Nebraska baseball (2-1) bounced back exactly how they wanted to after a Game 1 loss to Purdue(1-2), with a 10-0 win.
Pitching mistakes from the Boilermakers and hits with runners on base put the Huskers up 10 runs after seven innings, causing a run-rule to go into effect ending the game early.
Junior Shay Schanaman got the start and right from the beginning he was rolling. He retired the side in the first inning without giving up a hit, and from there the offense took over.
In the top of the second freshman Max Anderson started the inning off right with a base hit up the middle, and from there the Big Red kept getting on base. A walk and another base hit loaded the bases for Anderson's fellow freshman Brice Matthews. He stepped up to the plate and pulled one down the left-field line for a double that scored all three baserunners. Two wild pitches scored Matthews and gave NU a 5-0 lead after 1.5 innings.
Schanaman continued to keep Purdue scoreless as the Nebraska bats kept rolling into the fourth inning where the freshman partnership of Brice Matthews and Max Anderson drove in three more runs.
After six innings and one more Nebraska run, Schanaman's day was done. The junior threw 78 pitches and held the Boilermakers to just one hit. Sophomore Caleb Feekin was next to the mound, and he picked up where Schanaman left off. Feekin held the 10 run lead for the Huskers with two strikeouts in his one inning pitched.
Freshman dominance
The two freshman in the lineup were the two most exciting players for the Big Red in Game 2. Max Anderson went 2-for-5 and Brice Matthews went 2-for-3 from the plate.
Not only were the young guys hitting well, but their hits were in the clutch moments of the game. Both drove in runs, Anderson with two RBI and Matthews with four. The freshmen led the NU lineup in hits and RBI, accounting for over half of both.
This also came as no surprise. Max Anderson has been batting extremely well this entire series with an average of .571, 8 RBI and a homerun. Matthews is batting only .273, but this game showed that when he starts to settle in, he can be dangerous.
Pitching Success
While the offense stole the show with 10 runs, the defensive efforts by the pitchers deserves to be acknowledged.
Starting pitcher Shay Schanaman came onto the mound and didn't disappoint. The junior was in for six of the seven innings, throwing 78 pitches and only allowing one hit. Schanaman also tallied up five strikeouts and got himself the W along the way.
It wasn't all Schanaman however, as Caleb Feekin came in after six innings to try and close the game out for the Huskers. He also was not messing around, as he struck out two of the batters he faced and helped Nebraska advance to 2-1.
What's next
The Big Red closes out the series against Purdue tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. The game will be live-streamed on BTN+ and heard on the Husker Sports Network
Junior transfer Jake Bunz will get the start. Bunz played in high school at Elkhorn South, and transferred to Nebraska from Hutchinson Community College.