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Nebraska baseball advances to Big Ten Championship with win over Penn State

Joseph Maierby:Joseph Maier•05/25/25•

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Nebraska baseball vs. Penn State
Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics and Sammy Smith

Nebraska baseball (31-27, 15-15) punched its ticket to the Big Ten Championship game with a 6-3 win over Penn State (33-23, 15-15) on Saturday. The Huskers took a one-run lead in the fourth before Gabe Swansen’s second home run of the day put the game on ice.

Nebraska will face UCLA tomorrow at 2 p.m. with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

“We just want to keep winning every day no matter what it takes,” Swansen said postgame. “Especially for us this year knowing it could be our last game every game. We’re doing whatever it takes to keep playing.”

Tucker Timmerman (5.34 ERA) started on the mound after throwing 52 pitches on Tuesday. The right-hander lasted just 3.1 innings against Penn State, allowing three runs on four hits. Drew Christo and closer Luke Broderick combined to keep the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard over the final five frames.

Swansen and Hogan Helligso led the way at the plate with two RBIs each. Four different Huskers had multi-hit outings as Nebraska tallied 12 as a team.

“We’ve been in playoff mode for quite some time,” head coach Will Bolt said postgame. “We had our backs up against the wall about 35 games into the season. We had a decision to make. These guys decided to fight for one another. That’s all I can ask for as a coach, is that my guys just empty the tank.”

Here is a recap of the victory:

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Helligso gives Huskers early lead

In the bottom of the second, Nebraska loaded the bases without a ball leaving the infield. Swansen drew a leadoff walk before Case Sanderson laid down a beautiful bunt single that stayed fair down the third-base line.

Dylan Carey followed with a bunt single of his own, narrowly beating out the throw to first. With the bases juiced and no outs, Nebraska nearly squandered a scoring opportunity as Devin Nunez grounded into a fielder’s choice and Rhett Stokes struck out swinging. Helligso came up clutch, though, smacking a single through the left side and plating two runs.

“[Helligso] just stepped up,” Bolt said. “That was a big swing. A really, really big swing by a senior who came to Nebraska to be in these moments. He’s been awesome. Honestly, he’s been on the barrel a lot this year with nothing to show for it. It’s good to see him start to get rewarded with some balls.”

While rounding second, Nunez was caught in no-man’s land when Penn State’s pitcher cut off the throw from left. He was tagged out at third to end the frame, but the damage was already done. Nebraska took a 2-0 lead into the third inning.

Including the Oregon game, Helligso finished the day with three hits and three RBIs.

Both sides trade punches in middle innings

Penn State quickly responded to the Huskers’ hot start. In the top of the third, Derek Cease hit a leadoff single, and Paxton Kling — the Nittany Lions’ most daunting hitter — brought him home on an RBI double to the left-field gap.

Nebraska squandered a chance to bounce back one frame later. With one out, Robby Bolin was hit by a pitch and Cayden Brumbaugh singled to right. Both runners advanced on a groundout before Sanderson was also hit by a pitch. Carey fouled out, however, leaving the bases loaded.

Penn State made the Huskers pay. The Nittany Lions took a 3-2 lead in the fourth thanks to two monster swings. Jesse Jaconski hit a leadoff home run to left, and one out later, Matt Maloney followed with a solo shot of his own. Timmerman’s day came to an end after 3.1 frames as Christo relived him.

Nebraska countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. After Stokes and Helligso singled, Silva drove a double to right center that got away from the diving center fielder. Stokes beat the throw home to tie the game, and Bolin’s RBI groundout one at-bat later gave the Huskers a 4-3 lead.

Bullpen duel

After the four-run fourth inning, both offenses went quiet. Christo and left-hander Anthony Steele shined for their respective teams, combining for 5.2 scoreless frames and scattering just four hits.

Christo took over for Timmerman in the fourth and posted three stellar innings. The senior struck out three, including back-to-back three-pitch punchouts in the sixth. He faced 13 batters and gave up only three hits.

“[Christo was] determined to take the baseball,” Bolt said. “How fast he was moving, he was suffocating the strike zone. Again, wanting to do it for the team. That’s the biggest thing, is you don’t have any pressure on yourself when you’re not thinking about your own results.”

After a leadoff double in the seventh, Broderick relieved Christo. He quickly found himself in a jam, walking one and allowing both runners to advance on a groundout. The Huskers’ closer battled for a massive swinging strikeout, though, stranding two in scoring position and preserving the lead.

Broderick came up clutch in the eighth and ninth as well, stranding four more Nittany Lions. He finished the night with four strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.

“He’s a stud,” Bolt said of Broderick. “He’s in the back of the game for a reason. This guy is built for this, he’s built for these moments. Slow heartbeat. Plus-plus stuff. He’s going to pitch for a long time. I hope a lot longer for the Huskers. But yeah, we can put him in in any situation and he’s going to thrive.”

Swansen puts it away

Who else but Gabe Swansen to put Nebraska back in the Big Ten Championship game?

After Brumbaugh singled through the left side in the seventh, Swansen smacked another two-run bomb, this time to right. Including Saturday morning’s win over Oregon, Swansen finished a day to remember with three hits and four RBIs.

“Our backs have been against the wall every game,” Swansen said. “Not the highest-ranked seed this year but just keep coming out with the same fight and same competitiveness and good things will happen.”

The Huskers held on to their 6-3 lead to keep the season alive for at least one more day.

“We’ve played great in this ballpark, in this setting and it’s in large part to [the fans] not just being here but being loud,” Bolt said of the atmosphere. “There’s a huge difference. This crowd has been loud, we’ve had the chants going, we’ve sped up the opponent’s hitters in some big situations where the crowd is being loud. That’s important.

“We love the support. That 9:00 a.m game this morning, you could really feel it. There was a buzz in this stadium last night as they were sticking around for all five hours that they were here until we had to be told to go home. So why not sell out tomorrow?”

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