Huskers Take First Game of Doubleheader, 7-2, Even Series with Purdue

Round Rock – The Nebraska baseball team picked up its first win of the 2021 season and evened its series with the Purdue Boilermakers with a 7-2 win in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. A six-run third inning was all the Huskers needed in the morning contest, as senior Chance Hroch went 6.0 innings in his first start as Huskers. Hroch allowed nine hits, struck out three and allowed one walk.

Leadoff hitter Jaxon Hallmark led NU at the plate with a career-high tying four hits and scored two runs. Freshman Max Anderson continued his hot start with second-straight three-hit game, including a second-inning double, and two RBIs.

Nebraska’s offense knocked Purdue start Calvin Schapira after just 2.2 innings, as it tagged him for six runs on six hits.

After Nebraska was unable to take advantage of a two-out bases-loaded opportunity in the top the second the Huskers broke the game open in the third with six runs. The Huskers again loaded the bases, this time with one out, and Anderson delivered with a two-RBI single through the left side.  Scharpria then got a pop up that put two outs on the board, but the NU responded with a RBI single from Luke Roskam, Efry Cervantes reached on a dropped fly ball that scored Anderson and Joe Acker drove an 0-2 offering up the middle for a two-RBI single that knocked Schapira out of the game. Eric Hildebrand came in from the bullpen and notched a strikeout to end the six-run inning.

Purdue came out in the bottom of the frame and the first two batters of the inning reached, but Hroch dug in and got three straight outs, including  pick off, to keep the Huskers in front 6-0.

Following scoreless fourth and fifth innings from both teams the Huskers added a run in the top of the sixth. Hallmark led off with a single, moved to second on a failed pickoff, took third on a fly out and then scored on a RBI single from Spencer Schwellenbach.

Purdue put its leadoff batter on base for the fourth straight inning in the bottom of the sixth when Ben Nisle tripled to right field. Hroch was unable to escape the threat like the previous three innings, as Miles Simington followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Nisle. Mike Bolton followed with the second triple of the inning and then scored on a RBI groundout from Zac Fascia. Hroch limited the damage to a pair of runs, keeping Huskers in front, 7-2, headed to the seventh. 

The Boilermakers got back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh and the Huskers went to transfer Cam Wynne. The Lincoln High product came out of the pen throwing strikes and dealt back-to-back strikeouts before getting a routine 1-3 groundout to end the game.

Game two of today’s doubleheader is set to start at 1:15 PM and will be a nine-inning game.