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Nebraska's late bid of urgency was innings late in 4-2 loss to Northwestern

Two stories could be told about this game.

There's one where Nebraska (23-17, 12-7 Big Ten) made a late effort in the top of the 9th but just fell short against middle-of-the-road Northwestern (20-22, 7-9 Big Ten).

The other is much more grim, and it's the reality; the previous eight innings for Nebraska were swift and abysmal, where there were only four hits and a one-out, bases loaded 1st with nothing to show for it. The Huskers are 3-7 in the last ten games, and in a crucial stretch of the schedule, this was not the performance that provides confidence for the upcoming Big Ten tournament.

1st inning opportunities go unused yet again

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Towards the beginning of the season, Nebraska was taking advantage of some opening frame chances and gaining leads that could be worked with down the stretch.

Reverse that, and you have the first inning. With one out, Aaron Palensky singled to left field down 0-1. Then, Joe Acker singled to put two on. On a full count, Ty Roseberry stayed patient and got a walk to load the bases with one out. Keegan Watson was next and he struck out looking, which left things up to Jaxon Hallmark.

At times, Hallmark has been a big-time playmaker when the team has needed him. At a full count, it almost looked like it would happen, as he flew one to center field near the warning track. However, as a parallel of this dismal stretch, it just wasn't enough. The Huskers left three stranded in the 1st and six in the game overall.

OFFENSIVE REPORT: What more can be said when bats are absent when needed most?

With runners in scoring position, Nebraska was 1-for-9 today. It's now become a focal point of the criticism of the Nebraska offense.

Two hits out of the six today came from the pinch hitters in the 9th. Aaron Palensky was the top hitter of the day, going 2-for-4. Among those struggling were Spencer Schwellenbach (0-for-4), Keegan Watson (0-for-3), Luke Roskam (0-for-4) and Angelo Altavilla (0-for-3).

It's soul-searching time for this group, and if the slide doesn't stop by the end of this series, the legacy of this season might be remembered like today's first inning: a missed opportunity.

Matt Waldron has decent outing despite giving up four runs

Darin Erstad said in the post-game that Matt Waldron put this team in a place to succeed, and while he had four earned runs, the majority of his performance was solid. No walks, seven hits and five strikeouts on 103 pitches is not terrible, and he did just enough to give this group a chance.

It was a great rebound perfomance after one of his worst of the year against Illinois.

You have to take advantage of your opportunities, especially when you don't have many. They're plenty capable of doing it... we're plenty capable of winning that game.
— Darin Erstad on dropping first to Northwestern

ON DECK

Nebraska looks to find itself and win the next one tomorrow against Northwestern, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT.

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




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