Watson's first career hit allows NU to end season on high note
Freshman Keegan Watson stepped up to the plate with two-men on base and crushed his first career hit and home run to give Nebraska (24-28, 8-14) a 10-7 lead. The first guy to greet him as he touched home plate was none other than senior leader Scott Schreiber.
That was the feeling in the Husker dugout on Saturday. But for the first time in a long time, the Huskers played loose. They looked like they were having fun again. They were away from the pressure and the only thing they had on their mind was to send the seniors off the right way.
Illinois (31-18, 15-9) got off to a fast start as they were able to put up three runs in the first two innings. The hot start was capped off by a two-run shot to right field by Jack Yalowitz and the game was looking like Friday’s.
Nebraska was dealt punches early and they responded in a big way in the fourth inning. After senior Zac Repinski was walked, the Huskers rattled off back-to-back singles that scored Repinski. Freshman Jaxon Hallmark was able to drive in another run to close the gap and sophomore Mojo Hagge was able to score Angelo Altavilla to make it a 3-3 game.
Senior pitcher Matt Warren was able to sit the Illini offense down in order and the Husker offense picked up where they left off. Junior Jesse Wilkening was able to score after Repinski hit a sac-fly to make it a 4-3 NU lead. Sophomore Luke Roskam followed that up with a double and Altavilla smashed a RBI-single up the middle to make it a 5-3 Husker advantage.
“(Warren) looked like he was trying to empty the tank in the first three innings,” head coach Darin Erstad said during his postgame show. “I wanted to give him a chance to win the game and kept him in there.”
Warren would be replaced by junior Nate Fisher. Warren put together one of his better starts of the season as he finished with 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER and 2 K’s. However, Fisher, didn’t have his best of days.
Fisher’s outing was short one as the Fighting Illini rattled off hit after hit against him. Illinois was able to four runs in four hits off of Fisher. Fisher finished with .2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H and 1 BB.
Just when things seemed at their lowest, NU strapped up and delivered the killing blow to Illinois. After senior Brison Cronenbold was walked, Repinski stepped up to the plate and crushed a two-run home run to left-center field to make it a 7-7 contest. That was Repinski’s third home run of the season.
“I knew I was going to take him out defensively,” Erstad said. “I’m like ‘It’d be kind of cool to see him hit a homer here’ and did it so that was pretty neat. Some good moments for him.”
Altavilla was able to single down the left side and steal second base. Altavilla went 4-4 from the plate today with four singles. He also stole three bases on Saturday. It’s clear that it wasn’t his best year, but this was a great way for his season to end after struggling all season.
Hallmark followed that up with a single of his own that went down the third base line. That’s when Watson stepped up, owned the moment and became the hero.
Wilkening would crush a RBI-double that plated Schreiber to give the Huskers an insurance run and make it 11-7.
Illinois would lead off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run, but wouldn't get another hit. Nebraska would pull out a season-ending 11-8 win.
Senior relief pitcher Jake Hohensee came in the eighth inning and did what he has done all season long. Hohensee picked up his 13th save of the season and finished with 2 IP, no hits allowed, two strikeouts and two walks. He finished with a 1.05 ERA on the season.
Schreiber leaves Nebraska as one of the best players in school history. He came back to NU wanting to prove his power and consistency and he did just that. He finished batting .369 for the season and had 18 home runs. Schreiber finished 0-for-5 at the plate.
“He’s going to think about this day, but he’s done so many great things for us and he’ll remember those over one game,” Erstad said.
There’s no guarantee on what Wilkening will do this off-season as surprises happen all the time. It was widely predicted that former Husker Jake Meyers would return for his senior year, but he chose to start his MLB career instead. The MLB Draft is three weeks away and it will be worth watching where Wilkening goes.
As for the next step for Nebraska, they are going to have to re-evaluate what they are doing and make some changes going into next year. It was a year of disappointment, injuries and not what the fans expected. Erstad has heard the message and seems ready to ensure next season meets his expectations.
“It’s obviously a huge wake-up call for a lot of guys that this game isn’t that easy. We are at the mercy of the game and we have a lot of work to do because obviously we aren’t good enough right now.”
