Huskers survive late-game push from the Jays

Last year, the Creighton Bluejays (11-6) were able to take down the Huskers (12-7, 3-0) in all three games they played. Coming into tonight's contest, the Nebraska baseball team didn't want to start the three-game, season-long series off the way it had last year and were able to take game one by a score of 6-3.

Creighton got on the board in the first inning following back-to-back doubles from Isaac Collins and Will Robertson, taking the early 1-0 lead on the Huskers. It didn't take long for Nebraska to answer back, however, as the team responded with back-to-back doubles of their own in the second from Gunner Hellstrom and Angelo Altavilla. The Huskers plated one more run in the second thanks to an error by Creighton third-basemen Jordan Hovey.

Nebraska continued to churn out hits as it was able to plate three runs on another five hits in the third. The inning was highlighted by pinch hitter Keegan Watson, who scored Altavilla on a single through the right side to give the Huskers a 5-1 lead.

Creighton would threaten late in the game, scoring a run in both the eighth and ninth innings thanks to an error and RBI single. However, junior pitcher Robbie Palkert was able to compose himself in a tough situation and strike out the final batter to give the Huskers the win.

After an RBI double by Creighton's Parker Upton cut the Husker lead to 6-2, the Huskers were faced with a runner on second base with no outs and the Bluejays seeming to find their bats. The key moment in the game came when a line drive found the glove of Altavilla, who quickly dove to second base to double-up Upton on the bases. The play cleared the bases for the Huskers and quickly changed the complexion of the inning with two quick outs.

Altavilla said he could feel how big of a play it was given the situation and saw it in his teammates' reactions. "I was definitely pumped up," Altavilla said. "I guess the crowd wasn't that into it I don't think, I think a lot of people left. But, to us, it was still a big game.

"They had a little bit of momentum and that was a huge play. I think it gave a lot of guys energy and it definitely fired me up."

In all, a total of six Husker pitchers saw action tonight. Freshman Kyle Perry got things started for the Huskers but quickly found himself down 1-0 after a pair of doubles from Bluejay batters. Perry showed great poise on the mound following the early deficit, retiring three of the next four batters and only allowing one run for the Bluejays in the first. Perry finished after 3.2 innings, only allowing that one run and striking out four.

The day also saw the debut of highly-touted freshman Bo Blessie. Blessie's day was short, only going for a full inning, but he was effective against Creighton only allowing a hit and a walk in his time.

Freshman Shay Schanaman also saw the most action in one game of his young career, throwing 1.1 innings and not allowing a single runner to reach first base. Schanaman reflected on his outing and remembers telling himself to stay calm and remember what got him here. "I just told myself to relax and just do what I've been doing for the last ten years," Schanaman recalled. "We get out there and we sometimes freak out and don't remember that we're here for a reason. You just got to trust your stuff."

Heading into tonight's contest with the Bluejays, senior infielder Angelo Altavilla was struggling at the plate, posting a .200 batting average and a .333 on-base percentage. Tonight, against a variety of Bluejay pitchers, Altavilla found himself reaching base in each of his five at-bats, going 2-2 with an RBI double and three total walks.

Altavilla said his main focus was getting his previous at-bats out of his mind and take it just one at-bat at a time. "Going into this week, I was just trying to flush everything away from previously what went on in the season and just try and get a good pitch," Altavilla said. "I tried to do too much [early on]. I just needed to do what got me here and that's just to be simple."

The Huskers return to action this Friday when they head to Minneapolis for a three-game series against the Gophers. First pitch on Friday is set for 4:00 p.m.