Omaha hands Nebraska baseball crushing 6-5 defeat in extra innings

After Sunday’s triumph, Tuesday brought nothing but disappointment for Nebraska baseball. A slow start ultimately doomed the Huskers as Nebraska couldn’t overcome its early miscues in a 6-5 loss to Omaha. A late rally sent the game to extra innings, but NU ultimately fell in the 10th.

With the loss, Nebraska is 0-3 against in-state foes and 18-11-1 on the season. Head coach Will Bolt is now 1-4 against the Mavericks in his career.

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Omaha got out to a quick 1-0 lead with an RBI triple off the bat of Noah Greise. Nebraska right fielder Charlie Fischer made an attempt at a diving catch but failed to make the play as the ball rolled passed him allowing Mike Boeve to score from first.

Another unforced error cost the Husker defense in the second. Brice Matthews booted the throw on a likely double-play ball putting runners on the corners with one out. A few pitches later, a sacrifice fly to right tacked on another run for the Mavericks to make it 2-0.

After another lackluster Nebraska inning at the plate, Omaha stretched its lead in the third. A two-run homer from Boeve gave the Mavericks a 4-0 advantage and a subsequent single spelled the end to Caleb Clark’s outing. The Huskers turned to Corbin Hawkins out of the bullpen who held Omaha off the board the rest of the way.

Hawkins worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth and turned things over to Nebraska’s bats. Fischer delivered a leadoff single and Garrett Anglim a two-out hit, but Gabe Swansen grounded out to second to end the threat. It marked the second time in as many innings the Huskers had put runners on first and second and failed to score.

Two more hard-hit singles and a sacrifice fly put Omaha ahead 5-0 after the top of the fifth. Nebraska broke through in the home half. Casey Burnham brought in Matthews on a double down the left-field line to make it 5-1.

Drew Christo relieved Hawkins in the top of the sixth and promptly sat the Mavericks down in order on six pitches. The Huskers built on that momentum at the plate moments later when Swansen blasted his seventh home run of the year over the wall in left-center. His two-run shot brought Nebraska within 5-3.

Shay Schanaman was the next to take the hill and another 1-2-3 inning from the Husker closer made it eight consecutive Mavericks retired by the pen. That streak broke at 10 in the eighth after Omaha’s Eddie Satinsky singled up the middle. Schanman retired the next bat he faced and sent it to the bottom half with the Mavericks ahead 5-3.

Nebraska cut it to one on a Garrett Anglim solo shot in the eighth. The outfielder said he’s close to being fully healthy but still is taking it a day at a time with the hamstring injury he suffered in March.

“It’s kinda a day-to-day thing,” Anglim said. “I would say pretty close. Just getting stronger. It’s one of those things that lingers, so just being safe rather than rushing it.”

After Schanman spoiled a bases-loaded opportunity for Omaha, Nebraska juiced the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Fischer grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Matthews and tie the game 5-5 before Caron struck out to end the inning.

The Mavericks quickly regained the lead in the top of the 10th after loading the bases and plating the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right. That was enough as the Huskers went quietly 1-2-3 in the home half.

Nebraska’s in-state woes continue apace

One step forward, and two steps back.

“Not showing up, we were a step slow on defense and our approach at the plate was pretty atrocious for the entire night,” Bolt said. “We rallied there at the end and we had a chance to go win the game. We didn’t finish because I felt like we couldn’t flip a switch on when winning time comes around.”

Nebraska just can’t seem to put it together against its in-state foes. The Huskers are winless on the year against Creighton and Omaha with two losses that occurred in the bottom of the ninth or later. Nebraska is hitting .268 in such games with a team ERA of 6.18. According to Bolt, the opponent doesn’t matter because the approach needs to change.

“In-state, out of state it doesn’t matter to me,” Bolt said. “It has nothing to do with the opponent. It has everything to do with mindset.”

The Huskers can ill-afford another loss of this caliber. Omaha entered the night No. 242 in RPI and the loss cost Nebraska 17 spots in the rankings. Three more in-state opportunities remain to even the season series. Two matchups with Creighton and the season finale with the Mavericks in Omaha on April 25.

“I feel like it’s one of those things that should be a mentality playing these in-state rivals,” Anglim said. “I feel like we need to have that edge on us to go prove ourselves and win those games. I didn’t think we had the mentality today and it came to bite us.”

The bullpen gave the Huskers a chance to win

Nebraska’s bullpen has generated nearly three weeks of consistent success. Husker relievers took a streak of 18.1 scoreless innings into last weekend’s meeting with Michigan. Now that stands at 41.0 innings of work while surrendering just four earned runs.

“I thought our bullpen did enough to give us a hold there and give us a chance to go score some runs like we’re capable of doing,” Bolt said. “Just a really disappointing game all the way around.”

Hawkins started it off and totaled three strikeouts and one earned run through his three innings. Christo posted his best outing of the year slicing his way around the Maverick order in the sixth on six pitches. Then Schanaman showed out in 4.0 innings striking out two. His 63 pitches in the outing may mean a later appearance for the closer against Northwestern this weekend.

For his part, Clark didn’t get help from his defense in the early going. Still, the freshman struggled to finish batters especially in a two-run third inning that proved to be the difference by game’s end.

“Just didn’t put them away when he had a chance to with two strikes,” Bolt said. “They had good approaches going. Give them credit. They did what they needed to do. We didn’t play good defense. We were a step slow defensively and it wasn’t good enough.”

The runs that scored after the misplayed ball by Fischer in right field during the first inning and the Matthews error in the second have equal claim as the margin for error in a one-run loss.

What’s next for Nebraska baseball?

Nebraska continues its Haymarket homestand this weekend as the Huskers play host to the Wildcats of Northwestern. All three games will be broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network. Nebraska Public Media will carry Saturday’s game while Friday and Sunday’s will be streamed on BTN+.

Friday’s first pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. CT.