The Nebraska baseball team (26-11) extended their lead in the Big Ten with an 8-5 win over Indiana (24-14) in the series opener. The Huskers have now taken two of three from the Hoosiers and will face off one more time this series.
The NU offense stole the show early when they put up four runs in the top of the second inning. Two walks and a single from Max Anderson put runners on all three bases and Brice Matthews cleared them with a double down the left field line. Griffin Everitt doubled in the next at-bat and drove in the freshman to give the Big Red an early 4-0 lead.
Cade Povich got the start from the mound and after retiring the side in the first inning, the junior now had a four run cushion. Indiana quickly cut down their deficit with a solo home run, followed by three base hits that scored two runs. After this, Povich was able to get out of the inning while still holding onto a slim lead.
The Nebraska offense got back to work in the top of the third inning. Luke Roskam got on base with a walk, and the next at-bat Max Anderson sent a ball over the center field wall to make it 6-3. Joe Acker added one more run to the tally in the fourth inning with a double that drove in Brice Matthews.
Povich had started to settle back in in the fourth inning, but a double followed by a base hit scored another IU run to make the score 7-4, but the junior retired the final batter with no further damage done.
Koty Frank took the mound to start the fifth inning and he got going quickly with two strikeouts in his first inning, followed by three quick outs to get out of a jam in the sixth inning. In the seventh, Jake Bunz took over and walked a batter and gave up a triple that brought Indiana one step closer to a comeback. The junior allowed no more hits after that and struck out the side in the eighth to maintain the Husker's two-run lead.
The ninth inning was all about Spencer Schwellenbach. The led off the inning from the batter's box and hit a solo home run to make it 8-5, and in the bottom of the inning he came in to close on the mound. The righty struck out one and went three up, three down to give NU the win and earn his sixth save of the season.
Starting fast
The Big Red got on the board early and kept the runs coming for a couple of innings after. In the second inning, four runs driven in by Brice Matthews and Griffin Everitt gave Nebraska a cushion for a defensive struggle in the bottom of the inning. Although they allowed three runs, they still had the lead and added to it in the next two innings. Starting fast like this allowed them to give up runs but not have to panic because they maintained the lead throughout the entire game. On days where Povich doesn't have his best outing, NU has to rely on their offense, and it came through in this game.
The freshmen won't stop
In a game where the Big Red scored eight runs, the freshman duo of Max Anderson and Brice Matthews drove in five of them. A bases-clearing double from Matthews scored three runs in the second and a two-run home run from Anderson in the third accounted for the first five runs. Anderson not only drove in two, but he also led the team from the batter's box, going 3-5 followed by his fellow freshman who went 2-4. The duo is continuing to catch eyes and prove why they are so valuable to this team.
What's next
Nebraska is back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader against Ohio State in game one at noon and against Indiana at 5:30 p.m. The final game of the pod series is on Sunday at noon against Ohio State.
Saturday's first game will be available on BTN+ while the second game will be on ESPNU. Sunday's game will be on Big Ten Network and all three games can be heard on Husker Sports Network.
