The Nebraska baseball team (31-12) took down Michigan (27-17) in Saturday's rubber match to take a 2-1 series win. This win wraps up the regular season for the Huskers as they gear up for the NCAA tournament.
Kyle Perry got another start on the mound for NU and he made the most of it. The junior pitched three full innings which was his longest outing since coming back from Tommy John surgery. Through three he had allowed no hits and struck out four.
In the bottom of the third inning, the offense got a spark when Jaxon Hallmark hit a solo shot to left field to open the scoring. The next inning that spark turned into a flame and the Big Red added three more runs. Max Anderson drove in one, Logan Foster scored another and Leighton Banjoff added the third.
Shay Schanaman took over on the mound in the fourth and he kept up the pressure on the Michigan batters. The junior pitched four innings and allowed no runs on three hits and five strikeouts.
Emmett Olson took over in the eighth inning and retired the side in the top half of the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Max Anderson ended his freshman regular season the same way he started it, with a home run. This homer added one run to the scoreboard and made it 5-0.
Olson got into trouble in the ninth inning and gave up three hits for three runs, but Spencer Schwellenbach came in and earned his ninth save of the season.
Bounce back offense
The Nebraska bats were cold in game one of today's doubleheader, but in game two they heated things up. Jaxon Hallmark kicked things off with his solo home run and after that, the offense extended their lead. Max Anderson led the team from the batter's box, going 2-4 with two RBI. The Freshman has continued to hit well and make his case for Big Ten Freshman of the Year while helping his team to the Big Ten title. Heading into the postseason, the Huskers will look to their offense to take some pressure off the defense
Defensive strength
NU showed their quality pitching and defense in this game as Kyle Perry put up three hitless and scoreless innings, followed by Schanaman putting up four more scoreless innings. The only time that they looked like breaking was with two outs in the final inning, but Spencer Schwellenbach closed things out with a strikeout. The Big Red showed their versatility in this game and that will be crucial heading into the postseason.
What's next
The selection show on Monday will decide where Nebraska will play next and who their opponents will be. The show will be at 11:00 a.m. CST on ESPN2.
