Nebraska tops Illinois 8-6 in series opener

The Nebraska baseball (12-4) team extended their winning streak to seven games after a series-opening win over Illinois (7-9). After four lead changes, the Huskers found themselves on top 8-6, which was enough to secure the win.

To start the game, the offense took a couple of innings to warm up. A base hit in the first inning and one in the second couldn't start anything for NU, and both of those runners were left stranded. In the third, however, Griffin Everitt was able to cash in with a solo home run to right field to lead things off.

The Big Red were able to double the lead in the fifth. Joe Acker walked to lead off the inning and he advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. The next at-bat, Spencer Schwellenbach singled to center field to bring in Acker and make the score 2-0.

Cade Povich was out on the mound to start once again, and he shutout the Illini for the first five innings of this game. In the sixth inning, when the Nebraska offense had earned a slim lead, Povich gave up three straight base hits after a walked batter and that ended his day. Braxton Bragg came to the mound and gave up a base hit that scored the final runner that Povich allowed on base. The junior starter ended with four runs allowed on six hits. Bragg was then able to close out the inning, but the Husker lead had slipped, and they now trailed by two.

The offense got rolling again in the seventh inning, and the first two batters got on base with a walk and a hit by pitch. Max Anderson stepped up to the plate and scored a run with a base hit, followed by another single from Luke Roskam that drove in another to tie the game at four. Leighton Banjoff joined in with another base hit and reclaimed the lead for NU.

Braxton Bragg continued his day in the seventh inning, but he only lasted two outs as he gave up two base hits that allowed Illinois to tie the ballgame up once again. Jake Bunz was next up to the mound, and the first batter he faced hit a single through the left side and Illinois was back on top 6-5. Bunz didn't give up any further damage and retired the side.

After heading into the eighth inning with another lead change, the Big Red rallied baserunners once again. Jaxon Hallmark led off with a base hit and ended up scoring on a stolen base, an error and a wild pitch. Max Anderson later stepped up with a runner in scoring position, and the freshman hit for another RBI and this one gave Nebraska the lead. The Huskers proceeded to load the bases and Leighton Banjoff bunted for a suicide squeeze that scored the final run of the inning. NU put enough hits together to take an 8-6 lead with one and a half innings to play.

Jake Bunz was able to strike out the side in the eighth inning, and in to close the game was Spencer Schwellenbach. The junior gave up a double, but struck out the side and extended the Big Red win streak to seven games.

Although Nebraska trailed the Illini twice in this game, they never backed down. The Huskers were aggressive in the later innings when they needed to take back the lead, and it paid off.

In the seventh inning, directly after giving up a lead, NU worked the first two batters on base. Following that, the bats got going and three base hits scored three runs to regain the lead.

The Big Red lost the lead in the bottom of the seventh, but in the next half inning, they battled back. Jaxon Hallmark got on base with a single and when he stole second, the pick-off attempt from the catcher was in center field and he advanced to third. Nebraska was able to manufacture a run when a wild pitch scored Hallmark. When it mattered most and the game was tied, Max Anderson came in huge with an RBI single to put the Huskers back in front.

Although NU had regained the lead, they kept fighting. With the bases loaded, Leighton Banjoff laid down a bunt that scored another run. To finish it out, the Big Red showed their grit and six strikeouts put the Illini away.

Jake Bunz was not listed as a starter this week, as he is usually the fourth pitcher in the rotation. Because of this, Nebraska was looking to him as an important reliever, and they were able to rely on him in this game. The junior came in during a stressful situation for the Huskers with a runner in scoring position. He gave up a base hit to the first batter he faced, but nothing more after that.

In the eighth inning, after NU had taken back the lead, Bunz was flawless striking out all three batters. Spencer Schwellenbach was the pitcher that the Big Red depended on to put the game to bed, and he did so with three strikeouts in the ninth to close out the win.

Nebraska will continue the series against Illinois tomorrow with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The series will finish up on Sunday with a 12:00 p.m. start time.

Both games can be streamed on BTN+ and heard on Husker Sports Network.