Huskers lose heartbreaker to No. 9 Oklahoma State

OKLAHOMA CITY - Heading into the top half of the ninth inning, Nebraska (32-23, 15-9 Big Ten) held a three-run lead on No. 9 Oklahoma State (38-18, 14-9 Big 12). It looked like the situation was set up for us to see Colby Gomes' 14th save on the year, but the Cowboys had other plans.

With two runners on base, and already one run scored in the inning, Big 12 home run leader Trevor Boone would turn on a fastball and send Gomes' pitch over the wall in left to give the Cowboys the 6-5 lead, and eventually the win.

Boone credited the comeback win to the relationships that the players have formed on the team and also the performance of relief pitcher Jake Lyons. "We just tried to stay positive," Boone said. "We're just a band of brothers who like to play baseball. Any time we get a chance to go out there and play baseball, it's a fun time.

"We were feeding off Jake [Lyons]. None of this happens without Jake, so we stick together, play baseball and [Ben] Leeper closed the door"

Nebraska would have an opportunity to respond in the bottom half of the ninth but a one-two-three inning from closer Ben Leeper would end any hope of answering back and the Cowboys would advance by a score of 6-5.

"Baseball is a cruel game, man," head coach Darin Erstad said of the outcome. "It's going to do with you what it wants to. It'll chew you up and spit you out, but it'll also give you great times and we were on the wrong end of that. Yeah, that one stings," the head man concluded.

The game started off looking a little shaky for the Huskers following a pair of leadoff singles and an error by Spencer Schwellenbach, loading the bases up with only one out to start the game. Starting pitcher Matt Waldron would settle in, however, retiring the next two batters to end the early Cowboy threat.

Nebraska would answer back in the bottom half of the first, this time cashing in on a pair of singles from Jaxon Hallmark and Cam Chick. With runners on first and second, Aaron Palensky sent a ball out of the ballpark in left field, giving Nebraska the early 3-0 lead on the Cowboys.

Two more runs would cross home for Nebraska in the third but the offense lost all of its productivity the rest of the way, opening the door for the come-from-behind win for the Pokes.

As for where the team goes from here, senior Angelo Altavilla thinks the situation they're in should be enough motivation. "It's do or die for us. That's all you ever really need to tell the guys, and I do not want it to be my last game tomorrow. Not at all."

Saturday's late-night matchup started out exactly how the Huskers wanted it to. In the first three innings, Nebraska would score five runs on seven hits and take the early 5-0 lead. Palensky got things started with the homer to left field and Colby Gomes would tack on two more in the third on a two-RBI single.

Things would change dramatically for the Nebraska offense after Cowboy reliever Jake Lyons stepped on the mound. Lyons would give up the two runs in the third but would quiet the bats the rest of the way.

The Cowboy relief pitcher would go on to throw five scoreless innings and only gave up one more hit the rest of the way, giving his offense an ample opportunity to mount a comeback.

In spite of the loss on Saturday, starting pitcher Matt Waldron pitched a textbook game for Nebraska. Waldron would end the night with 7.2 innings pitched, allowing only two runs to the Cowboys on nine hits and finishing with a career-high 11 strikeouts.

Waldron gave a lot of credit to the coaching staff for putting him in the position to succeed. "I just relied on what the coaches gave me," Waldron explained. "I don't think they always get the credit for that but they definitely tell me what I need to do and I trust it because they've done all of the research for it. I just execute what they tell me and I rely on that."

The performance from Waldron also earned him praise from Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday who gave the starter credit for keeping the Cowboys off the scoreboard. "Waldron's a good pitcher," Holliday said. "I have a lot of respect for the way he pitches. His straight change was a high-end pitch. He got numerous outs on it at times even when we knew it was coming. Compliments to him, I thought he pitched a fine game."

Waldron would reach strikeout No. 93 on the year with his career day and wouldn't allow a single walk to the Oklahoma State batters, raising his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 13.29 on the year.

Nebraska will turn right around for an elimination game tomorrow at 12:00 CT against the UConn Huskies. Head coach Darin Erstad has not named a starter for tomorrows matchup but Reece Eddins would be the most likely player to get the call.