In what has become a good border rivalry over the years – Nebraska holds a 29-26 edge – the Cornhuskers took on a completely new Shocker team from the one they faced last season, thanks to portal and juco transfers. The boys from Kansas are having a solid start to the season sitting at 15-6 and coming off scoring 77 runs this past weekend in a four-game series against Butler.
Sitting with a 2-0 recording and having only thrown nine pitches over the weekend, Cooper Katskee took the mound tonight with his
1.40 ERA against the only freshman on Wichita State’s roster, lefty Ethan Rogers.
Both pitchers got off to decent starts in the first couple of innings, with Katskee having to work through Shocker threat in the second inning. In the top of the third, just when Rogers thought he was going to have his third 1-2-3 inning, Nebraska struck with two outs.
Jeter Worthley stroked a single and moved to second on a Mac Moyer single. Jett Buck added the third single in a row and brought Worthley in to score. Nebraska up 1-0.
Dylan Carey, back playing shortstop tonight, worked a walk to load the bases, bringing up Case Sanderson. The first baseman ripped a single of his own to plate Moyer and Buck to extend the lead to 3-0.
Wichita State grabbed one back in the bottom of the fourth inning when their lead-off batter M.J. Sweeney hit one on a line to centerfield. Mac Moyer gambled and dove forward to catch it, but missed and saw the ball roll all the way to the wall. Sweeney does not have much speed so he ended up at third with a triple instead of an inside the park home run. He scored on a Kaleb Duncan sacrifice fly to make the score 3-1 Nebraska.
Nebraska grabbed their fourth run of the game in the fifth when Mac Moyer scored from second base on a Jett Buck one-out single. They tacked on another in the seventh inning when Jeter Worthley led off the inning with his third single of the game and scored three batters later on a Carey single. At this point, Nebraska held a 5-1 lead.
Katskee went five complete tonight looking solid other than a little trouble in the second inning. Kevin Mannell looked okay working through a little trouble he made for himself in the sixth with two outs without giving up a run.
Colin Nowacyzk pitched a brilliant seventh inning, dominating the three batters he faced, but then came the eighth. As good as he just was, it was crazy how fast he got himself in trouble in the eighth.
After the lead-off man reached on an Overbeek error, Jason Jones hit a double to put two runners in scoring position. Nowaczyk then got a strikeout before he walked Kaleb Duncan to load the bases with one out.
With the bases loaded and one out, Coach Brian Green went to the bench and brought in their top batter, Max Kaufer. The Shocker catcher was a late scratch tonight, but could still swing a bat and was hitting .440 on the season.
In came J’Shawn Unger to go right on right. The best Nebraska reliever in tight spots so far this season, Unger was up for the challenge, striking out Kaufer swinging for the second out of the inning, and then doing the same thing against Ethan Gonzalez to end the threat. K’Shawn!
With that scare, Nebraska put three more runs on the board in the top of the ninth to give a little more insurance. Moyer singled to start it off. After a walk and a double play turned by the Shockers on a Carey ground ball, Case Sanderson drove in Moyer on a two-out single to make this game grand slam proof.
Sanderson then scored after stealing a base and taking a couple of bases on a Devin Nunez single. Joshua Overbeek got on base for the first time in the game, moving Nunez to second base. He scored on a Drew Grego single. When the dust cleared, Nebraska was up 8-1 going to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Unger came out to finish things up in the bottom of the ninth, striking out the first batter he faced for his third swinging K in a row. Jaden Gustafson reached on an infield hit before a 3-6-3 double play two pitches later ended it. Ball game! Nebraska 8, Wichita State 1
The Cornhuskers found that Arizona magic tonight by hitting and scoring with two outs. On the night they had nine hits and sixteen tries with two outs and scoring five runs. They had a .500 average with runners in scoring position. That’s what good teams do.
Overall this was an all-around solid game. Good pitching and good hitting.
The same two teams are back at it tomorrow at 2:00. Pryce Bender will start for Nebraska. Wichita State has not named a starter. Hopefully, some Nebraskaball fans will stop by to stretch their legs and watch a little baseball on their way to OKC.
Notes:
- We have a second edition of the season of “I’ve Never Seen That Before.” In the Wichita State third inning, Alex Ulloa smacked a line drive right back at Cornhusker pitcher Cooper Katskee. The righthander didn’t react quick enough with his glove to put it on the ball and the ball found its way between two buttons of his jersey and lodged itself inside. Katskee rushed to get it out and fire it to first to double-off a runner for a double play. However, once the ball goes inside of clothing it becomes a dead ball and a base hit. Never seen that before!
- Jeter Worthley had a three-hit night. This is his third one of those this season. The freshman from Lincoln East continues to grow and gain confidence at the plate.
- Case Sanderson came up big twice in this game with two RBI in the second inning and another in the ninth to add an insurance run. Jett Buck has two hits and two RBI, and Mac Moyer had a couple of hits.
- A bit of irony took place in the Cornhusker seventh inning with Dylan Carey coming to the plate after Jett Buck struck out, the Wichita State sound guy was playing No More Mister Nice Guy to punk Buck, not know it was Carey’s walk-up song. Carey answered with a single and saw Jeter Worthley score on a throwing error.
- Listening to Kyle Crooks and Nick Handley tonight, I’m considering shelving the term anthracite as the color for their uniforms and replacing it with what Crooks called dirty eraser on white paper. It’s a little wordy but I will give it some consideration.
- The 15-5 start by this team is the best of the Will Bolt era.
