Nebraska baseball survives comeback effort in victory over Wichita State

Nebraska baseball (7-8, 1-2) survived a late comeback effort by Wichita State (6-11, 0-0) to win the second of two mid-week contests 5-4. The Huskers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead but went cold at the plate, allowing the Shockers to climb back into the game.

Starting pitcher TJ Coats (7.71 ERA) lasted just two innings on a night when Nebraska used five arms from the bullpen. Right-hander Gavin Blachowicz got the win thanks to 1.1 scoreless frames, but multiple relievers stepped up in big spots. Luke Broderick also nabbed his third save of the season.

The Husker bats finished the night with just five hits, but one of them, a 403-foot solo home run from Max Buettenback, ultimately made the difference. It wasn’t always pretty, but Nebraska proved its grit in a momentum-building win — its third in a row.

“I think I’ve seen a major difference just in terms of having each other’s backs,” head coach Will Bolt said postgame. “That’s really the main thing. You have to pick each other up in this game.”

Here is a recap of the victory:

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Huskers jump out to quick lead

Nebraska wasted no time setting the tone on Wednesday. The Huskers rattled Wichita State pitcher Tyler Dobbs early, batting around the order in the bottom of the first. Dobbs threw 13 balls in his first 19 pitches and walked three of Nebraska’s first four batters.

After Case Sanderson and Will Jesske began the frame by earning back-to-back free bags, Cayden Brumbaugh smacked an RBI double down the left-field line. Cael Frost followed with another walk to load the bases for Gabe Swansen.

Swansen made Dobbs pay with a 2-RBI single through the left side. Another run came home on the next at-bat when Rhett Stokes reached on a fielder’s choice and Swansen beat the throw to second. Despite tallying just two hits in the first frame, the Huskers racked up four runs which proved instrumental in the win.

“We ran away from them yesterday, so they kind of had some of their high-leverage guys with really good stuff coming out of the pen,” Bolt said. “So it was good to see us jump out early.”

Buettenback comes through after bats go cold

After Nebraska’s monster first inning, the Shockers retired 10 straight batters as Dobbs settled in. He only lasted three frames but gave Wichita State just enough for a comfortable move to the bullpen.

Right-hander Caleb Anderson (7.88 ERA) took the mound in the fourth and quickly retired the side. He gave up only one hit over two innings, but it ultimately proved to be the difference.

Buettenback made the most of his fifth-inning pinch-hit opportunity. After three barren frames, the sophomore blasted a 403-foot solo shot off the scoreboard in right field. The home run extended Nebraska’s lead to 5-3 and gave it a pivotal insurance tally.

“Coming off the bench, you’re just looking to hit the ball hard and not do too much with your at-bat,” Buettenback said postgame. “So I was just looking to hit the ball hard and I was able to get the slider up. So I mean, just doing it for the team, doing whatever I can no matter what.”

The Huskers only tallied two more hits for the rest of the night. If not for Buettenback’s heroics, the contest would have likely gone to extra innings with the momentum in Wichita State’s favor.

It was another slow outing for some of Nebraska’s veterans, as Dylan Carey and Frost both failed to record a hit.

Bullpen rallies behind itself

Nebraska dipped into the bullpen five times in the victory as none of its six pitchers threw more than 2.0 innings. Coats posted a scoreless first frame but gave the Shockers two free bags and threw two wild pitches in the second. A sacrifice fly and an RBI single cut into Nebraska’s early lead just one frame later.

Colin Nowaczyk pitched two scoreless frames before giving up one run in the fifth. Gavin Blachowicz got him out of a jam before being relieved by left-hander Jalen Worthley in the sixth. Worthley took the mound with runners at the corners and two outs before delivering a clutch swinging strikeout to escape the inning.

“There’s a lot of guys that need to be pulling in the same direction for us to be able to play off each other,” Bolt said. “We’ve done a lot better at that the last three games.”

In the eighth inning, Drew Christo came to the rescue. He relieved Worthley with two on and no outs but pitched himself out of a jam while only allowing one run to come home. Broderick finished off the win, stranding the tying run in scoring position with back-to-back nasty swinging strikeouts.

“I’ve had the privilege of coming in after [Christo] twice in a row these last two games,” Broderick said postgame. “It makes it a lot easier to kind of set the tone when he’s coming off the mound screaming.”

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