No suspense in Huskers' 11-4 romp over Indiana State

The Huskers waited to make their move in Tuesday's 10-4 win over Indiana State, scoring six runs in the seventh inning to put away the Sycamores.

No such drama was needed Wednesday.

Nebraska jumped all over Indiana State, scoring three runs in the first, and plated at least one run in four of the first five innings. The explosive offense, combined with a solid effort from the pitching staff, pushed NU past the Sycamores 11-4.

Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, the Huskers improved to 13-7 on the season.

"When you have a chance to sweep somebody on the road, whether it's the weekend or midweek, you have to come in with a certain type of mentality," Darin Erstad said on the Husker Sports Network. "We came in with the right mentality and came after it and took what we wanted."

The game continued Nebraska's early-season power surge. The contest was NU's eighth contest this season with multiple home runs. The Huskers have hit 23 home runs in 20 games this season, already besting their total of 22 in 57 games in 2015.

Nebraska's hitters collected seven two-out RBIs.

Ryan Boldt got things started with a triple and Ben Miller went opposite field with a two-run homer two batters later. The Huskers would add another run on a fielding error by the ISU first baseman, then tacked on runs in both the third and fourth innings.

Nebraska padded its lead three runs in the fifth as Steven Reveles brought home Luis Alvarado with a bloop single to center and, three batters later, Jake Placzek sprayed a line drive down the third-base line with two outs to score a pair, increasing NU's lead to 8-1.

Just to put the cherry on top, Placzek blasted a three-run bomb, his fifth of the year, in the seventh, putting any suspense of the game's outcome to bed.

The scoring explosion made things on Garett King, who was effective in his 5.1 innings. Expected to be a pillar of the weekend rotation, King is trying to find the control that made him so effective last season as a freshman. He took some steps against Indiana State, allowing just two runs and walking one to pick up the win.

"He'd been struggling, but I thought he came out and really threw the ball well early," Erstad said. "It's progress. He's not as good as he needs to be, but it's better."

But it was the offense that ruled the day. The Huskers knocked 11 hits, five of which went for extra bases. Nebraska stole three bases and hit 5-for-13 (.385) with runners in scoring position.

"Going on the road, we haven't played consistently well on the road," Erstad said. "But I really liked our consistency and our mentality these last few days."

Second baseman Jake Placzek: No player embodies NU's eye-opening home run pace than Placzek, a senior who hit just one long ball in his first three seasons. Placzek's seventh-inning blast was his fifth of the year. Placzek finished the day 2-for-5 with three RBIs, making him 3-for-6 with two homers, four runs, seven RBIs and four walks in the two-game series.

***Catcher Brady Childs made his first career start. The JUCO transfer went hitless but walked three times. Freshman Jesse Wilkening is usually the backup catcher, but Erstad said he was out with sickness.

***Scott Schreiber sat out the game with a sore back.

***Nebraska allowed just one two-out hit.