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Nebraska routs Maryland 21-5 to clinch series victory

by:Carter Owens•about 14 hours
Gabe Swansen Maryland pic
Gabe Swansen (Credit: Nebraska Athletics)

Nebraska baseball (21-23, 9-12 Big Ten) crushed Maryland (20-25, 5-14) 21-5 in seven innings Sunday at Shipley Field at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium to win the weekend series.

The Big Red wasted no time jumping on Maryland, as starter Andrew Johnson failed to record an out. Johnson walked the first three Nebraska hitters he faced, setting the stage for Gabe Swansen, who delivered a grand slam to right field — the first of his four hits on the day — to give the Huskers an early 4-0 lead.

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Later in the inning, Case Sanderson doubled and Joshua Overbeek drove him home with the first of his three hits. Nebraska tacked on three more runs in the second inning, extending its lead to 8-0 despite recording just one hit, as Maryland issued three consecutive free passes to start the frame. In total, Maryland’s pitching staff allowed 10 free passes on the day.

Nebraska added two more runs in the third on an RBI single by Max Buettenback and an RBI groundout from Dylan Carey.

Maryland capitalizes on miscues, but Huskers answer quickly

Maryland scored all five of its runs in a bizarre fourth inning. It began with a questionable walk on a 3-2 count, followed by back-to-back Nebraska errors to load the bases with no outs. Maryland’s Chris Hacopian then hit a grand slam to right field, nearly identical to Swansen’s blast earlier.

Nebraska immediately responded with a five-run fifth inning to stretch its lead back to 16-5. Robby Bollin and Cayden Brumbaugh opened the inning with singles, and Swansen added two more RBIs with a double to center field.

Senior left-hander Jackson Brockett delivered a strong start for the Huskers, going five innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out four. Caleb Clark and Gavin Blachowicz combined for two scoreless innings of relief to close out the run-rule win.

The weekend was a critical boost for Nebraska, which now sits on the right side of the Big Ten standings. Only the top 12 teams will advance to the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha — the Huskers’ likely path to an NCAA Regional berth.

Nebraska will host Kansas State on Tuesday night in Lincoln before welcoming Minnesota for a key conference series next weekend.

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