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Furious Husker rally falls short as bullpen collapses

Ethan Frazier was the only one of eight Nebraska relievers to not allow an RBI in the 15-14 loss.
Ethan Frazier was the only one of eight Nebraska relievers to not allow an RBI in the 15-14 loss.

FINAL STATS

Two wild scoring streaks, 14 pitchers and 29 runs after a Sunday morning start in the central time zone, the Nebraska baseball team loaded the buses knowing it was somehow inches away from a series win in Columbus.

Seven Husker pitchers allowed an RBI, Ohio State flipped the script on a strong Nebraska start and the Huskers’ furious eight-run rally in the final two innings came up just short in a 15-14 loss at Bill Davis Stadium.

The Buckeyes scored 11 straight runs after NU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, chasing Husker starter Matt Warren out of the game along with three other relievers before Nebraska would score another run. The Big Red pounded out 19 hits and won the error battle by two, but 22 Ohio State hits - including six from leadoff hitters - were too much to overcome.

“We’re just not doing a good job of putting guys away,” head coach Darin Erstad said in his postgame interview on the Husker Sports Network. “We’re plenty capable of doing it, but it’s either guys are trying too hard or they’re just not committed to their pitch.”

Determined to not play from behind again, Nebraska got the scoring started early and often, getting hits out of three of the first four batters. NU took a 1-0 lead on a double by senior Scott Schreiber, who with a 4-for-5 performance made his claim for National Player of the Week. Schreiber ended the weekend with a .615 batting average on 8 hits, 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.

NU padded the lead in the third, leading off with the Schreiber show as a single, a passed ball, a steal and an error plated the Husker senior without another hit. One offering later, Luke Roskam smoked a payoff pitch past the deepest wall in the park to give Nebraska a 3-0 advantage.

Ohio State notched its first run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, setting the stage for an offensive barrage in the fourth. Three singles in four at bats forced Warren out of the game in favor of Nate Fisher. After forcing a pop fly from his first batter, Fisher let go of a 2 RBI double from Dominic Canzone and another RBI single to turn a 3-1 lead into a 5-3 deficit.

Nebraska had a chance to tie the game in the fifth, but a high arching ball off the bat of Roskam caught the jet stream in right, floating back into play before being caught at the warning track.

If the Huskers’ bullpen woes started in the fourth inning, they were exacerbated from there on out. In his first appearance since an elbow injury in March of 2017, sophomore Reece Eddins notched just one out around four baserunners and three runs.

Freshman right-hander Paul Tillotson couldn’t stem the tide in relief as Ohio State built an 8-3 lead in the fifth and extended to a 10-3 advantage in the sixth. Junior Zack Engelken let in another run on a sac fly and Max Schreiber and Byron Hood followed with four runs allowed in the seventh.

But facing a 15-6 deficit after the seventh, Nebraska put together a fervent offensive display. The Huskers put up six runs in the frame with RBIs from Zac Luckey (2 RBIs), Jaxon Hallmark (2 hits), Mike Addante (team-high 4 RBIs) and Mojo Hagge (3 hits).

In a 15-12 ball game, the Huskers turned to junior right-hander Ethan Frazier, who became the only NU pitcher to not allow an RBI in the game. The ninth started without a hit off Buckeye closer Seth Kinker, but a two-out rally made things very interesting in Columbus.

Zac Repinski beat out the throw for an infield single to score Jesse Wilkening and make way for singles by Hallmark and Addante, cutting the deficit to 15-14. But a strikeout off the hand of one of the Big Ten’s best relievers ended the game with an exhale from the Buckeyes.

“I know there’s no quit in this team, but we’re not playing good baseball,” Erstad said. “When you’re up in the zone and you’re facing a team that can swing the bats, it’s going to be tough, but gosh, we’ve got to get this figured out.”

The loss dropped the Huskers to 14-14 on the season and resulted in the second straight series defeat. With series remaining against Iowa, Maryland, Illinois and Indiana, the Huskers are suddenly staring down an uphill climb to make it to Omaha for the Big Ten tournament.

Nebraska returns to action Tuesday with a game against Omaha at Werner Park. Nate Fisher is expected to make his second straight Tuesday start as NU looks to knock off the Summit League-leading Mavs.

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