Huskers Cruise Past Wolverines in Series Finale

Fueled by seven extra-base hits and three home runs, Nebraska cruised past Michigan to clinch the weekend series with an 11-3 win on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Nebraska (18-10-1, 4-2 Big Ten) totaled 11 runs on 12 hits, while Michigan (17-14, 6-3 Big Ten) tallied three runs on 11 hits and two errors.

Will Walsh had the no-decision in the start after allowing three runs on seven hits in 3.0 innings. Michael Garza replaced Walsh on the mound and improved to 2-3 on the season. The Incarnate Word transfer pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four Wolverines. Jake Bunz struck out four Wolverines and gave up one hit in the final two innings.

Josh Caron had a team-high three hits, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and pair of runs scored. Max Anderson went 2-for-5 with a double, home run, three RBI and two runs, while Dylan Carey had two hits. Brice Matthews was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and two runs, while Charlie Fischer, Gabe Swansen, Cole Evans and Efry Cervantes recorded one hit each.

Michigan scored first for the first time this weekend with a pair of runs on three hits in the opening inning. Back-to-back singles and a fielder’s choice set up the two-RBI single through the left side that plated the game’s first two runs of the day.

The Huskers answered with four runs on four hits, including a pair of home runs in the second to grab a 4-2 lead. Caron led off the inning with a 396-foot solo shot to left for his fourth homer of the season.

Carey and Cervantes reached on back-to-back singles through the left and right sides, respectively, before Matthews crushed a three-run blast over the wall in left to make it a 4-2 game.

The third inning began just like the second for the Big Red, as Anderson lifted a solo home run to right for his team-leading 11th homer of the season. Back-to-back one-out doubles by Caron and Swansen capped the third-inning scoring and extended the lead to 6-2.

Michigan got one of the runs back and cut the deficit to three with bottom of the fourth with a leadoff homer to center by Jake Marti.

NU got the run back in the next half inning to make it a 7-3 game in the fifth. Fischer drew a four-pitch walk in a pinch-hitting appearance before Caron unloaded a ground-rule double into the right-field corner to place runners on second and third with one out. Fischer jogged on home in the next at-bat when Swansen lifted a sacrifice fly to center.

The Husker offense tacked on three more runs in the sixth to reach 10-plus runs for the ninth time this season. Matthews and Burnham reached on back-to-back two-out walks to set up Anderson’s two-RBI double to left-center. Fischer brought Anderson home on an RBI single to center, growing the lead to 10-3 after six innings.

Nebraska scored in the third consecutive inning with a run on a pair of hits in the seventh to make it an eight-run game. Evans reached on a single, stole second and took third on a wild throw by the Michigan catcher, before Carey blooped an RBI single to shallow right field to plate Evans.

Bunz took the mound for the final two innings, collecting four strikeouts and limiting Michigan to just one hit to preserve the 11-3 win on Sunday.

Nebraska begins a five-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Omaha on Tuesday, April 11 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Tuesday night’s game will be broadcast live on Nebraska Public Media, with first pitch scheduled for 6:02 p.m.