Huskers rally, win second game of doubleheader

Nebraska baseball recorded its second win of the season in Game 2 of a doubleheader against UC Riverside on Saturday night.

The Huskers won Game 2 on Saturday 10-6, after falling 10-9 earlier in the day.

Both team's bats were silent, and the first four innings were a defensive battle led by NU senior pitcher Nate Fisher and UC Riverside junior pitcher Shamus Lyons.

Fisher recorded six strikeouts in five innings of play as he held the Highlanders scoreless every time he stepped to the mound.

Lyons matched Fisher through the first four innings, striking out five Nebraska batters before running into trouble. Early in the fifth inning, the junior pitcher allowed NU to score off of a single to left field. His troubles didn't end there, and the Huskers added three more runs off of Lyons' pitching, before being replaced on the mound by freshman Trevor Bateson.

From there, Nebraska's success continued at the plate, but their struggles translated to the mound instead.

Fisher's relief pitcher came in the form of sophomore Paul Tillotson, who couldn't build on the senior's success. Tillotson allowed three runs in the top of the sixth, before being replaced by freshman Kyle Perry.

But Perry couldn't get the Huskers out of the jam, either, and was taken out of the game after facing just three batters. Freshman Shay Schanaman got NU out of the sixth inning after Nebraska had allowed three batters to cross home plate for UC Riverside.

The Highlanders saw their pitching struggles continue into the seventh, and made a change at the mound to get them out of the inning, but not before allowing three more Nebraska runs.

Nebraska ran into its share of pitching hardships as well through the final two innings, bringing two more pitchers into its rotation. UC Riverside attempted a rally in the ninth, and scored three runs to close the gap.

But the Huskers wouldn't have it. NU closed out the inning to seal the win and move to 2-1 on the season and in the series.

UC Riverside's pitching collapse coupled with Nebraska's hot bats gave the Huskers a spark on offense. NU saw three runs cross the plate off of three hits, which swung the momentum and turned the game in their favor.

Unlike its first two games that were heavily influenced by offensive production, NU relied on its defensive play to clinch the third game of the series. Nebraska's pitching, led by Fisher, held the Highlanders scoreless through the first five innings. The senior from Yutan struck out six batters during his time on the mound, and the Huskers defense centered around him during five innings of play.

Nebraska allowed six runs on nine hits during Saturday's second game.

Fisher started off strong for the Huskers not allowing any runs through five innings pitched. From there, Nebraska ran into struggles and rotated through Tillotson, Perry and Schanaman before settling on junior right-handed pitcher Robbie Palkert. Palkert found some success on the mound through 1.1 innings, but ran into problems in the bottom of the ninth allowing UC Riverside to score three runs in an attempt to rally.

Head coach Darin Erstad made one last pitching change to finish off the game and put in Jackson Hallmark as the Huskers sixth pitcher of the evening. Hallmark struggled through the inning as well but sealed the win for Nebraska.

The Huskers will close their four-game series against UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 PM CST as Nebraska tries to clinch the final game of the weekend.