Huskers Surge Past Northwestern in Series Opener

Brice Matthews and Max Anderson homered, while the Nebraska bullpen pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, as the Huskers posted an 8-3 win vs. Northwestern on Friday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (19-11-1, 5-2 Big Ten) scored eight runs on eight hits, while Northwestern (5-23, 3-4 Big Ten) had three runs on four hits and a pair of errors.

Emmett Olson pitched the first 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on a pair of hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Corbin Hawkins improved to 2-0 on the season after pitching a career-high 3.1 innings of scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts. Kyle Perry tossed the final 2.1 innings and allowed just one hit with a season-high four strikeouts.

Anderson fell a triple shy of the cycle after going 3-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Matthews was 2-for-4 with a triple, home run, three RBI and a pair of runs. Dylan Carey also had a two-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run, while Efry Cervantes had a pinch-hit RBI single.

The Wildcats plated the game’s first run in the third inning with Cooper Foard’s 473-foot solo homer to left-center.

Northwestern tacked on two more in the fourth to grow the lead to 3-0. The Wildcats loaded the bases with three walks, setting up Alex Roessner’s two-RBI single to left.

Anderson began the bottom of the fourth with the Huskers’ first hit of the day, while a walk to Garrett Anglim and a fielder’s choice put runners on first and third for the Big Red with one out. Charlie Fischer followed by lifting a first-pitch sacrifice fly to right, scoring Anderson to make it a 3-1 game after four innings.

The Huskers grabbed the lead in the fifth after scoring five runs on four hits and an error to jump ahead 6-3. Carey doubled down the left-field line and Cole Evans reached on a fielder’s choice to set up Matthews’ two-RBI triple to the wall in right-center. The Huskers led 5-3 after Anderson unleashed a one-out two-run homer into the left-center berm.

Anglim reached on a two-base error with two outs and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring on Cervantes’ pinch-hit RBI single to right field, giving the Huskers the three-run lead through five.

The lead stretched to four in the sixth after Matthews lined an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left-center for his 11th home run of the season.

Anderson led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the right-field line and advanced to third on a balk, while trotting home on an RBI groundout by Anglim to make it 8-3.

With the five-run lead, Perry shut down Northwestern in the final two innings. The captain worked around an infield single in the eighth and totaled three strikeouts in the final two innings to clinch the series-opening win for the Huskers.

Nebraska and Northwestern resume the series tomorrow at Hawks Field, with first pitch set for 2:02 p.m. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on Nebraska Public Media, with Larry Punteney and Jeff Leise on the call.