Jasa and the offense shine in Nebraska baseball 12-2 win over No. 12 USC
Nebraska baseball (30-9, 14-3 Big Ten) dominated No. 12 USC (30-10, 13-7) in all facets Saturday, securing a 12-2 win in seven innings to clinch a massive series for postseason implications. The game was played in front of 7,602 fans which marks the second-highest home attendance in the Huskers’ Big Ten era.
“It felt like a regional,” head coach Will Bolt said postgame. “I never take for granted for one second what this fan base has done to support us and it obviously affected the game last night. Once it got rolling in the first inning today you could feel the energy and the buzz.”
The Huskers wasted no time at the plate. They tagged potential All-American Grant Govel for four runs in the first inning and continued the onslaught in the third. A three-homer barrage in that frame chased the Trojans’ starter from the game early.
Carson Jasa artistry was on full display. He carved up the USC lineup across seven innings, totaling six strikeouts and allowing only two hits. His three-pitch mix kept the Trojans off balance throughout the afternoon.
“I think I am tough to score runs against,” Jasa said. “Trusting the middle of zone and trusting my defense is huge.”
Drew Grego had a career day at Hawks Field, launching his sixth home run of the season in the third. The Bellevue West product recorded another multi-hit game and drove in four runs. Nebraska finished with its second straight double-digit hit effort, led by three hits apiece from Grego and shortstop Dylan Carey.
Here is an instant recap of the Big Red’s 30th win of the season…
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The offensive momentum carries seamlessly into Saturday
The Huskers wasted no time getting on the board following Friday’s walk-off win. USC starter Grant Govel carried a perfect 7-0 record into Saturday, but the Big Red were eager to notch his first blemish. Mac Moyer, the hero from the night prior, led off the frame with a single to set the tone.
“We were looking for the heater early,” Dylan Careysaid about the scout on Govel. “I think all of us were on top of it and just being ready for the heater and that is what we did.”
Jeter Worthley and Case Sanderson then combined for some team baseball to manufacture the game’s first run. Worthley moved Moyer over with a deep fly ball, and Sanderson drove him home on a 4-3 rollover. The fundamental approach allowed Nebraska to draw first blood and settle in early.
The scoring surge continued with a Carey single. Defensive issues plagued the Trojans all Friday night, and those struggles returned in the first inning on a Jett Buck fly ball to center. Will Stickney bobbled the ball, allowing the stealing Carey to score and Buck to reach second. A double by Grego and a single from Joshua Overbeek scored two more, quickly putting a top-15 team on the ropes.
Jasa remained dominant on the mound while the offense provided the cushion. After setting the Trojans down in order in the first, he racked up another strikeout in a clean second inning. He maintained that composure in the third, inducing an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The right-hander made his presence known afterward, jawing at the USC dugout all the way back to his own bench. It marked the second straight outing where Jasa has been caught by backup catcher Trey Fikes and a run-rule was achieved.
“We like playing together and we like winning,” Jasa said postgame. “We really hate losing together but I think we enjoy playing together.”
Booming third inning smokes out the USC starter
One week ago, Carey and Sanderson hit back-to-back long balls, and seven days later they did it again. The long ball took center stage in the third inning as the Huskers dismantled Govel with a relentless power display.
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Sanderson ignited the fireworks with a towering, no-doubt solo home run, and Carey immediately followed suit by launching a back-to-back blast to push the lead to six. Not to be outdone, freshman Grego joined the home run parade later in the frame with his own solo shot, extending the Nebraska advantage to a commanding 7-0 and forcing the USC dugout to search for answers.
“I thought we took really good BP and I think we prepare well,” Bolt said. “We talked about being one through nine and it was certainly that today. We knew we were going to get a lot of pitches in the zone to hit and we needed to swing.”
Jasa’s dominance reigned into the middle innings to back up his raging offense. The junior managed a clean fourth inning that ended in another 4-6-3 double play on the ball that had Rhett Stokes ranging to his left. The fifth inning was a complete masterpiece with three strikeouts. On his second strike out he hit a season high 98 mph with the fastball. After his fifth strikeout to end the inning, Hawks Field was a madness of electricity with Jasa hyping up the crowd.
The Huskers continued to add pressure in the bottom half. USC brought on reliever Paul Grossman who NU clearly had a scout on. Carey and Buck both reached and combined for three stolen bases off of the Trojans’ left-hander. Grego continued his red-hot day with his third hit and RBIs three and four on a one-out single to make it 9-0 Big Red.
Jasa kills all hope of a USC comeback
Jasa continued his roll with a scoreless sixth frame. He navigated the bottom of the order and the top of the lineup, adding another strikeout of Isaac Cadena, who homered in the game’s second at-bat Friday. By the time Jasa finished the inning, he had thrown only 77 pitches, 47 for strikes.
Nebraska applied a full-court press in the bottom of the sixth. After the first two hitters were retired, the Huskers applied pressure with two outs. Moyer reached on another USC error and moved to second on a balk. Worthley was hit by a pitch before Sanderson propelled the Big Red into mercy-rule territory with his second hit of the game.
Jasa allowed his first run in the top half of the seventh on a one-out long ball for Adrian Lopez which ended the threat of a run-rule. Despite working into more trouble late in the inning and allowing one run, he grabbed his seventh strikeout on pitch 97 to squash USC’s hopes.
The Huskers worked some traffic in the bottom of the seventh looking for the run-rule win. Buck and Stokes reached on free passes before Fikes, the backup catcher, got his first hit of the game on a bloop to center. An error picking it up by the left fielder allowed both runs the score and the series to be clinched.
The Huskers are back in action on Sunday to finish out the series against to Trojans. First pitch is slated for 12:02 p.m. with the pitching matchup scheduled to be Gavin Blachowicz against Andrew Johnson.
