebraska baseball (39-14, 21-7) took the wild series opener at Minnesota (30-21, 11-17), 12-7, on Thursday in Minneapolis to secure a top-4 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.
Trailing 4-1 entering the sixth, the Huskers put together a seven-run crooked inning and never looked back. That inning featured a game-tying RBI from Case Sanderson and the go-ahead RBI from Joshua Overbeek.
To top it off, the Big Red put together a four-run seventh to cruise to victory, which included a two-run double from Overbeek.
The two-inning explosion consisted of 11 runs off 11 hits.
“There was a big-time decision made by our guys there in the middle innings that we weren’t going to go away,” head coach Will Bolt told the Huskers Radio Network.
Overbeek, the NU third baseman, finished 2-for-5 with a game-high three RBI. Drew Grego posted his second straight three-hit performance. The rookie right fielder finished 3-for-5 with an RBI. Seven different Huskers batted in a run.
Nebraska now sits 12th in the Live RPI.
Here is an instant recap from Game 1…
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Nebraska plates one after bizarre delay
The Huskers went down quickly in the first two, but took forever in the third, and it was not due to a crooked number.
Scorching-hot catcher Larry “Trey” Fikes led off the third with a single before a Rhett Stokes sac-bunt moved him to scoring position.
Stokes made minor contact with Minnesota starter Cole Selvig right at first base. That turned into a nearly half-hour-long review in one of the most bizarre moments ever witnessed in baseball. Yet nothing came about of the “review.”
Once play resumed, Mac Moyer drilled an RBI double to bring home Fikes and hand Nebraska a 1-0 lead. Moyer finished 2-for-4 with two RBI.
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Jasa folds after strong first three
Reigning Big Ten pitcher of the week Carson Jasa started strong but lost his command in a rocky finish. Jasa pounded the strike zone through the first three. In fact, the 6-foot-7 Nebraska ace did not issue a free pass until the fourth inning.
In each of those frames, Jasa stranded a Golden Gopher in scoring position and held four strikeouts.
After sitting for over half an hour due to the who-knows-what delay, the Thornton, Colorado, native still had his stuff to work another clean frame, which included stranding another runner in scoring position.
However, Jasa’s command significantly slipped in the fourth. He plunked the lead-off hitter and surrendered back-to-back RBI knocks as Minnesota took a 2-1 lead.
His issues dipped even further in the fifth. Jasa issued four walks, along with throwing a wild pitch, to surrender two runs and end his start after just 4 2/3.
Credit Colin Nowaczyk (W). He worked through Jasa’s bases-loaded jam to strike out the final out and avoid what could have been worse.
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“We scored first, and they grabbed all the momentum there with two 2-spots there,” Bolt said. “It’s 4-1, Nowaczyk makes a big pitch to get off the field right there, to keep us there. Felt like, ‘OK, that was their shot to knock us out,’ and we made the pitch there.”
Tucker Timmerman tossed the next three innings with two earned runs allowed before Pryce Bender recorded the final three outs in his first appearance in over a month.
“(Timmerman) grinded through it there. He didn’t have his best stuff, and we just needed strikes,” Bolt said. “We made some defensive plays behind him, which were pretty big. And Pryce Bender, it was good to see him out there.
“We didn’t have to go to J’Shawn (Unger). We had somebody come in the game and just attack the strike zone. (Bender) had a different look to him today than what we’ve seen, very determined. We need some more guys to step up, and it’s good to see Bender finish that game.”
Gritty Huskers respond yet again
Facing a three-run deficit, the gritty Huskers yet again punched right back like they have all season in the sixth.
Moyer and Jeter Worthley set the table for Dylan Carey’s RBI single, in which two scored after an E7 bobble. Moments later, Sanderson drilled Carey home to even it up at four apiece.
Overbeek drilled Sanderson home with a one-out RBI single to take the lead. Going up to bat for the second time of the frame, Moyer was awarded an RBI after getting plunked before Worthley capped off the resilient frame with a two-RBI single.
Minnesota answered with two runs, but that Big Red offensive awakening carried to the seventh for another four runs.
Sanderson led off with a single before Grego racked up an RBI double. Overbeek followed with two more RBI off a double to extend NU’s lead to five before Stokes put the cherry on top with an RBI single to make it 12-6.
Nebraska returns to the ball diamond on Friday at 5 p.m. CT for Game 2 of the series. Watch on the Big Ten Network or listen on the Huskers Radio Network.
