The bats were quiet early, Shay Schanaman didn’t have his best stuff and the Huskers were down five.
But as Nebraska and Illinois showed over 27 innings this weekend, don’t throw in the towel in Champaign.
The Husker baseball team scored seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to storm back for a 12-7 series-clinching victory against the Illini on Sunday at Illinois Field.
Two-run homers by Spencer Schwellenbach and Joe Acker bookended the sixth-inning surge, with Acker’s blast to left field giving Nebraska a 9-6 lead. Sandwiched between was a bases-clearing double from Brice Matthews, the Huskers’ No. 9 hitter.
Matthews and the Huskers were not done.
The freshman, taking advantage of a laxed throw from Illinois’ catcher back to the pitcher, stole home in the top of the eighth, and Spencer Schwellenbach followed with an RBI double a pitch later. Cam Chick extended the lead to 12-7 on an RBI hit that slipped through the left side of the infield.
Nebraska finished 7-for-15 (.467) in two-out situations and 8-for-17 (.471) with runners on base. NU finished with 16 hits, including 13 over the final six innings.
Illinois plated three runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead, which led to an early exit for Schanaman, who gave up five runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings.
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