Timely Hitting Pushes Huskers Past Mavericks, 8-2

The Nebraska baseball team concluded its weekend with a second win on Saturday, as the Huskers posted an 8-2 win at UT Arlington on Saturday afternoon at Clay Gould Balllpark in Arlington, Texas.

Nebraska scored eight runs on a season-high 15 hits and one error, while the Mavericks scored two runs on six hits and an error.

Dawson McCarville moved to 1-1 on the year after allowing two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work. Tyler Martin pitched one hitless inning in relief before Braxton Bragg tossed the final 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three Mavericks.

After today’s pitching performance by the Big Red, the Nebraska pitching staff only allowed a combined six runs on the weekend and allowed runs in only two of the 36 total innings.

Max Anderson led a group of four Huskers with a multi-hit game after going 4-for-5 with a triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. The four-hit performance is the third of Anderson’s career. Garrett Anglim was 3-for-5 with a pair of triples, becoming the first Husker to have two triples in a game since Blake Headley vs. Northern Colorado on March 11, 2015.

Luke Jessen had a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI and a run, while Griffin Everitt was 2-for-5 with two RBI. As a team, the Huskers swiped a team-high five stolen bases. Brice Matthews had two steals, followed by Luke Sartori, Leighton Banjoff and Tyler Palmer with one steal.

With two outs in the third, the Huskers reeled off four straight hits and scored three runs to jump ahead 3-0. Matthews began the hit parade with a single to left and a steal of second base. Jessen knocked a 2-2 pitch into left field for an RBI single to score Matthews. Anderson drilled an RBI triple to right center and scored on Everitt’s RBI single to third to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead.

Singles by Efry Cervantes, Jessen and Anderson loaded the bases with one out, setting up an RBI groundout by Everitt to score Cervantes and extend the Husker lead to 4-0 in the fifth.

A single and a walk had runners on first and second for the Mavericks with one out in the bottom of the sixth before an RBI single plated a run and put runners on first and third. An RBI groundout brought the Mavericks within two before Martin entered the game and recorded a strikeout to get out of the sixth with a two-run lead.

Josh Caron singled up the middle to open the ninth and Matthews was hit by the pitch to give the Big Red runners on first and second with one out. Palmer made a pinch-running appearance for Caron and joined Matthews in a double steal of second and third, while Palmer jogged on home after the attempt to throw him out at third sailed into left field. Sartori followed with an RBI single to the pitcher to score Matthews and make it a 6-2 game.

With two runs home in the ninth, Anderson ripped an RBI single through the right side to bring home Sartori and Jack Steil lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating Anderson and stretching the Husker lead to 8-2.

Bragg took the mound for Nebraska in the ninth and worked around a hit batter and a single to clinch the victory for the Huskers.

Nebraska returns to action with its first midweek matchup of the season, as the Huskers take on Kansas State on Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. in Manhattan, Kan.