Nebraska baseball edges No. 7 Vanderbilt 5-3 behind 13 hits, 8 doubles

MINNEAPOLIS– Nebraska baseball had a massive opportunity Friday morning. The Huskers seized the moment and, in front of a healthy contingent of fans, upset No. 7 Vanderbilt 5-3.

Head coach Will Bolt’s squad began the Cambria College Classic with a bang, out-hitting the Commodores 13-5 and posted eight doubles to secure the victory. The win pushes Nebraska’s record to 4-3-1 and is the first regular-season win against a top ten opponent since the Huskers beat No. 3 Texas Tech 2-1 in 2019.

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Emmett Olson started hot with a first pitch strike and a subsequent punchout. The lefty allowed a pair of runners on with two outs, but bounced back with his second strikeout to end the top of the first. The top of the Nebraska lineup went down in order leaving the game scoreless with an inning complete.

Free passes became an issue for Olson in the second as well. He put two aboard via walks but worked a strikeout and coaxed a double play to get out of another self-inflicted jam without allowing a run.

Nebraska’s offense found its footing in the second. Josh Caron led the inning with a single to left on a 3-2 pitch and Will Walsh followed it with double to right that hit off the wall. With one out, Griffin Everitt scored Walsh on a double to leftfield and made it 1-0 Huskers. But that’s all Nebraska would get as the next two batters struck out.

The Huskers missed on more opportunities in the third. Caron followed a Max Anderson one-out single with a double to center field putting runners on second and third. Yet again two Nebraska hitters came to the plate with a chance to push a run across and each went down swinging.

Two Vanderbilt swings turned the tide in the fourth. Both RJ Schreck and Parker Noland hit solo home runs over the right field wall and just like that the Commodores held a 2-1 lead.

Nebraska got another chance to respond in the fifth. Anderson reached second base with a double and that put another runner in scoring position for the Huskers with one away. Caron and Walsh entered the batter’s box. Both went down on strikes.

Vanderbilt added to its lead in the sixth. Schreck smashed another Olson offering over the right-field wall. For the first time, the southpaw struggled to regain his groove. A walk put a runner on first and then Olson got the benefit of some luck. Noland, who homered in his previous at-bat, launched a ball to deep left sending Garrett Anglim to the wall. He native made the catch, saving Olson from a two-run shot.

The Huskers broke through in the sixth. Vanderbilt starter Carter Holton Anglim which brought an end to his outing. Anglim stole second and move to third after a Everitt groundout. Then Charlie Fischer pinch hit for Walsh drawing a 3-2 walk.

Casey Burnham provided the clutch hit Nebraska so desperately needed. He doubled down the right-field line scoring Anglim and later Fischer crossed home on a passed ball to tie the game 3-3.

Shay Schanaman relieved Olson in the seventh and worked a masterful 1-2-3 inning. In the eighth, he allowed a single to Jonathan Vastine but left the shortstop stranded adding a second strikeout to his total.

Anglim dialed the heroics up for the bottom half of the frame. The Lincoln native crushed an 0-2 pitch and snuck it just inside the left-field foul pole. The solo shot pushed the Huskers ahead 4-3, but Nebraska wasn’t done. Two-out doubles from Burnham and Brice Matthews gave the Huskers a 5-3 lead and some insurance for the ninth.

Nebraska made another change in right field for the final inning. Cole Evans became the third Husker to play the position in the game and it didn’t take long for him to see some action. RJ Austin lined a ball to right and Evans picked it out of the air over his shoulder. If he hadn’t Vanderbilt would likely have opened the inning with a runner in scoring position.

Instead, it was the first out of the ninth. Schanaman picked up his third strikeout for the second out and Dylan Carey scooped up a grounder at third to retire the final Commodore.

With the victory, Nebraska moved above .500 for the first time this season.

Nebraska’s bats delivered when it counted

Friday was a mixed bag for the Husker offense. The W in the win column shapes a large part of the perception surrounding Nebraska’s output.

Let’s start with the positives.

The Huskers went toe-to-toe with a unanimous Preseason All-American in Holton and didn’t blink. Holton went 5.2 innings at No. 17 UCLA last Friday allowing just one hit and no runs. Nebraska roughed him up in 5.0 innings tallying eight hits and five of those were doubles.

Production came from up and down the lineup. Five of the Huskers’ 13 hits were from the bottom third of the order including three doubles by Burnham. The middle and top third of the order brought four hits apiece.

Anderson continued his incredible run of dominance. He finished his day 3-of-4 with a double and brought his season batting average to .514.

The bad was fairly obvious throughout the day. The Huskers just couldn’t bring anyone home. Nebraska posted six doubles in the first six innings and had only three runs to show for it. The team left nine on base, struck out 10 times and had a four-inning stretch with seven consecutive strikeouts with runners in scoring position.

Matthews is the perfect personification of Nebraska’s day at the plate. He finished the day 1-for-5 with three strikeouts and each came with runners in scoring position. But when it mattered in the eighth inning, he came through with a double that gave the Huskers a two-run cushion for the ninth.

Nebraska’s offense could be truly special if it stopped the self-inflicted wounds. Even so, those bats put together a gritty win.

Olson puts together his best showing yet

Olson was locked in from the start.

From his first strike until the sixth inning, the junior was calm, methodical and in control. Two early walks put Olson in a dicey position with runners on first and second base with one out. But, he remained composed and induced a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam.

The solo home runs didn’t shake him either. Solo is the key word there. Nebraska’s philosophy is that solo homers don’t win ballgames according to both Olson and Bolt postgame. The goal was to keep runners off base and Olson fulfilled that design perfectly.

Vanderbilt had six total at-bats with runners on base. The Commodores went 0-6. Vanderbilt was 0-2 with runners in scoring position.

That all adds up to Olson’s first quality start of 2023.

What’s next for the Huskers

Nebraska returns to US Bank Stadium on Saturday at 3 p.m. to take on Hawaii. The Huskers will conclude the weekend with a 1 p.m. tilt against No. 4 Ole Miss on Sunday.

Both games will be streamed on BTN+ and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.