Huskers hold off Penn State in 4-2 win

In Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader, the Huskers (18-10, 8-2 Big Ten) were able to power past a gutsy performance by Penn State (17-13, 1-8 Big Ten) and come away with a win, 4-2. The win, in large part, can be attributed to the arm of Reece Eddins who went 7.0 innings and only allowed two runs.

For the fourth game in a row now, the Nebraska opponents have scored in the first inning, leaving it up to Husker bats to mount a comeback. The Nittany Lions got on the Huskers early thanks to an RBI single to left field off the bat of Gavin Homer, scoring Mason Nadeau and giving Penn State an early 1-0 lead.

Nebraska answered back in the top of the third thanks to a pair of mistakes made by Nittany Lion fielders. After an RBI groundout from Mojo Hagge scored Spencer Schwellenbach, outfielder Aaron Palensky scored on the very next at-bat thanks to a throwing error from Penn State third basemen Justin Williams, putting the Huskers ahead 2-1.

A leadoff triple in the bottom of the fifth followed by an RBI groundout scored Conlin Hughes, tying the game up at two runs apiece but that was as close as Penn State would get the rest of the way. An RBI double from Colby Gomes in the sixth and a sacrifice fly from Angelo Altavilla in the seventh would put the Huskers up for good, 4-2.

The win in Game 1 on Saturday can be attributed, in large part, to the bat of Colby Gomes. The freshman infielder/pitcher finished the day going 2-for-4 and provided the go-ahead run for the Huskers in the sixth. Gomes lifted a ball into left field and scored Altavilla from second base, putting the Huskers on top 3-2 in what proved to be the winning run.

Gomes recorded his fifth double on the year, tied for third on the team and improved his batting average to .227 on the year.

Not only was Gomes a big part of the Husker offense on Saturday, but he also came on in relief of pitcher Robbie Palkert in the ninth, recording his sixth save of the season.

There hasn't been much in terms of offensive production for either team so far this series but, to their credit, the Huskers are finding ways to win games. Nebraska has actually been out-hit by the Nittany Lions 17-10 so far but they are finding the right opportunities to put the ball in play to score runs.

One of the only critiques of the Nebraska offense so far this series is continuing to leave runners on base. In Game 1 of the doubleheader on Saturday, Nebraska left a total of 12 runners stranded, including leaving three runners on in back-to-back innings.

Although they have left guys stranded on the basepaths, they find themselves ahead 2-0 in the series and are looking to ride that momentum into the final game on Saturday.

The big story of the day comes from another strong performance from a starting pitcher. Reece Eddins threw 7.0 total innings, only allowing two runs, walking one batter, and striking out six Nittany Lions.

Eddins has sat down a total of 31 batters so far on the year, good enough for second among Husker pitchers only behind Matt Waldron (50). With his strong performance against Penn State, Eddins improves his ERA to 3.86 on the year.

Head coach Darin Erstad applauded Eddins composure on the mound when it seemed like the strike zone moved from inning to inning. "You have to get to the next pitch and let's just say it wasn't what the rulebook probably says on both sides but you've got to fight through that, it's college baseball," Erstad said. "It's just one of those things where it challenges how you go about your business and he did exactly that. He was able to keep his composure and use the experience."

The Huskers will face Penn State for the final game of the series this afternoon with first pitch set 5:48 p.m. with Nate Fisher (4-1, 2.35 ERA) facing off against Bailey Dees (2-1, 4.38 ERA).