Former Nebraska baseball players were all over Camden Yards Wednesday.
Will Bolt, a player in the early 2000s and now coach was in the stands. Cody Ashe played was a Husker All-American in 2011, and now serves on the Baltimore Orioles staff. And Aaron Bummer, a member of the 2014 Big Ten All-Tournament team, was in the bullpen awaiting his relief appearance.
But on the mound at the start of the game were two very recent Huskers: Cade Povich and Spencer Schwellenbach. The two became the first pair of former Huskers to start a Major League Baseball game for opposing teams in the history of the game.
"It's like a proud papa," Bolt told the Orioles on MASN broadcast team. "Knowing their journey and what they've been through... They've both worked extremely hard and they're both from amazing families.
"To see them fulfill their dream, especially this quickly to get to the big leagues... very, very proud."
From Nebraska to The Show. pic.twitter.com/UQDaBEit4q
Both players went 6.0 innings and threw exactly 89 pitches. Povich did not give up a run while allowing five hits and striking out six. Schwellenbach was tagged for a pair of runs on four hits, striking out three.
"If you'd have asked us back then, I probably woulda said no," Schwellenbach told Bally Sports South ahead of the game on if young Schwellenbach and Povich back at Nebraska would have believed they'd be facing each other in the MLB.
Neither pitcher factored in the decision as the Orioles won 4-2.
Schwellenbach is slated to start again next week against the Tigers. Povich's next start is undecided as Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde called his team's pitching situation "series to series".
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KALEB HENRY
Kaleb Henry is the Program Director and Sports Director at KLIN radio in Lincoln, Nebraska. A native Nebraskan, he competed in track and field at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville before returning home. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his work from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, including Gold for Best Sportscast in the state of Nebraska in 2021 and 2023. Kaleb primarily covers Nebraska football, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball. When not covering the Huskers, he spends his days adventuring with his wife Megan, their daughter Millie, and their two dogs Tucker and Ella. You can reach Kaleb at kaleb@klin.com or on Twitter @iKalebHenry.
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