The Nebraska baseball team (27-11) scored nine runs in the final three innings to take down Ohio State (19-17) 11-9. The Huskers erased a seven run deficit to take their second win over the Buckeyes in their third meeting.
Shay Schanaman got the start for NU in this game, and OSU found a way to hit off him quickly. In the bottom of the first inning, the junior allowed a base hit followed by a two-run home run that put the Big Red behind early.
Nebraska showed a trend that would continue later in the game and they didn’t go down without a fight. In the second inning, after two walks, a throwing error to first scored a run that cut the Ohio State lead in half. The Huskers tied it up in the fifth with a solo home run from Jaxon Hallmark.
The Buckeyes bounced back quickly and in the bottom of the fifth, Schanaman allowed three hits and the defense made an error to allow three runs to score. OSU tacked on four more runs in the sixth inning after Ethan Bradford took the mound with two runners on. The sophomore walked four runners and another defensive error made the score 9-2 and things looked bleak for NU.
However, like they have done all season, the Big Red kept fighting and scored five runs in the seventh inning off three hits and some wild pitches. In the eighth inning, it looked like Nebraska might tie it up or take the lead as they loaded the bases, but Ohio State got out of the jam with no runs allowed. Behind by two runs and a runner on first, Griffin Everitt stepped up to the plate and sent a ball over the left field wall to tie the game. The junior had been cramping after catching two straight games in less than 24 hours and he limped across home plate after helping his team back in this game. To top things off, Jaxon Hallmark drove in a run two at-bats later and he was driven in by Spencer Schwellenbach to make the score 11-9.
Schwellenbach was in to close from the mound once again and he put the Buckeyes away with no mistakes. The junior who pitched in game one of the series against Indiana earned another save and went three up, three down to close out the win for the Huskers.
NU was down 9-2 after six innings, and on a hot day in Bloomington, Indiana, it would have been easy to throw in the towel and focus on game two of the doubleheader. However, this team plays to win. After giving up four runs, the Big Red recuperated in the dugout and head coach Will Bolt told the guys he didn’t care what the score was, just continue competing and they did just that. Nebraska bounced back with five runs of their own in the seventh and topped it off with four more in the ninth. In a conference race that is nearing it’s end, the Huskers are making their case for claiming first.
After Shay Schanaman had a rough start from the mound and Ethan Mason struggled to get things going, Quinn Mason was able to settle things down for NU. However, after just three pitches where he retired an inning with a pop up and a hit in the following inning, the sophomore had to exit with an injury. Emmett Olson came in following the seven runs allowed in the fifth and sixth innings and he retired the seventh inning with just one hit allowed. The freshman went three up, three down in the eighth and handed it off to Schwellenbach who closed the game out. In a game where there was a huge comeback storyline, the freshman deserves major credit for putting out the fire that was the OSU offense.
The Big Red will play in game three of the pod series at 5:30 today against Indiana. The final game of the series will be against the Buckeyes tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.
The Indiana game will be on ESPNU and the Ohio State game will be on Big Ten Network. Both games can also be heard on Husker Sports Network.
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