RrgWhat a day in Lincoln! Two of the top teams in the Big Ten to the field in front of the second biggest crowd in the Big Ten era for Haymarket Park of over 7600 people clad in red. Fresh off a walk off thriller on Friday night, Nebraska was looking to pounce on the potentially reeling Trojans early, while USC wanted to bounce back behind the 2nd of their pair of aces that lead their weekend rotation, in Grant Govel.
After a shaky Friday night start by Cooper Katskee, and a rough start in Oregon
last week from Carson Jasa, the sea of red was eager to see how Jasa would come out of the gate. It turns out, coming home was just what Jasa needed. A 95 mph first pitch right down the middle started a very quick first inning that was punctuated by the first of his 7 strikeouts on the day.
The Husker offense got off to just as quick a start in the bottom of the inning. Mac Moyer hammered a Govel pitch down the left field line, for a long single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a Jeter Worthley fly ball to deep left. Case Sanderson grounded out to second base, bringing in Moyer to score the first run of the game. Nebraska had gotten to Govel early, and they weren’t done.
Short stop Dylan Carey worked a full count and then sent a rocket into the left center gap for a single. Left fielder Jett Buck and right fielder Drew Grego sent back to back pitches into the gap in right center, for a pair of RBI doubles. Josh Overbeek punched a ball through the right side to score Grego and give Nebraska a stunning 4-0 lead over Govel and the Trojans. 4 earned runs tied season high for Govel, and the Huskers were humming.
After more Jasa dominance, the Huskers jumped back 0n Govel in the 3rd. And they did it in spectacular fashion. Case Sanderson turned on the second pitch of the inning and sent it beyond the party porch in right field. Two pitches later, Carey sent a ball to nearly the same spot for back to back home runs, and the party in Lincoln was on! Jett Buck tried to take his turn and hit a ball deep to center, but like the night before, just barely missed a home run. That brought up Drew Grego again, who obliterated the very first ball he saw. That ball saw things maybe only 3 or 4 in the history of Haymarket Park have seen, going over the bathroom building beyond the sidewalk in left field. Nebraska took a commanding 7-0 lead and did it with three home runs over over 400 feet.
Govel left after the 3rd inning, and the Trojan bullpen kept the NU offense in check until Dylan Carey came up in the 5th. Carey worked a full count, and then singled up the middle with 1 out. Then in true Carey grit, he stole second, and then stole 3rd on ball 4 to Jett Buck. Not to be outdone, “Mount” Buck got in on the party, stealing 2nd. That brought up Grego in a big spot again and again he delivered. Grego took a ball about 6 inches off the ground and poked it into left field for a 2 RBI single, giving him a team high 4 on the day, and a 9-0 lead for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska brought the 10 run rule into effect in the 6th, as Moyer reached on an error, and then advanced to second on a balk. After a Worthley walk, Sanderson collected his third RBI of the day on a double to right.
USC kept playing and finally got to Jasa in the 7th, as Adrian Lopez hit a solo shot off Jasa. They added an unearned run when a fielding error with runners on the corners cut the lead to 10-2.
The Huskers were able to bring the mercy rule back into effect and walk off the Trojans with a pair of walks by Buck and Rhett Stokes bringing up Husker catcher Trey Fikes. Fikes blooped one right in-between the short stop and right fielder of USC. The two fielders then turned into the three stooges and ran right by the ball, bumping into each other, allowing both runners to score and Fikes took off for center field trying to outrun the entire team chasing him down. Huskers win 12-2 in 7 innings.
It was quite a showing for Coach Will Bolt’s 200th win as Husker head coach. A complete game from Jasa who scattered 5 hits, 2 walks and gave up 1 earned run while striking out 7 Trojans in his 7 inning complete game. Big games by the usual suspects in Sanderson and Carey, and another spectacular performance by Drew Grego.
Bring out your brooms Sunday as Nebraska looks to complete the sweep over the 12th ranked Trojans, with first pitch by Gavin Blachowicz at noon.
