Nebraska returned to Big Ten action this weekend as they took on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It was a pretty good series for our team as we won two of the three games. We were mostly efficient offensively, defensively, and in our Bullpen not giving up too many runs. Although we had some struggles in game three, we were able to get the series victory in game two on Saturday. Let’s look at how we got this series win.
Game One
Game one started out hot for both teams with Rutgers getting the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning. The Huskers quickly responded by putting a five spot on the board in the bottom of the first. This came off of six hits, giving us the 5-2 lead in the bottom of the first. Rutgers tacked on three more runs in the top of the second after being down with two outs. This tied the game at five a piece. In the bottom of the fifth, Nebraska got two more runs, taking the lead by a score of 7-5. The Big Red scored an insurance run in the eighth, ultimately winning by a score of 8-5.
This was a good game for our Huskers, both offensively and defensively. Offensively, we totaled 13 hits which was a very productive day. Defensively, the pitching staff along with our Bullpen did a great job holding the Scarlet Knights to only five runs off of 12 hits. Although we allowed them to tie it up, we were able to fight back, which helped us get this victory.
Game Two
Game two started out a lot slower than the first game, with the first run coming from Nebraska in the bottom of the third inning. From there, we exploded in the bottom of the fourth with five runs off of six hits. This included two two-run home runs. We then led by a score of 6-0. The Scarlet Knights first runs came in the top of the fifth. They got four runs off of three hits and Nebraska committed two errors. Rutgers tacked on one more in the six bringing them within one. The Huskers quickly answered adding one run in the bottom of the six, two in the seventh and one in the eighth. We won this game 10-5.
This was another impressive performance from our team. The crooked number put up by our offense in the bottom of the fourth really made a difference in this game. Our two homers in this inning got things going for our offense. Even though we allowed Rutgers to get close, the Huskers never really looked back from that point. The pitchers and Bullpen were really productive and held up in critical moments. With this win, we got our first series win in the Big Ten in the 2025 season.
Game Three
Game three was similar to game two with the first run of the game not coming until the third inning. Rutgers got the first run of the game and the top of the third inning. We got our first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth tying the game at one. In the top of the fifth, the Scarlet Knights took the lead with three runs off of three hits. Nebraska added one run in the bottom of the six and Rutgers added one in the top of the seventh. Nebraska pulled within one after getting two runs off of three hits. Rutgers also committed three errors which helped us get closer. At the end of the seventh, Rutgers lead 5-4. The Scarlet Knights added two more in the top of the eighth. This included a solo home run. The Huskers added one in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to add any more runs in the ninth. Rutgers won 7-5.
This game did not go the way us Husker fans hoped it would. Offensively, we had nine total hits compared to Rutgers 15 hits. Although we did a pretty good job batting, unfortunately, we couldn’t get runs when we needed at the end of the game. Defensively, we did a pretty good job. However, we did commit one error while Rutgers committed three errors. Our Bullpen did a pretty good job, but it wasn’t enough for us to get this win.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, this was a pretty productive series from our team. Although we lost game three, Nebraska still showed a lot of fight. We had some big innings and showed a lot of good things on the offensive side. Defensively, we did good for the most part. The only struggle that I really noticed was our inability to strike Rutgers out. They are known for being hard to strike out and we saw this this weekend. I think this is something we can improve upon in our next games. But overall, I think we did pretty well and was impressed with this performance. It was also good to finally get our first series win in the Big Ten. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into our next game. Up next, we travel to Kansas for a midweek game against the Jayhawks. First pitch is scheduled for 6 PM on Tuesday.
GBR
