Nebraska baseball’s bats powered them to a 11-3 win over Michigan State (23-26, 10-12), clinching the series and keeping their shot at being the Big Ten Champion alive. The Husker lineup recorded 13 hits, getting multiple hits from five different players in the lineup.
The Huskers (34-18, 16-7) led 5-3 in the eighth inning when they were able to bust the game open. Dylan Carey and Cole Evans led off the inning with walks, Riley Silva followed it with a single and Joshua Overbeek reached on an error before the Spartans could record an out.
Case Sanderson drove in two runs with his third hit of Friday evening. Ben Columbus followed with a sac fly to push across the fourth and final run of the inning to make it 9-3. A Carey solo shot to start the ninth and an RBI double from Overbeek pushed the score to 11-3.
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Right-handed pitcher Mason McConnaughey delivered another productive Saturday start for the Big Red. He went five innings and a third, striking out five Spartan batters. The sophomore allowed two earned runs while getting the decision and improving to 7-3 on the year.
McConnaughey was on fire, retiring 12 straight Michigan State batters before facing the lineup for a third time through the order. Then, a two-out rally that included four straight hits in the sixth inning would force his exit. Pitching coach Rob Childress moved to the left-handed pitcher Jalen Worthley to get Nebraska baseball out of the inning.
The Nebraska offense jumped on Michigan State from the word “go”, putting up five runs in the first two innings. In the top half of the first, a Cayden Brumbaugh single and a Josh Caron two-run shot over the right field wall set the tone for the Nebraska lineup. In the second inning, the Big Red earned two-out RBI singles from Brumbaugh and Sanderson.
Silva and Sanderson both had three-hit outings, while Brumbaugh, Caron and Carey all had two hits.
Nebraska edges Michigan State 2-1 in series opener Thursday night
Friday’s win keeps Nebraska’s hopes to play for a regular-season conference championship on Saturday intact. The Fighting Illini take on Purdue on Friday and Saturday. Nebraska needs a Boilermaker win and a Husker win on Saturday for a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jackson Brockett (2.82 ERA) will get the ball on Saturday with the hope for a chance to win a championship. The first pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. CT in East Lansing, Michigan and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Article written by HuskerOnline’s Carter Owens
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