Michigan tops Nebraska baseball 8-6 as a late comeback falls short
The Nebraska baseball team (17-10-1) fell to Michigan (17-13) on Saturday 8-6 as a late comeback attempt fell short. The Huskers left 13 baserunners on during this game which proved to be too many left stranded.
NU jumped out in front early in this game as they manufactured two runs, but the defense fell flat. In the first inning the Wolverines tied it off of two hits. Michigan then struck again in the second inning as they made it 6-2. Despite the Big Red scoring four runs in the last five innings, their attempted recovery fell short.
Game Recap
Nebraska looked like they were in the driver’s seat early in this game. The offense came out in the top of the first inning and manufactured two runs off no hits to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.
However, the defense fell flat early on. Jace Kaminska earned the start on the mound and he didn’t bring his best stuff. The junior gave away two free bases to start the inning, and allowed two hits following that. He worked his way out of the first inning with no more damage than a 2-2 ballgame.
The second inning is where things got worse for the starter. Michigan scored four runs off three hits and Kaminska ended his day after just one and two thirds innings.
Jackson Brockett came into the game for NU and managed to put out the fire. The sophomore worked his way out of the bottom of the second, but the damage had been done and the Big Red trailed 6-2.
The offense started to crawl back into this game in the fifth inning when Max Anderson hit a solo home run to right center field to open the inning. However, the offense failed to score any more after the home run.
In the sixth inning, Nebraska cut the lead for Michigan to just two runs as Anderson once again drove in a run.
The Wolverines cancelled those runs out with two of their own coming split between the sixth and seventh innings.
The Husker offense had their biggest chance to come back into this game as they made it 8-6 in the top of the eighth. The bases were loaded with two outs when Garrett Anglim struck out. NU came up short once again in the ninth and dropped this game.
“Our goal is to win the league. You’ve gotta win series. That’s the bottom line, if you can win series on the road that’s even better.”
-Nebraska head coach Will Bolt via Huskers Radio Network
Too many left stranded
Nebraska left 13 baserunners stranded. Eight of those were during innings where NU scored runs and was looking for a rally.
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The top of the eighth inning was the biggest chance to get a rally going and turn this game on its head. The Big Red trailed by four runs and had runners in scoring position with one out. Max Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to center field, followed by a base hit from Charlie Fischer to make it a two run game.
Now with two outs, Nebraska loaded the bases with free passes. Garrett Anglim stepped up to the plate and was struck out, ending the rally. It was a pressure situation, and NU came up short.
Pitching staff fell in a hole early
Scoring first helps a team win more often than not. However, allowing six runs after scoring two puts a team in a hole that is hard to crawl out of.
After the Huskers trailed 6-2 in this game, that four run deficit proved to be too much to overcome. The offense managed to score four runs in the remainder of the game, but keep Michigan off the board was too tall a task for the bullpen.
In fact, the bullpen put out a strong performance in this game. Jackson Brockett worked five innings allowing just two runs on three hits. Corbin Hawkins worked a third of an inning, allowing two hits and no runs, while Kyle Perry worked one inning with no hits.
Although the bullpen came out strong, the Big Red had fallen into too deep a hole to start the game.
What’s next?
The Huskers will play in Sunday’s rubber match against Michigan at 11:00 a.m. CT. The game will be streamed on B1G+ (LINK HERE) and is over the radio on the Huskers Radio Network (LINK HERE).
