Altavilla powers Nebraska to a 10-4 win over the Hawkeyes
Nebraska (16-17, 3-7) shortstop Angelo Altavilla was finally able to break out of his hitting slump and help NU conquer the Iowa Hawkeyes (21-11, 6-4) 10-4 during game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Altavilla missed all of last weekend’s series against Michigan State due to a hamstring injury, but he was able to make a big impact during game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.
“Sometimes you come out and you want to do more,” head coach Darin Erstad said. “A little break for Angelo just for him to calm down and reset and he did a really nice job.”
Iowa got off to a quick start as preseason B1G player of the year favorite Robert Neustrom hit his sixth home run of the year to make it a quick 1-0 lead. Nebraska pitcher Matt Waldron would settle in and force two groundouts.
The offense kicked into gear for the Huskers in the bottom of the third inning freshman Gunnar Hellstrom singled down the middle and junior Jesse Wilkening crushed a two-run homerun to give the Huskers a 2-1 lead.
Altavilla entered the game batting .211 for the season. The junior was thought to be one of the most consistent NU batters going into this season. It’s been one of frustration, inconsistency and disappointed.
“It’s been frustrating,” Altavilla said. “It’s been up and down, but I’m taking that last week off and hoping it’s a blessing in disguise and I think I got off to a great start.”
He was able to put two months’ worth of frustration in one swing as he smashed a two-run home-run down the right field line. You could sense the stress leave him as he rounded the bases and his teammates were fired up as they greeted him at home plate.
“I don’t know how I did it, but I was itching to get out there and it was nice to see one go out,” Altavilla said.
He’s been a big part of the puzzle for us since he’s been here,” Erstad said. “He got off to a slow start at the plate. But to see him come back like that and hit from the left side of the plate where he’s at his best and he looked like he was moving really well on defense.”
The Hawkeyes would respond in the top of the fourth as senior catcher Tyler Cropley was able to blast a two-run homerun of his own to trim the lead 4-3.
Altavilla’s hunger for success wanted to come back for seconds because his power-performance wasn’t done. In the bottom of the fifth he came out and blasted a solo homerun to extend the Husker lead 5-3.
Will this type of performance change the course of Altavilla’s season? Who knows. But for a guy that has dealt with batting struggles, fielding issues and injuries, it’s a big step in the right direction and has to give him confidence moving forward.
Another guy that had a slow start to the season, but has picked it up as of late is Luke Roskam. Roskam had a big game in game two as he hit a RBI double in the seventh inning to score Wilkening.
Waldron put together one of the best starts of his season. After allowing three early runs, Waldron retired 12 straight batters after giving up the two-run shot. He finished with 7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER and four strikeouts. He pitched a total of 108 pitches.
“I was kind of upset, it was a bad pitch on my part,” Waldron said. “I just reached back a little more and throw harder, hit my spots and keep it down.”
“Overall he pitched very well,” Erstad said. “We needed that, we need every win we can get. It was big.”
Nebraska would put up two more runs in the seventh inning thanks to Alex Henwood and Gunner Hellstrom. NU senior Scott Schreiber extended his hitting streak to 12 games and seven of the starters got hits for the Huskers.
Nebraska returns to action on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. NU pitcher RHP Matt Warren (3-2, 5.60 ERA, 35.1 IP, 24 K)) will be taking on Iowa right-hander Cole McDonald (2-1, 3.19 ERA, 36.2 IP, 30 K). The game can be seen on BTN Plus and can be heard on the Huskers IMG Sports Network.
“We might not be very good, but those boys are going to fight there’s no doubt about it. We made some silly mistakes, but there’s a lot of heart in that dugout and they are going to battle until the bitter end."
INJURIES:
Luke Roskam injured his ankle during game two.
Zac Luckey injured his groin in game one according to Erstad.
There has been no word if they will be available for Sunday's game.