Advertisement
baseball Edit

Huskers outmatched by Illinois in series opener, 8-1

Illinois (27-13, 7-6) scouted well and outclassed Nebraska (22-15, 11-5) by a score of 8-1 in game one of a three-game series at Haymarket Park, as every aspect of the squad for Nebraska was slow out of the starting gate.

Illinois puts up a three-run 2nd and two-run 3rd to put it out of hand early

Advertisement

It wasn't an explosive stretch for the Fighting Illini, more like clockwork. After taking a one-run lead after the 1st, Illinois put up some solid innings which included four doubles on seven hits.

Grant Van Scoy had two RBIs in that stretch for Illinois, and it sucked the life out of the stadium and out of a team who seriously needed a pick-me-up after dropping three of its last four, both to rivals Iowa and Creighton. He finished 4-for-5 and picked up another RBI in the 9th. To analyze any further would be unnecessary; Nebraska found themselves the second best team on the field tonight all-around and those two innings were full of some rough defense and lost pitches. Illinois, even on fly-outs, seemed to be taking the cover off every ball sent towards the plate, and the only thing preventing a home run (or two) was the wind.

OFFENSIVE REPORT: The only noise was the wind blowing, as late scores were academic

Along with defensive problems came a silent night from the Nebraska hitters. Through five innings, the Big Red had seven strikeouts and only two hits. There were two innings with two on and two out where Nebraska did not capitalize.

One run did come in the 7th, but with two on and nobody out, it was not sufficient to make anyone sweat the ending. Angelo Altavilla did find two hits after having his average drop to .217 with a stretch of empty performances in-conference. He was the only Husker to have multiple hits, as they were 5-for-31 overall.

Matt Waldron struggles from the start, will try to forget tonight

Hitting the first batter of the game: not an ideal way to set the tone. Matt Waldron could not seem to find his footing at any stage through his start. Scores in each of the first three innings had him in a bind, allowing nine hits through the first three innings. He did pull it back together later, allowing two hits in the middle third of the scorecard. He was done after six, finishing with five earned on 11 hits, two strikeouts on 91 pitches. While overall his performance may have earned him his first loss, holding on for six and keeping it together showed some character.

Kyle Perry came in to finish the last third and had a solid 7th, a two-hit 8th but a two-run 9th.

One thing I won't have is sulking. That's not going to get anything accomplished, I know that. So it's stay positive, reminding them what they did to be good... you're going to struggle at some point in the season and we're going to have to turn that around quickly.
— Darin Erstad on keeping the faith following a rough stretch

ON DECK

Nebraska is back at it tomorrow against Illinois with game two starting at 2:05 CT.

You can watch on BTN or listen on Husker Sports Network.

PROBABLE STARTERS: LHP Nate Fisher (4-2, 2.81) vs. RHP Ty Weber (3-1, 2.79)


Advertisement