Nebraska baseball blows three-run lead in the ninth, loses 7-6 in 11 innings

A 6-2 cushion and another quality start from Brett Sears wasn’t enough for Nebraska baseball on Friday night. The Huskers coughed up three runs in the ninth to tie the game and saw the lead slip for the first time in the 11th en route to a 7-6 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

That marks a third consecutive loss for head coach Will Bolt’s squad.

“We just didn’t get the shutdown,” Bolt said postgame on the Huskers’ Radio Network. “We scored three there and felt like that was going to be enough and obviously we don’t get the shutdown. Get some momentum back to them. Out of the pen, not enough strikes. Chasing a count too often and some walks lead to some runs and we stretched the lead there late but we’ve got to find a way to finish that thing off.”

Nebraska is 22-9 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten play. Here’s how the Huskers dropped their first series opener in Big Ten play.

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A sixth-inning squall signaled a breakthrough for Nebraska’s bats against Sinibaldi.

Cayden Brumbaugh’s one-out double got things going before Josh Overbeek drew a four-pitch walk and both runners moved into scoring position via a wild pitch. Nebraska scratched across the first run of the game on Cole Evans’ sacrifice fly. Then Josh Caron followed Case Sanderson’s HBP with a two-RBI single up the middle that put the Huskers in front 3-0.

Of course, the storm didn’t stop for Sears.

Rutgers capitalized to the tune of three consecutive hits with one away. Freshman Ty Doucette brought the Scarlet Knights within 3-2 by driving in a pair on bloop single to left.

Nebraska strung together more two-out magic in the eighth. Of the Huskers’ eight hits, six came with two outs and none was bigger than Will Walsh’s three-run bomb. The righty’s fifth of the season plated Caron and Gabe Swansen who reached on a single and a walk respectively. More importantly, it gave NU a 6-2 advantage.

Yet that wouldn’t be enough. Six consecutive Scarlet Knights reached with one out in the ninth plating three runs on four hits and tied the game at 6-6. After Tony Santa-Maria’s game-tying RBI single, Casey Daiss was able to escape the bases-loaded one-out jam and give the Huskers a chance in extras.

A scoreless 10th inning gave way to a Dylan Carey double that lead off the 11th. But Nebraska failed to execute. Riley Silva popped out on a bunt and both Overbeek and Rhett Stokes were retired to hold off the threat.

Then in the 11th Rutgers capitalized on its leadoff base runner. Josh Kuroda-Grauer scored on Johnny Volpe’s two-out, two-strike single and the Scarlet Knights completed a four-run comeback.

Welcome to the season’s low point

For the first time this year, Nebraska is sitting squarely in the middle of a losing streak. Now its time to see how truly resilient the 2024 Huskers are. Without a doubt, this is the most adversity this group has faced this season.

Finding a way to respond will be key for the bullpen going forward.

“You’ve just got to stick with what you do,” Bolt said. “You’ve got to be competitive. You’ve got to put your shoulders back, your head up and work fast. It’s no secret, you’ve got to pitch from ahead and I thought we pitched from behind way too often there from the back half of that game from guys who throw strikes. They’re gonna continue to get chances to get the ball and they’re gonna get it done.”

Now comes the challenge of preventing the streak from spiraling any further. Nebraska is now 0-4 in Quad 1 games this year. Two more opportunities remain with a chance to win the series still on the table.

“It’s called a series for a reason,” Bolt said. “I told the guys it’s a heartbreaker. We did a lot right. It felt like we were going to go pull away in that game and just didn’t finish. Can’t let tonight bleed into tomorrow and understand that we’re a team and we’ve gotta do this together and now even the thing tomorrow.”

What’s next for Nebraska baseball?

Nebraska baseball continues its weekend in Piscataway on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CT. Mason McConnaughey is in line for the start against fellow right-hander Jake Marshall. Sunday’s tilt is slated for a 11:00 a.m. first pitch. Drew Christo will get the nod for the Big Red

Fans can listen to the game on the Huskers Radio Network or stream both contests on Big Ten Plus.