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Shockers mash again, Huskers miss opportunities in loss

After Saturday's 6-3 loss, Nebraska is now just 4-for-34 with runners on base in Wichita.
After Saturday's 6-3 loss, Nebraska is now just 4-for-34 with runners on base in Wichita.

FINAL STATS

WICHITA, Kan. - A sun-soaked day with a stiff breeze had the distinct feel of a mid-spring afternoon, but Nebraska’s cold bats served a cruel reminder that the season is yet to change.

The 65-degree day couldn’t keep the Huskers from going 2-for-16 with runners on base - and it certainly didn’t help Nebraska keep up with three Wichita State home runs as the Shockers held serve for a 6-3 victory.

The loss dropped Nebraska to 5-5 on the season and marked its third defeat with just one run in 2018. The Huskers pounded out 10 mostly-productive hits, but an inability to advance on the base baths doomed the Big Red for the second day in a row.

Nebraska now has just four hits with 34 runners on base in Wichita.

“I think somewhat it’s contagious,” senior Zac Repinski said. “If it’s going well, everyone kind of buys into that … it’s contagious if it goes bad, but it’s all about staying in your mental game and making sure that you, as an individual, can get something going for the team.”

In a repeat sequence of Friday’s game, the first two innings went scoreless without much of a threat. The Huskers got their first hit on star Shocker freshman Liam Eddy in the third inning, as a single by Repinski put NU’s first base runner on with one out.

As was the theme of the day, the Huskers came up empty and the Shockers capitalized.

Wichita State got a leadoff baserunner in Gunnar Troutwine in the bottom of the third before 9-hole hitter Jordan Boyer chopped a grounder off the field turf and well over Luke Roskam’s head. The ball trickled down the left field line before Mojo Hagge could finally catch up to it and hold the runners at second and third.

Nebraska southpaw Nate Fisher regrouped to force a full count ground ball, but the Husker junior got behind the count in the following at bat. The result was a Grayson Jenista three-run homer over the right field wall, Wichita State’s third on the weekend.

With Fisher rattled, the Shockers finally took advantage of their All-American 2-3 punch in the lineup. Two pitches after Jenista’s home run, Omaha native Alec Bohm blasted one over the scoreboard in left to make it 4-0.

Fisher’s last pitch was the very next one, as Dayton Dugas forced the change with a single to right field. He would later score to mark Fisher’s final line with a fifth earned run in just 2.1 innings of work.

“He was just up in the zone,” head coach Darin Erstad said of Fisher. “Against these guys - a very good, very physical team - and when the wind’s blowing out, you’re going to have to win with height. He left a couple balls up and they crushed them.”

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Unlike Friday, Nebraska wasted no time with a rally attempt. Mojo Hagge hit a leadoff triple in the fourth before jogging home on a groundout. But even with two more singles in the inning, the Huskers could only cut it to 5-1.

The four-run margin, however, lasted less than 10 pitches into the Wichita State half of the inning. Junior second baseman Luke Ritter, hitting just .075 on the season heading into the at bat, blasted a solo shot over the left center field wall in the deepest part of the park.

That 6-1 margin would hold as Nebraska went empty with leadoff baserunners in three of the next four innings. The Huskers squandered a golden opportunity in the sixth after a Schreiber leadoff single and a Jesse Wilkening walk gave NU first and second with nobody out.

A pop out inserted the first road block before Eddy struck out the final two batters in the inning. The Huskers would fare no better in the seventh, striking out the entire side.

Down five runs, NU mounted a solid rally attempt in ninth inning. Another leadoff baserunner brought Jeff Athey to the plate with the redshirt freshman looking to shake off an 0-for-14 start to the year. On a 2-2 count, Athey took a big cut and sailed one over the left field wall to shrink the deficit to 6-3.

The Huskers would get a one-out single, but two more missed opportunities with a runner on base ended the game.

Nebraska pitched three for the second day in a row, with Fisher, Matt Waldron and Zack Engelken spanning the eight innings. Engelken was a bright spot, allowing just three baserunners and no runs in a season-long three innings of work. The junior right-hander missed all of 2017 with injury and threw 1.2 innings last weekend in his first appearance back.

“(Engelken) is still spraying it around a little bit, but his stuff’s there,” Erstad said. “We’ve just got to help him continue to work on holding base runners on and the finer things of being able to pitch on a consistent basis, but he threw the ball well.”

The Huskers will look to salvage their first road series of the season with a win Sunday afternoon. Senior right-hander Matt Warren will take the mound and first pitch from Wichita State’s Connor Lungwitz is set for 2:00 p.m. from Eck Stadium.

ROUNDING THE BASES

1st - Fisher hung a few too many balls.

Nebraska left-hander Nate Fisher is now one of two uninjured southpaws on the roster. While lefties are great to mix things up against a powerful lineup - or any lineup - it doesn't help if the baseballs are hung out on clothes line. Fisher was up in the zone for much of the day, and when he would get some downward angle, the velocity wasn't there.

You take a negative with a positive - no strikeouts, but no walks. But that also means he wasn't taking many chances, a stark contrast to Friday starter Luis Alvarado. Fisher has good control and is serviceable as a starter and a reliever, but against veteran teams like Wichita State that know how to be patient, a conservative approach won't always lead to ground balls. The Shockers turned on just enough swings - eight in play, to be exact - to chase Fisher off the mound in less than three innings. The Huskers got lucky with good relief, but a depleted bullpen will need more than 2.1 innings out of a bona fide Saturday starter.

2nd - The offense was dreadful after leadoff.

Nebraska got leadoff baserunners in five of the final six innings. The only hit it notched immediately following those leadoff hits was Athey's home run. If the issue is stringing hits together, the Huskers need a tailor. Nebraska pounded out 10 hits in the game and was 1-for-9 with a walk in at bats following base hits. That's unbelievable luck when it comes to clutch hitting.

That tells you the Huskers were clearly ready to come out and play Saturday, but were mentally fragile after seeing so many opposing baseballs clear the outfield wall. Leadoff hitters usually have a full two minutes or more to focus and get ready for the first at bat of the inning - staring down a pitcher one-on-one, with no baserunners or outs to worry about. For the batters following, there are always circumstances, whether it be outs, baserunners, a certain pitch the opposition is grooving with, or whatever it may be.

Nebraska needs to work on its approach to situational batting if it wants to get over the offensive hump. Clearly the hits are coming, but they haven't been in the right spots.

3rd - A few bullpen stars still remain.

Nebraska's drastically depleted pitching staff now has four hurlers down with elbow injuries. Friday saw two green freshman struggle mightily with the Wichita State bats. Saturday, two juniors showed that this team could end up being better built for a postseason schedule than weekend series.

Outside of a solo home run in the fifth, Matt Waldron and Zack Engelken were absolutely nails on the mound. Between that pair, Paul Tillotson and closer Jake Hohensee, the Huskers have proven they can lock down the late innings against very good competition. Add in Reece Eddins in a few weeks, and the Huskers have a semblance of the formidable bullpen that showed on paper in the preseason.

Nebraska can succeed in a one, two or three game set because of its bullpen, but quality starts will be imperative down the stretch.

Bringing it home - Shockers upend the "Midwestern formula."

In college baseball, there tends to be an extreme disparity between the northern and southern styles of play. Small ball is the name of the game in the Big Ten and with other colder-weather schools, while SEC teams like LSU can smack it all over the yard.

Wichita State - a northern team by all college baseball geographic accounts - rejects the status quo. Four Shockers have hit home runs in the last two days. While small ball may work in the Big Ten, Wichita State is competing at an NCAA level with an offensive approach that Nebraska hasn't considered under Darin Erstad.

All it takes is two or three superstar sluggers to bring the whole team's power up a notch. If Nebraska can get those players and highlight them with a power-premium offensive approach, baseball may get a lot more fun for the folks in red.

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