Nebraska loses to Illinois 10-8 in game two

The Nebraska baseball (12-5) team’s seven game win streak came to an end after losing to Illinois 10-8 in game two of the series.

Chance Hroch got the start for the Huskers and he struggled to keep Illinois off the board. After the offense was put down in order, the Illini got their bats rolling off Hroch with a lead off base hit and a two-run home run in the second at-bat. After the righty walked one and hit another batter, Illinois scored two more runs on one hit and NU was behind early.

The offense cut the lead to three in the top of the third inning, but in the bottom of that same inning Hroch couldn’t keep the Illini off the board and they brought it back to four. After trading runs, the Huskers headed to the top of the fifth and they fought back to tie the game back up. After loading the bases, Spencer Schwellenbach stepped up and hit for the Big Red’s third grand slam of the year. Cam Chick followed that up with a solo homer and gave Nebraska their first lead.

In to pitch in the bottom of the inning was Emmett Olson to relieve Hroch and he couldn’t keep Illinois from hitting either. Four base hits scored two runs, and that ended the day for Olson. Cam Wynne came in to close out the inning, and he retired the side.

Illinois extended the lead to two runs in the next inning, but NU’s offense wasn’t done yet. In the top of the eighth inning, Jack Steil hit a solo home run to lead off the inning, and back to back hits scored another run to tie the game at eight.

Tyler Martin worked for one inning for the Big Red and gave up no runs on one hit. Following that was Max Schreiber in the bottom of the eighth inning after Nebraska had just tied up the game. Schreiber gave up a single and then a two-run home run, and the Huskers were unable to recover in the ninth.

Illinois is one of the best hitting teams in the Big Ten, and it showed. NU gave up runs in five of the eight innings, and four of the five relievers gave up a run. The Illini combined for 16 hits and that was enough to win this one. Four runs early on put the Big Red on the back foot, and the entire game they were fighting back. After they took the lead for the first time, Illinois tied it up in the next half-inning, and later when Nebraska tied it up, Illinois regained the lead in the next half-inning. Against a team that hits so well, the Huskers struggled to put them away.

While they gave up 10 runs on defense, NU kept the bats hot. The Big Red had 13 hits for their eight runs, and that came with three home runs. Nebraska was able to rally together hits for runs in three innings. The most productive inning came in the fifth when the Huskers loaded the bases for Spencer Schwellenbach to hit a grand slam. Cam Chick followed that up with a solo shot and that scored five runs in the inning. Two runs in eighth inning tied up the game and showed fight from NU, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

The Big Red will play in the rubber match against the Illini tomorrow at noon. Following this series, Nebraska will head home again for a three-game series against Maryland.

All three games can be streamed on BTN+ and heard on Husker Sports Network. Saturday’s game will be on NET Nebraska as well.