Nebraska walks off game one against Indiana

The Nebraska baseball team (21-10) fought through an hour long rain delay to beat Indiana (22-10) 7-6. The game was tied in the ninth inning and the Huskers hit a walk off single to take game one.

Out of the gate, NU was looking like they would make a statement after a rough series last weekend. Cade Povich pitched the first two innings with six strikeouts and no hit allowed, and the offense took over from there.

In the bottom of the second inning, a leadoff single and an error from Indiana put two runners on, and a double from Jack Steil scored both of the runners. With a 2-0 lead, Povich took the mound and struck out one more in the third inning. The Hoosiers got one big swing off of the starter and a solo home run made the lead just one run. The Big Red added on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning but the rain was coming down hard enough to stop play.

After leading 4-1 at the rain delay, Povich’s day was done and Koty Frank took his place. The junior loaded the bases on three walks and a sacrifice fly scored one run. The next at-bat, Indiana hit a three-run home run and took the lead and the momentum after the delay.

Jake Bunz took over from the mound in the sixth inning, and he threw two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings. The bats heated up enough in the bottom of the seventh to regain the lead after Spencer Schwellenbach and Max Anderson drove in one run each. With two outs and a runner on first base, Schwellenbach took over from the mound and he gave up a double and walked two which drove in a run to tie the game.

The ninth inning was better for the junior and he pitched a scoreless inning, which gave Nebraska one more chance before extra innings. With runners on second and third, Gunner Hellstrom was brought in to pinch hit, and he put a ball into play that was too much for the second baseman to handle, and walked off the game.

Early in this game, the Huskers took their opportunities to score and played aggressive baseball. With rain pouring down before the delay, NU scored their first two runs with aggressive baserunning on an infield ground out and a double. In the fourth inning, the Big Red stole four bases, and that caused Indiana to make mistakes. The third run of the game for Nebraska came when Mojo Hagge stole second and was about to be caught and picked off, but a throwing error by the pitcher drove in the runner on third. During that at-bat, a squeeze bunt scored Hagge and aggressive baseball got the Huskers out in front.

After starting fast, NU’s momentum was killed with an hour rain delay. On top of that Povich was taken out because of the long wait and Koty Frank was struggling. The junior gave up four runs and the score was now in favor of Indiana, however, the Big Red fought back. Two runs in the seventh inning saw Nebraska take the lead back from the Hoosiers, but Indiana tied it up with one inning left. The Huskers finished this game exactly how they imagined heading into the ninth, and a walkoff single put them on top. After a series where the offense couldn’t come back after falling behind, they will look to use this momentum for the three remaining games in the series.

NU will face off against Indiana once more, followed by two games against Rutgers. Sunday will be a double-header, the first game against the Hoosiers at 10:00 a.m. and the second game against the Scarlet Knights at 2:00 p.m. The series will finish on Monday at 10:00 a.m. against Rutgers.

All three games can be streamed on BTN+ or heard on Husker Sports Network.