Huskers come out flat; rally ends inches short in series loss

LINCOLN, Neb. - For a team that’s been in must-win mode for two weeks, eventually the pressure can start to take a toll.

That pressure turned into a crushing implosion Sunday as the Nebraska baseball team got off to a nightmare start, trailing 8-0 in the middle of the fifth inning. But just as it’s done all season, the red squad rallied, clawed and finished just inches away from glory.

Facing an 8-5 deficit entering the bottom of the ninth, Nebraska put runners on the corners with an Alex Henwood single and put a run on the board with a Scott Schreiber blooper to right.

After a one-out fly ball, junior Jesse Wilkening approached the dish with two on and two down and worked ahead in the count on pitcher Matt Lloyd. Seeing the perfect pitch on a 2-0 count, Wilkening turned one toward the opposite field, blasting the baseball to the opposing bullpen in right.

Haymarket Park’s crowd of 5,062 rose to their feet as the ball tracked to the outfield, but a back-against-the-wall catch by right fielder Logan Sowers robbed the Huskers of a walk-off win and a nine-run comeback.

“We all thought it was going [out] because we've seen it plenty of times,” senior closer Jake Hohensee said. “He's been hurting that guy out in right field, so it seems like kind of a payback to us from him.”

For all the dramatics of the ninth, Nebraska looked sleepy for the Sunday morning start.

Husker starter Matt Warren lasted just 2.1 innings after Luis Alvarado went 3.0 on Saturday, combining to allow nine runs in the two must-win games. Nebraska’s offense failed to get on track until the fifth inning, falling victim to another solid Indiana start.

The Huskers tacked on runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to cut the deficit to three, but big rally attempts against the Indiana bullpen fell just short in the eighth and ninth innings.

The loss puts Nebraska in win-out-or-go-home mode at Illinois next weekend, sitting in a precarious position at 10th place in the conference. The Huskers need to make up a deficit of at least two games to reach the Big Ten tournament in Omaha.

After Saturday’s 6-3 loss, Sunday morning was an inopportune time for the Huskers to come out of the gate with a dismal showing.

“Our [pitching] wasn't sharp where you're getting swings and misses, putting guys away on off-speed stuff - we didn't have that,” head coach Darin Erstad said. “They kept adding on. It's a good team, good ball club, and they were the better team this weekend.”

Indiana’s onslaught began in the second, with a two-run, two-out triple from nine-hole hitter Jeremy Houston breaking open the scoring.

The Hoosiers would put 2s on the board in four straight innings to take an 8-0 lead and sap the energy from the crowd. For the second straight day, Nebraska failed to get a jump on an Indiana starting pitcher, mustering just three hits through the first four innings.

After one run in the fifth, the Huskers found their offensive stride in the sixth. Scoring two on a single and a sac fly, Nebraska set the tone for a four-inning stretch that included 11 of the Huskers’ 15 hits in the game.

With an 8-3 deficit and the game still out of reach in the seventh, Nebraska turned to Hohensee on the mound for his longest appearance of the season. Coming into a two-on, one-out situation, the senior struck out two in the frame to retire the side.

And in perhaps his finest hour since last year’s eight-inning domination of Maryland, the hard-throwing right-hander struck out six and allowed just one baserunner in his final game at Hawks Field.

“I didn't even think of it as Senior Day,” Hohensee said. “I've been doing this for five years, so I know how to handle the emotions and each emotion, but I went in there and tried to do my job and give my ball club a chance to win.”

The Huskers were determined to not waste their closer’s gem.

In the seventh, Angelo Altavilla singled down the right field line to score two and cut the deficit to 8-5. One inning later, Nebraska brought the tying run to the plate before squandering a two-on, one-out opportunity.

Down to their final three outs, the Huskers scrambled to get three runners on base, but the final baseball found a glove.

Now likely needing a sweep in Champaign, the Huskers have more pressure on their shoulders than ever before. But with three days to prepare for one last Big Ten series, the team knows it can’t fold under the weight of the circumstances.

“We try not to look at it right now,” Hohensee said. “Right now, we just play our game and if we do our business over there, we should be fine into the Big Ten.”