Huskers find Friday night swagger, earn vital victory
LINCOLN, Neb. - They were loose - perhaps more relaxed than they’ve been all season, maybe feeling less pressure, but definitely enjoying the moment.
Whatever caused the attitude change, a confident and happy Nebraska baseball team turned in a clean performance to beat Indiana 5-2 and win its first Friday night Big Ten game of 2018.
The Huskers found their mojo with 112 blistering pitches from starter Matt Waldron, momentum-swinging home runs from Jesse Wilkening and Angelo Altavilla, and a pair of key double plays that kept the dangerous Hoosiers (31-15) from getting on a roll.
The win vaulted Nebraska into ninth place in the Big Ten with a 7-10 record. NU won its third Big Ten game in the last four contest, dropped Indiana into a precarious position in seventh place and put the pressure on Michigan State in eighth.
“We were obviously in pretty close to a must-win situation and came out and played pretty well,” head coach Darin Erstad said. "It starts on the mound and defensively we played okay, and we had a chance."
The Huskers fell into a sticky situation early, with a hopper off the second base bag turning into a bases-loaded situation with just one out for Waldron. The right-hander walked one in on a 10-pitch at bat, but responded to force a ground ball into a 4-6-3 double play that retired the side.
Facing a 1-0 deficit as Waldron settled in, Nebraska turned the tide with one big swing. Wilkening, the designated hitter, took a 1-2 pitch to the opposite field that just cleared right fielder Logan Sowers’ glove, flipping the scoreboard to give the Huskers a 2-1 lead.
Sowers tied the game with a solo shot in the next frame, but that was the most offense the Hoosiers would muster against Waldron. The junior struck out eight batters en route to a five-hit, two-run line on 112 pitches and just one walk.
In a 2-2 game, Nebraska found its spark with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. A Mojo Hagge single trickled into right field and the sophomore took second on a throwing flub by the second baseman. A pair of walks loaded the bases before Luke Roskam knocked a sharply hit ground ball toward first. Matt Lloyd bobbled the ball out of his glove, allowing Hagge to cross the plate and Scott Schreiber to come barreling over the catcher for the second run.
Hanging onto a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Altavilla (.196 average entering Friday) worked ahead to a 2-0 count before blasting a no-doubt home run to right field. The junior shortstop was pulled from the game after his celebratory bat flip was met with Erstad’s disapproval.
While the play drew immediate disdain from Hoosiers catcher Ryan Fineman, Altavilla saw the full brunt of it walking back to the dugout. NET showed Erstad appear to say, “Don’t you ever do that again,” as Altavilla descended on the steps.
The bat flip was just the latest instance in a brewing rivalry between the Huskers and Hoosiers. Opponents in both the 2013 and 2014 conference title games, the Big Ten’s two most storied programs have seen a constant back-and-forth in the win column.
The players even remember things getting chippy in Bloomington a year ago.
“It's a lot more fun when you're fighting for stuff,” Wilkening said. “It's great; I love it.”
After Altavilla’s crowd-igniting shot, Waldron and the bullpen put the clamps down, with Reece Eddins and Jake Hohensee combining with the junior starter to not allow a hit in the final three innings.
The end result was one of Nebraska’s finest defensive outings of the season and a win in a big spot.
“They're pretty competitive guys - some of it might be overly competitive,” Erstad said. “When you have a quality start, it gives your team a chance to win and a chance to put some runs on the board.”
With a win tomorrow, the Huskers would secure their second consecutive series victory and move one step closer to the Big Ten tournament in Omaha. If Nebraska can sweep the Hoosiers, it would move ahead in the Big Ten standings with one weekend remaining.
Saturday’s first pitch from Hawks Field in Lincoln is set for 2:05 p.m.