Husker bats go ice cold down the stretch in 1-0 loss
Nebraska pitchers didn’t allow Oklahoma State to even bat in a run, yet they found themselves on the losing side of the box score in a 1-0 defensive battle Friday night in Frisco, Texas.
Watching the last 14 batters of the game go down one by one, Derek Burkamper, Matt Waldron, and Robbie Palkert combined to allow just six hits against a team averaging 10 runs per win. But even a crowd-igniting performance by Waldron, fanning three batters with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, couldn’t light up the bats.
The Huskers notched just two hits all night - one in the first and one in the fifth - and couldn’t drive in either run. Oklahoma State starter Tyler Buffett had a sterling performance on the mound, picking up his second win of the season after striking out seven in 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball.
For Nebraska head coach Darin Erstad, it was a frustrating performance yet again, Friday was just the latest installment in the 2017 saga of futile offensive efforts.
“For one, we swung at way too many pitches down in the zone,” Erstad said in his post-game radio show on the Husker Sports Network. “If you can’t get the ball in the air, you’re going to be in trouble - we only had probably two balls get in the air all day. That’s just unacceptable. That’s not going to get it done.”
After last week’s 1-3 showing at the Big Ten-Pac-12 challenge, Erstad called for a “total reset” on the offensive side during this week’s practices. But the coach said the adjustments they made in practice didn’t transfer to Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco.
“You make box adjustments, move up in the box, but we’re getting beat with the velocity, so it’s kind of hard to move up,” Erstad said. “It’s something we need to continue to work on and get better at, but we’re making everyone look pretty darn good on the mound right now.”
The only time the Huskers were able to get a runner in scoring position was the top of the third inning, when Alex Raburn and Mojo Hagge stood at second and third after a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a Jake Meyers groundout. But senior Ben Miller struck out swinging on a 1-2 breaking ball, and the threat was over.
Nebraska is averaging just 3 runs per game in 2017 after Friday’s scoreless output, and it doesn’t get easier from here. The Huskers face a top-25 Arkansas team on Saturday that’s 7-2 on the year after a close loss to #14 Arizona. But Erstad says this is no time to sulk.
“There’s no crying, there’s no pouting,” Erstad said. “This is big boy baseball in a big boy atmosphere, and you’re going to have to beat those kinds of team if you want to go where we want to go."
Saturday’s first pitch between the Huskers and Razorbacks is at 7:30 p.m. (CT) from Frisco.