Purdue dominates the middle innings, downs Nebraska baseball 7-3

Five hits, six strikeouts from Jace Kaminska and a 3-0 lead defined the first 3 1/2 innings of Nebraska baseball’s Friday meeting with Purdue.

The Boilermakers followed that up with seven unanswered runs and stranded four Huskers the rest of the way. Purdue used clutch hitting and a quality start from Kyle Iwinski to best the Huskers 7-3 ahead of the impending rainfall. The loss drops head coach Will Bolt’s group to 14-9 in Big Ten play and 30-20-1 overall.

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Nebraska opened the scoring after each team went down in order during the first.

A leadoff four-pitch walk gave way to a Charlie Fischer single and the Huskers had runners on the corners with one out. A failed squeeze bunt led to a fielder’s choice at home and it seemed Nebraska might squander it’s chance. But, Ben Columbus came up with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line to give the Huskers a 2-0 lead.

Nebraska added another run in the fourth beginning the inning with three straight hits. Gabe Swansen got it going with a double to left followed by singles from Josh Caron and Fischer. The knock from Fischer scored one but that’s all the Huskers could manage as Purdue retired the next three bats on three pitches.

Behind 3-0 the Boilermakers got a jolt to lead off their half of the fourth. Jake Jarvis took Kaminska deep to right for a solo bomb. That was followed by an error by Max Anderson at third and two more hits. The latter was a single that drove in a second run and made it 3-2.

Purdue pulled in front an inning later. With one out and a runner on first, Will Walsh relieved Kaminska and picked up the second out after heads-up play from Dylan Carey. The shortstop lost a shallow popup in left but corralled it and threw to third in time for a tag out. But, Walsh made a mistake soon after as Connor Caskanette homered to drive in two and make it 4-3 Boilermakers.

The two-out RBIs did not stop in the fifth. Purdue plated three more in the sixth with one out to spare. Two RBI singles and a wild pitch ballooned the Boilermaker lead to 7-3.

Carey started the seventh with a leadoff single but that was wiped out by a double play moments later. Blake Mozley began a two-out rally with a single up the middle and Cole Evans became the first Husker in the top of the order to reach base with a walk. Ahead 3-0 Casey Burnham seemed poised to keep the line moving, but the senior struck out swinging to end the inning.

Anderson doubled to start the eighth but he was tagged out at third on a fielder’s choice and the next two Husker bats went down on strikes. Carey opened the ninth with a hit but he too was stranded as Evans struck out for the final out capping a frustrating day for Nebraska’s offense.

Missed opportunities…again

Nebraska had a myriad of chances to cash in today. That included opportunities on both the macro and micro levels.

The fourth inning is the most glaring example. After three straight hits and Carey at the plate, the Huskers had a chance to blow the game open. Nebraska’s coaching staff went with what had worked, small ball. Except, Carey’s popped the bunt up for an easy out. Purdue was out of the inning two pitches later and had allowed just one run.

“They get the momentum back and we never got it back on our side,” Bolt said. “We didn’t make any pitches with two strikes, they have five two-out runs and we struck out way to much in the back half of that game.”

Clutch hitting definitely made a serious difference. Purdue hit 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position compared to Nebraska’s 3-for-12. Bolt’s squad hit a miserable .182 with two outs.

From a big picture perspective, the Huskers missed out on ending Purdue’s season. That’s something that would have been incredibly sweet for Nebraska’s returning players and staff considering how last season ended. Plus, the loss snaps a five-game Husker winning streak. A sweep of the Boilermakers would have made Nebraska the hottest team in the conference entering the Big Ten Tournament.

“It was disappointing to see,” Bolt said. “When they started punching at us, we didn’t respond very well.”

Where to go in the Husker pen?

Will Walsh has had a rough month. On Friday he allowed five earned runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innnings.

The lefty has allowed at least two earned runs in each of his last five appearances and no fewer than three hits. Dating back to April 18th against Creighton, Walsh owns a 8.64 ERA and if you take out his six-inning start against Minnesota where he surrendered three earned runs, that number rises to 10.97.

“When you don’t throw really hard and have the punch-out stuff necessarily with the secondary, you’ve got to be precise,” Bolt said. “You’ve got to hit the corners. He’s still throwing strikes but just far too many balls over the middle of the plate.”

So will Nebraska look elsewhere later on in the Big Ten Tournament?

Jackson Brockett could be a likely name but there’s a strong chance he starts the Huskers’ game on Saturday. Drew Christo, Corbin Hawkins or even Shay Schanaman would make a lot of sense should Nebraska make a deeper run in Omaha.

This staff has shown a lot of trust in Walsh and seeing that continue wouldn’t be surprising. At a minimum, future outings this season need to have a short leash.

What’s next for Nebraska baseball?

The Huskers conclude the regular season tomorrow afternoon with the rubber match in West Lafayette. Nebraska meets Purdue at 1:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

Then, the Huskers return to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha for the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska’s opponent and game time will be set following Saturday’s regular-season finale.