Huskers finish regular season in drama-filled battle, lose to Michigan 10-8

Friday night was a late one for everyone involved, as this game started two hours later than expected. Yet, Husker fans stayed out in force and watched Nebraska (28-20, 15-9) battle to the end but come up short against Michigan (38-16, 16-7), 10-8.

It was a night full of fatigue, emotion and action on the field; a fitting way to (probably) end baseball at Haymarket Park for the Huskers.

After five of the first nine at-bats resulted in Ks, Nebraska needed a spark to regain control. Inning number four was no-doubt one of the most intense, focused and fun innings for the Huskers all season.

Mojo Hagge finally broke the Michigan no-hitter to get things started. Cam Chick was walked to put two on. After an Aaron Palensky fly-out, Angelo Altavilla came up to the plate. His season has been defined by some big plays sprinkled within slumps. This at-bat was a 2 RBI sprinkle to right center that not only made it 3-2, but fired up the crowd. He danced and showed a bit of swagger, and caused Jack Blomgren of Michigan to get a little heated. Suddenly, emotion was injected into another bland start and it helped spark a Gunner Hellstrom RBI single and an Alex Henwood sacrifice fly to give Nebraska the lead.

While the result is what matters, what speaks loudest is the remaining fight within the group. Two weeks ago, the Big Ten tournament seemed like it could be a depressing headstone on the death of another promising season. Now, after the final two series of the season, Nebraska has shown it still can create moments like this one, and the ending of this story is far from a foregone conclusion.

Just as everything seemed to look favorable for the Big Red, Michigan turned the tables yet again. After the Nelson full-count and Kerr two-run homer that tied things (more on that below), Harrison Salter singled to set up Ako Thomas. He found a walk which put two on with one out for Jordan Nwogu, who was 0-2 at that point with a walk.

He smacked a meatball from Shay Schanaman to left field, which was definitely gone with the way the wind was blowing tonight. That made it 8-5 after six innings, and it certainly sucked the air out of an excited and still awake Haymarket Park. Schanaman was done right after.

Michigan's Jeff Criswell came into tonight's game with a 2.20 ERA and averaged 5.46 Ks in 13 appearances. He had five strikeouts through three innings.

That momentum shifted in the fourth, and this lineup found confidence in the batter's box again.

Tonight, Nebraska had nine hits including two homers in 33 at-bats, which is trending the right direction. Angelo Altavilla finished 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, and Colby Gomes had his first home run of the season, and finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI. Only three Huskers came up empty tonight, which is a lot better to hear compared to three weeks ago.

A delay the size of tonight's (two hours plus) is no benefit to a pitcher, but Reese Eddins managed to limit some damage in the top of the 1st. He allowed two hits and was having trouble finding the zone on the first pitch, but did enough to escape the inning to reset.

His second and third innings were better, and he recorded a wonderful first K in the third, finding the zone on all three pitches, slicing the outside edge to end the inning.

The fourth was weird, as a close play at first could have made it a scoreless inning, but an error at first that Eddins dropped and a missed double play made it 3-0 Michigan through four.

More damage came later in the sixth, as Blake Nelson singled on a full count, which set up Jimmy Kerr to hit a homer of his own to left center to tie things at 5-5. He was done immediately after that, finishing with four earned on six hits with only one K in a total of 80 pitches.

Shay Schanaman took the mound from there and struggled also, allowing four runs on three hits, including two homers in the sixth.

Mike Waldron was called upon to try and stop any more damage. He took care of the seventh and eighth with three hits and one run allowed, serving as a baton carrier for Chad Leunsmann to finish the night. He put the Huskers in position to win, and an empty 9th frame was the objective.

It's Big Ten tournament time after this!

HuskerOnline.com's Mike Wheeler will be at the Tuesday press conference which is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. CT. Broadcast details for that are TBD, but we'll have coverage throughout Nebraska's run for the title. Wednesday, May 22 is the opening day, with the first game scheduled for 9 a.m. CT, however, Nebraska's seeding is not certain, so stay tuned. All of the tournament will be on Big Ten Network.