Huskers take down UConn in opening round

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Nebraska Cornhuskers were able to get the all-important opening round win against the UConn Huskies by a score of 8-5. Friday's win marks the first NCAA tournament victory for the Huskers since 2014 and is Darin Erstad's second tournament win overall.

The bats in both dugouts were on fire in Game 1 as the two teams combined for 13 runs scored on 32 total hits throughout the game. The Huskies alone recorded a season-high 19 hits on the day but the Nebraska pitchers would only bend in the tight matchup.

UConn head coach Jim Penders thought his team played well but praised the Huskers for not giving anything away for free. "Give Nebraska credit, they played really well," Penders said. "Not one walk, not one hit batsmen, no errors on their part so they didn't give us anything for free.

"If you told me before the game that we'd have 19 hits and we'd strikeout 16 of their guys and we would only strikeout four times, I'd like our chances but this is a funny game," Penders concluded.

UConn got the scoring started all the way back in the first inning when Pat Winkel hit a ball over the bullpen in right field and gave the Huskies an early 2-0 lead. The Huskers would answer back in the top of the second inning on a solo shot to left field from Angelo Altavilla to cut the Husky lead in half but a two-run second for UConn extended their lead to 4-1.

Nebraska's offensive magic on the day came in the third. The Huskers would get three straight singles to start the inning and ended up scoring four runs on five hits, giving Nebraska their first lead of the day at 5-4.

The Husker pitching staff would only allow one more run the rest of the day despite UConn recording a hit in every single inning. Nebraska was also able to add a few insurance runs throughout the game in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Huskies.

With the Huskers trailing 4-1 early on in the game, the offensive production needed to take a big turn and that's exactly what they were able to do. Colby Gomes, Jaxon Hallmark, and Cam Chick led the inning off with three straight singles, setting the offense up for a big inning.

After Gomes scored on the single from Chick, a drawn walk from Aaron Palensky would load the bases with no outs in the inning. A single to left field from Spencer Schwellenbach and a dribbler down the third base line for Angelo Altavilla would tack on two more runs.

The Huskers ended up scoring four total runs when it was all said and done, taking the lead away for good from the Huskies.

It certainly wasn't a stellar performance from the Nebraska pitchers on Friday but it was enough to get the job done. The largest portion of the credit goes to the performance from the defense and, in particular, the infield. Numerous web gems from the Husker infielders would keep the UConn run total in check just enough to come away with the win.

Where the pitchers really shined was not allowing any freebies for the Husky batters. Erstad commended the performance from his pitchers but also gave praise to the infield for their role in keeping the game out of reach. "Nate [Fisher], I thought, was making pretty good pitches and they were powering the ball around," Erstad said. "When that happens, you can't back down. He kept throwing strikes and they got their hits but we had no walks, no errors, didn't help them with the free passes and the boys all over the infield were making great plays. You've got to do that to beat good teams and we did that."

On only the second batter of the day for the Huskies, second baseman Alex Henwood would have to make an early exit from the game. Husky shortstop Anthony Prato would attempt to move the runner over to second on a push bunt down the first base line. Henwood would go to cover the bag while Gomes fielded the ball but a loose Prato helmet looked to distract Henwood enough that he would miss the throw.

The ball wound up hitting Henwood right in the mouth and the senior would lose a couple of teeth on the play. Henwood left the game and was treated by a nearby dentist and was eventually able to return to the dugout for the conclusion of the game.

Erstad said that he's unsure of Henwood's status for Game 2 on Saturday but knows he'll want to be in the starting nine. "He's pretty messed up," Erstad said of Henwood's status. "It's pretty swollen. Just a weird, freak thing. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to try and play [tomorrow]. I think they said he might be able to play but I haven't got the full update yet."

Nebraska will return to action tomorrow night at 7:00 PM and take on the winner of the night game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Harvard Crimson.

That game will be streamed on ESPN3 and can be heard on the Husker Sports Network.