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Nebraska bounced back from bottom of seventh with six runs and opened play in the Big Ten Baseball tournament with a 9-7 win over fifth-seeded Rutgers Wednesday afternoon in Omaha.
Nebraska (32-21-1) had nine runs from seven shots and one penalty, while Rutgers (33-22) had seven runs from nine shots.
Emmett Olson threw 4.2 innings, allowing three runs with five hits, three strikeouts, and three walks. Corbin Hawkins, Shay Schanaman and Kyle Perry teamed up to pitch the next 2.2 innings. The Husker trio combined had four runs, two earned, three hits and three walks. Will Walsh improved to 4-3 this season after one-hit for 1.2 shutout innings.
Max Anderson, Charlie Fischer and Ben Columbus have scored twice for the Huskers. Fischer went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while Anderson went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs. Columbus added two singles and Swansen went 3-1 with a home run, three RBI and two runs.
The Husker offense got to work early, scoring three runs with two hits by the end of the first round. Anderson achieved an infield single that was originally called out but was overturned by a coach’s challenge. Swansen then pulled a walk and placed the runners first and second with two outs.
Fischer ended the scoreless tie by placing a three-run home run in the first pitch to the left of Nebraska’s bullpen, giving the Huskers a quick first-pitch lead.
Olson worked around a single and a walk in the second to score a strikeout via the side in the second to keep Rutgers off the board.
Nebraska invited bases in the bottom of the third third after Swansen was plunked, Fischer hit a single through the right touchline and Columbus hit a two-out walk, but the Huskers couldn’t capitalize on it to take the lead.
Rutgers finished the game on three with three runs and two hits early in the fifth. Two back-to-back walks and a sacrificial flight rounded out the Scarlet Knights’ first run of the day. Evan Sleight lined up a two-RBI double down right center to win the game.
The Scarlet Knights recorded their second three-run inning of the game and took a 6-3 lead in the seventh. A single NU field error and a walk weighed down bases for Rutgers with an out. Sleight was hit by the pitch to make it 4-3 while Cameron Love made a walk and doubled the lead to two.
Andy Axelson crowned the score at the beginning of the seventh round with a sacrifice flight to the right and gave the Scarlet Knights a 6-3 lead.
Nebraska reacted immediately at the end of the seventh round, scoring six runs from three hits to take a 9-6 lead. The Huskers opened the inning with a pitch hit from Casey Burnham and a double from Anderson on the left fieldline. Swansen leveled the game with a three-run shot from 402 feet over the left-center wall.
Columbus reached with a two-out single to the right, followed by three straight walks to Dylan Carey, Cole Evans and Brice Matthews to give the Huskers a 7-6 lead. Burnham was hit a second time in the inning to score Carey while Anderson hit a full-count walk to score Evans and take the lead to 9-6, seven.
After being hit by the pitch twice in the seventh set, Burnham has been knocked down 21 times this season, the third-highest number in a single season for a husker.
After a walk and a one-out double, the Scarlet Knights ended up second and third at the start of the eighth round. Ryan Lasko’s RBI single down the left brought Rutgers within two points before a game-changing 5-4-3 doubleplay ended the rally.
Walsh returned the first two batters in the ninth game before posting a two-out single. The Leawood, Kan. native started a lineout with the equalizer run at the plate and secured Nebraska’s 9-7 win Wednesday afternoon.
Nebraska meets top seed Maryland at 6 p.m. tomorrow night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Single day tickets are available at www.huskers.com/bigtenbaseball.