Nebraska baseball opens Big Ten play with an 8-4 win over Illinois

The Nebraska baseball team (12-7-1) opened their Big Ten account on the right foot with an 8-4 win over Illinois (10-8). The Huskers have now won six of the seven games they have hosted this season.

It was Emmett Olson who showed out for the NU pitching staff as he pitched seven innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits. The lefty recorded 10 strikeouts on the night while throwing up between innings.

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Game Recap

Olson got the start on the mound for the Big Red in the opening game of conference play.

The junior was dealing early on. He retired the first six batters he faced, striking out two in the top of the second.

During that time, the offense got rolling. In the bottom of the first, Max Anderson hit a three-run shot to give NU an early lead. Cole Evans nearly doubled that lead as his line drive hit the top of the wall and brought home two more Husker runs.

In the top of the third inning the Illini started to figure out Olson as they strung together four base hits. Those four hits scored three runs and cut Nebraska’s lead to two.

However, it didn’t take long for the Big Red to extend that lead again. Three base hits in the bottom of the fourth tacked on a sixth run for NU and made it 5-3.

Illinois responded with a pair of base hits in the fifth that brought home a runner and made it 6-4. After that, the Illini defense committed two errors in the sixth inning that allowed Nebraska to score another run.

Emmett Olson finished his inspired performance having pitched seven innings, allowing just four runs on six hits. Head coach Will Bolt said the lefty was “throwing up during the first inning.” From the mound, the fans couldn’t tell he was sick. The lefty struck out 10 batters, five of those being in the last six he faced on the night.

In the top of the eighth, Shay Schanaman took over for the ailing Emmett Olson. The graduate senior closed the game in style, pitching two full innings and allowing no hits. Schanaman struck out two of the final three batters he faced and earned his second save of the year.

NU’s offense added the final run of the game in the eighth inning off an RBI single from Dylan Carey and Nebraska earned its first conference win.

Pitching staff was strong

The Husker pitching staff helped themselves out by only using two arms in this game.

A big part of that was thanks to Emmett Olson who battled through sickness to deal seven impressive innings. Outside of the third inning when the lefty allowed three runs off four hits, Olson was dealing. He was striking out batters at an imposing level. In the top of the sixth and into the seventh inning, the junior struck out five straight batters he faced.

Following the performance from Olson, Shay Schanaman didn’t let off the gas. The righty faced six batters and retired each one of them. Schanaman allowed one base runner, but he was eliminated with a double-play.

With the bullpen struggles that Will Bolt and his team have had this season, he will be happy to have all but two arms available the rest of the weekend.

A huge first inning

Nebraska had extra motivation to start this game out strong. Prior to the first pitch, three Husker legends had their jerseys retired. Darin Erstad, Shane Komine, and Alex Gordon were in attendance to be etched in Nebraska baseball history.

On top of that, Gordon gave the team a pregame talk that “shouldn’t be repeated,” Cole Evans said.

That pep talk seemed to work as the Big Red put up a crooked number in the first inning. Brice Matthews worked a tough walk before Dylan Carey moved him over with a base hit. Max Anderson then stepped up to the plate and sent a ball over the right field wall to give NU a 3-0 lead.

The offense wasn’t finished though. With two outs, Griffin Everitt and Ben Columbus both hit singles before Cole Evans drove them in with a double that nearly cleared the fence.

It was a strong start for Nebraska’s offense that put them in the drivers seat for the rest of the game.

What’s next?

The Huskers are back in action on Sunday at 2:02 p.m. in Haymarket Park for the second game of a three-game series against Illinois. NU will play its third game against the Illini on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

These games will stream video on B1G+ (LINK HERE) or are available over the radio on the Huskers Radio Network (LINK HERE).