Huskers post season-best night in 14-6 rout of Creighton
It was Nebraska's night on Tuesday, as it recorded season-highs in hits and runs to demolish in-state rival Creighton 14-6 at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (16-10-1) racked up 19 hits with eight starters recording a hit against the Bluejays (8-15). Junior outfielder Scott Schreiber and senior Ben Miller also recorded their third home runs of the season.
Things got off to a hot-start for NU, as it used a 10-run second inning to establish its dominance.
The Huskers had eight hits from seven different players in the inning, including a three-run from Miller. It marked the first time Nebraska scored 10 or more runs in an inning since April 16, 2014.
“This game is so crazy,” head coach Darin Erstad said. “We didn’t exactly pound the ball out of the place. We used the whole field, we found holes, we took advantage of a mistake they made and we had some big hits.”
Miller (1-0, 0.00 ERA) made his second start of the year and delivered a good one. He recorded a career-high four strikeouts and walked four over three innings.
“He was just fantastic," Erstad said. "We needed every bit of everything he gave us out there. We were hoping for two and he gave us three. He pitched great and he helped his own cause. He’s been doing it for us for four years and it’s just really fun watching him perform on the field.”
Creighton starter Jeff Albrecht held the Huskers without a run, but was on a 25-pitch count limit in the game. When he exited, things took a turn.
The Bluejays used three different pitchers to get the remaining two outs and a combined seven pitchers overall in the game.
Another bright spot for NU has been the emergence of sophomore shortstop Angelo Altavilla. He leads the team with a .360 batting average (minimum 40 at-bats) and has been a consistent threat all season. He went 3-for-5 with three singles on Tuesday.
“One, he works hard. Two, he likes to compete,” Erstad said. “Last year, he didn’t play much. When you have a whole year and you’re not playing, you have two choices. You can either pout and complain, or you can get better.
"Obviously, he got a lot better. This guy wasn’t playing much and he wasn't begging to go find another team to play more. He just wants to play more and when you want that, you get better."
Nebraska, which has now won 11 of past 14 games, will be back in action Wednesday night against Omaha at Werner Park at 6:35 p.m.
Sophomore pitcher Ethan Frazier will start for the Huskers. It will be his fourth appearance and first start of the season, as he's recorded four strikeouts and hasn’t allowed a run in four total innings of work.