Alvarado leads Nebraska to a 4-0 shutout win over Cal Poly
Senior pitcher Luis Alvarado put together a solid performance and led the Huskers (7-6) to a comfortable 4-0 win over Cal Poly (6-8) on Friday afternoon.
After Thursday’s disaster finish to the game, the Huskers came out much more crisp and clean to start the game on Friday. Alvarado put together a much-needed solid pitching performance. Alvarado had four strikeouts in the first two innings. That was the total number of strikeouts in Thursday’s game.
“It starts on the mound, like we always talk about,” head coach Darin Erstad said. “We took care of the baseball. That’s the foundation of how we play, so it was good to see them bounce back.”
The action got started in the third inning when sophomore center fielder Joe Acker singled to right field. Acker was able to make it to third base thanks to a bunt from sophomore outfielder Mojo Hagge and a passed ball. Cal Poly senior pitcher Trent Shelton threw a wild pitch that scored Acker and gave NU a 1-0 lead.
“It was huge as a lead-off hitter to get on base there,” sophomore centerfielder Joe Acker said. “To get that first run across the board for us was huge. That’s my job as a baserunner, as a guy with speed to utilize that on the base pass.”
Nebraska’s offense continued to roll along in the fourth as junior shortstop Angelo Altavilla bunted and was able to reach base. Sophomore third baseman Luke Roskam followed that up with a double to left-center. That set up freshman outfielder Jaxon Hallmark’s sacrifice fly allowing Altavilla to score.
The offense didn’t stop there as freshman designated hitter Gunner Hellstrom recorded his first career hit and his first career RBI with a single to left field. That extended the Huskers lead 3-0 heading into the fifth inning.
“You try and get them some reps. They are ready, it’s just a matter of getting them in there,” Erstad said of the lineup shuffling.
Alvarado showed poise, leadership and controlled the entire game. His day was finished after the seventh inning, but he delivered as quality of a start as you can ask for. His final line was 7 IP, eight strikeouts, zero earned runs and allowed five hits. He also threw 115 pitches. Freshman reliever Paul Tillotson came in to replace him.
“I felt pretty comfortable with my fastball,” senior pitcher Luis Alvarado said. “Everyone was in sync and everyone was playing together and it felt really good.”
“Huge job for Alvarado to pitch like he did and for Paul (Tillotson) to go out and finish it off. That’s obviously a big boost for us right now,” Erstad said.
One of the stories in this early season has been the rise of junior catcher Jesse Wilkening’s offense. Wilkening led off the eighth inning with his third homerun of the year. He is leading the team with a .383 batting average so far this season.
Tillotson earns his first career save for the Huskers. He finished with 2.0 IP, one strikeout and allowed two hits. NU walked ten batters on Friday, but cleaned it up and walked only two batters during Friday’s game.
“He’s not even anywhere near when he gets all the way back,” Erstad said of Tillotson. “He can command a couple pitches and he loves those moments.”
Nebraska returns to action on Saturday as they will have a doubleheader against Cal Poly. In game three, Nebraska junior left-hander Nate Fisher (0-2, 8.68 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K) vs. Cal Poly freshman right-hander Darren Nelson (2-0, 0.55 ERA, 16.1 IP, 11 K. In game four, Nebraska senior right-hander Matt Warren (1-0, 5.79 ERA, 14.0 IP, 12 K) will get the start.
