Huskers bats catch fire, storm past Northern Colorado
The Nebraska Baseball team used a flurry of hits to storm past Northern Colorado with a 12-2 victory Wednesday afternoon at Haymarket Park. The win was the Huskers third straight, improving their overall record to 5-6.
NU hasn’t had the best offense to start the year, but they certainly showed flashes of potential on Wednesday. This was the first time all season that the Huskers have scored more than eight runs, along with having eight different players record hits.
“I thought we took some good swings, thought we took advantage of some of their mistakes,” head coach Darin Erstad said. “Being the first mid-week series, a lot of new guys not knowing the distractions that could be coming their way from coming from class, I thought they handled it well.”
Sophomore catcher Jesse Wilkening had his best outing of the year so far as he doubled his hit total on the season. He went 3-for-5 on Wednesday, with two singles, a double and an RBI. Wilkening said that the team’s patience is how they’ve been able to get the bats going.
“I think it’s just us taking it pitch-by-pitch and not being too anxious or letting pressure get to us,” Wilkening said. “It’s just having fun and competing and being loose. That’s what’s changed a bit.”
Meanwhile, the Bears couldn’t get anything to go their way on Wednesday. They recorded five wild pitches and had six errors on the game, including a play where they Husker left fielder Mojo Hagge to advance to third base, after two throwing errors on a single.
NU pitcher Reece Eddins earns his first win on the year as he pitched 3.2 innings and recorded three strikeouts, allowing just three hits.
The Huskers have now won three in a row for the first time all year, but Erstad says this is just the start of where this team needs to be.
“We play today and we practice tomorrow. I don’t ever start thinking about the day before affecting you,” Erstad said. “If you’re going to tell me that because you’re on a winning streak that that game is going to affect you for the next game, then there has to be a flip side of that, thaen a lost can affect you. You have to separate each day and come out and play.”
The Huskers will remain home for this weekend’s series against Western Carolina, who eliminated Nebraska in the NCAA Clemson regional in 2016.
“I’m super excited. I can’t wait," Wilkening said. "They knocked us out last year and we are looking for a little revenge this weekend. I can’t wait to get out there and get after it with them."