Nebraska trounces Maryland 14-3 in series deciding game

The Nebraska baseball team (15-6) was firing on all cylinders in their 14-3 rout of Maryland (10-12). The Huskers continued their undefeated series run, now having won five series' and splitting two.

The starter from the mound was Shay Schanaman once again on Sunday and he got Haymarket Park cheering as he pitched two hitless innings to start the game and struck out four Terrapins.

Following up the strong start from the defense, the bats got hot in the bottom of the second inning. NU put together seven hits in the first eight at-bats to score five runs and take a confident lead.

In the third inning, Schanaman kept dealing, but one big swing from the bat of Chris Alleyne put Maryland on the board. Schanaman struck out two in the third and the home run was nothing but a bump in the road.

The Big Red offense put together two more hits for two runs in the fourth inning to extend the lead. During that time, the junior on the mound was still impressing. Schanaman pitched the first six innings giving up just one hit and striking out 11 batters.

The top of the seventh inning is when things looked like they might turn as the righty gave up a base hit and then hit two batters to load the bases. Following this, Schanaman hit another batter and Nebraska thought he leaned into the pitch. The umpires conversed and gave the batter the base and head coach Will Bolt was furious, throwing his clipboard and flailing his arms. Bolt was ejected from the game, and Jake Bunz came in to pitch. The lefty reliever got out of the inning with only one more run getting home and there was some fire as the defense left the field.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Huskers were rolling with two outs as Spencer Schwellenbach drove in a run with a triple. Two walks loaded the bases and two wild pitched drove in two more runs. Once again, two walks filled up the bases and Brice Matthews sent a ball over the left field wall for NU's fourth grand slam of the season.

Caleb Feekin was in to close from the mound after the Big Red rally and he had no troubles. The sophomore retired the side and Nebraska completed a dominant win in this rubber match over Maryland.

Shay Schanaman pitched his first six innings with only one mistake. The solo home run from Maryland was the only hit off the junior in the first two-thirds of the game. Schanaman also struck out 11 batters, a career high number. This performance got the righty another win, and he is now 3-0 on the season. Even when he started to get into trouble in the seventh inning, the bullpen helped him out. Jake Bunz and Caleb Feekin were the two pitchers out of the pen, and combined they gave up no hits for no runs. In the three innings they pitched, only one runner was allowed on base by Bunz when he walked a Terrapin. Pitching days like this are going to win almost any game, especially with the way the Husker offense has been scoring.

The NU offense was on fire in this game with 14 hits that scored 14 runs. It didn't take long to get started, and in the bottom of the second, seven hits scored the first five runs of the game for the Big Red. During that inning, Nebraska went through its lineup, both starting and ending the inning with Cam Chick at the plate. Two more hits in the fifth inning scored the next two runs of the game, but the eighth inning was when the offense broke free. After an inning with their head coach getting ejected, the Huskers came out with fire in the eighth inning. After there were two outs, NU worked walks and scored runs on Maryland mistakes. With the bases loaded, Brice Matthews delivered the biggest hit of the game over the left field wall to clear the bases and put the Big Red up 11. Big hits and aggressive offense allowed Nebraska's bats to shine in this game.

The Huskers head to Penn State next weekend for a three-game series against the Nittany Lions starting Friday. Game one is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m., Saturday's game is at 12:00 p.m. and Sunday's game starts at 10:00 a.m.

All three games can be heard on Husker Sports Network.