Nebraska stepped back into Big Ten play this weekend, this time facing the Northwestern Wildcats. It was a pretty good series for us winning two out of the three games. We played one game Friday night and then a doubleheader on Saturday. The Huskers were pretty efficient, both offensively and defensively which helped us get this victory. Let’s look at how we were able to win the series!
Game One
Game one was an offensive contest with both teams starting off fast. Northwestern got the first run of the game off of a solo homer in the top of the first inning. Nebraska answered right away with back-to-back solo home runs to take the lead in the first inning. In the top of the second, Northwestern put up a three-spot with two homers, one being a two-run homer and the other a solo shot. The Huskers immediately responded, adding one run in the bottom of the second. This brought Nebraska within one with Northwestern leading 4-3. The Wildcats got two more runs across off of a two-run home run in the top of the third. Nebraska added one in the bottom of the third and Northwestern added one in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth we got a two-run home run, bringing us back within one with Northwestern leading 7-6. From there, it was a quiet couple of innings until Nebraska tied it up in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer. Northwestern plated two runs in the top of the ninth, but unfortunately, we were unable to answer ultimately losing 9-7.
This game started off good for us, but ultimately, we weren’t able to get it done. We had a few chances to score but we couldn’t take advantage of these opportunities. Offensively, we had a productive day with 12 total hits. The Husker offense also got quite a few homers, which helped us stay in the game. As for our defense, pitchers, and Bullpen we were efficient at times, but unfortunately couldn’t close it out. Both teams also committed one error. This wasn’t the way we wanted to start out the series, but luckily games two and three went much better for us.
Game Two
Game two went much better for our Huskers with us starting the scoring right away. Nebraska started off the scoring plating five runs in the bottom of the first. This came off of our first grand slam of the season and a single. After putting up a five spot in the first, we added to our lead with a two-run home run in the second. At the end of the second frame, we lead 7-0. The Wildcats got their first run of the game in the top of the fourth and we added one more run in the bottom of the fourth. Northwestern added two more runs in the top of the fifth and Nebraska, tacked on three in the bottom of the fifth. Nebraska led 11-3. Northwestern added one run in the top of the six, and this would be their last run of the game. Nebraska put up a three spot in the bottom of the six. The game ended in the seventh due to the run rule. Nebraska got the victory 14-4.
This was a great game for our Huskers on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we had an excellent game with multiple home runs, and did not leave many runners stranded. The Huskers had 11 hits in this game. This was also a very strong performance from our defense and pitchers. We didn’t allow very many hits and only surrendered four runs. This was a fantastic response after the game Friday night and a great way to start the doubleheader on Saturday.
Game Three
Game three got out to a much slower start than the previous two. Nebraska started off the scoring with one run in the bottom of the third. We added two more in the bottom of the fourth taking a 3-0 lead. We added one more in the fifth bringing our lead to four. Northwestern got their first run of the game in the top of the seventh. The Big Red got our final run of the game in the bottom of the seventh. In the top of the eighth, the Wildcats got a solo home run, but it wasn’t enough. Nebraska took game three 5-2.
This was another all-around good game for the Huskers. Offensively, we were very productive, totaling nine hits. As for our pitchers and defense, it was a great way to follow up game too. Our pitchers and Bullpen had another productive game only allowing six hits and two runs. Defensively we had one error compared to Northwestern’s two. This was a great way to end the series and sweep the doubleheader.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, this was a productive series from our team. We saw a lot of good things on both sides of the ball, which was an encouraging sign. I was impressed with the amount of home runs and efficiency. I saw from our offense this weekend. Although we lost game one, Nebraska’s batters showed a lot of fight and toughness during Saturday’s doubleheader. Our pitchers and defense also had a great series. Northwestern has some good hitters, and we were able to limit the amount of hits they were able to get this weekend. I was proud of the fight this team showed especially in the doubleheader because it’s very hard to win both games. Hopefully we can take the momentum we built from winning the series into our next game. Kansas comes to town on Tuesday for a midweek game with first pitch at six Tuesday night.
GBR
