Gabe Swansen - Dillon Galloway/Nebraska Communications
In round one of the Big Ten Tournament, Nebraska baseball defeats the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. In a game that took a slow start, by the seventh inning, everything picked up. Nebraska will next face Maryland while Rutgers will face Michigan State. A recap of the rest of round one can be read here. In a big game, here is a look at how Nebraska defeated Rutgers.
The Nebraska Baseball Win
Nebraska had the lead for the majority of the game until Rutgers caused a tie in the fifth inning. This is when the game truly began. The 7th inning may have made this game the best of the tournament so far. What began as 3-3 turned into a high-scoring nail-biter.
Rutgers was at bat at the top of the inning. In the top of the seventh, Evan Sleight hit a pitch that lead to Trevor Cohen scoring, giving Rutgers a 4-3 lead. The next to score was Ryan Lasko and then Chris Brito, making it 6-3. This made the game look as though it was going in Rutgers’ favor until the Huskers were up to bat.
Still, in the seventh inning, Nebraska did not take long to take the game back. While down 6-3. Gabe Swansen hit a home run, creating a tie in the big game. In that same inning, Ben Columbus, Dylan Carey, and Cole Evans scored. Rutgers was only able to score another run in the 8th inning. The game ended 9-7 Nebraska.
While the game did grow in intensity, how did the Huskers get the win? The pitching for Nebraska is a big reason. It may not sound like it based on the seventh inning, but overall Nebraska prevented Rutgers from scoring, especially in the eighth inning. It felt as though the Scarlet Knights never had a chance. Rutgers on the other hand struggled with their pitching by the end of the game. The Scarlet Knights began to hand Nebraska walks allowing the Huskers to score much too easily.
In total, Rutgers allowed nine walks, according to Nebraska Athletics. It may not seem like too many, but it is when there are many back-to-back. It was a big factor in how Rutgers lost their 6-3 lead. Rutgers will need to clean up their pitching before their next game. Nebraska was able to take complete advantage of the poor pitching and win the game.
Next Up
Following the 9-7 victory, Nebraska will face the number one seed Maryland. The game will take place on May 25th. Despite losing, Rutgers will face the eighth seed, Michigan State May 25th.
