Nebraska baseball bounces back in series finale win over Washington
Nebraska baseball (5-8, 1-2) avoided a weekend sweep with a 6-1 victory over Washington (7-9, 2-1) on Sunday. The Huskers bounced back from a disastrous doubleheader on Saturday with a comfortable win for their first Big Ten victory of the year.
Left-hander Jackson Brockett started on the mound and pitched 4.2 strong innings, escaping multiple jams. Drew Christo relieved Brockett in the fifth and gave Nebraska three stellar frames while fanning six. The Huskers’ pitching came up clutch all day, stranding 13 runners and leaving the bases loaded twice.
Case Sanderson and Cayden Brumbaugh led the way at the plate, combining for five hits and two RBIs. Dylan Carey only tallied one hit, but it came on a 3-run shot that blew the game open.
Here is a recap of the victory:
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Brocket escapes multiple jams
In his first start of the season last weekend, Brockett lasted just two innings in a loss to Kansas State. Sunday was a different story for the left-hander.
Brockett set the tone early. He got out of a first-inning jam, stranding two Washington runners in scoring position with a tough putout.
In the third inning, Brockett walked the leadoff man but responded by retiring back-to-back hitters. With two outs, Malakhi Knight reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joshua Overbeek. Facing two runners on base once again, Brockett served up a clutch strikeout and caught Sam DeCarlo looking.
Washington tallied two quick singles in the fourth inning, putting Brockett in a pinch with only one out. He responded by forcing two straight fly outs to center to escape yet another frame.
Huge fifth-inning swing
Brockett finally began to fade in the top of the fifth inning, walking one before a second batter reached on Overbeek’s second throwing error of the day. He hit DeCarlo with a pitch on the next at-bat, loading the bases.
Drew Christo relieved Brockett in a precarious spot, but came up clutch with a strikeout to escape the inning. The right-hander pumped his fists as he walked to the dugout, flooded with emotion.
Nebraska made Washington pay at the plate.
Cayden Brumbaugh was hit by a pitch before Cael Frost reached on a fielder’s choice. An errant throw to second base put both Brumbaugh and Frost in scoring position for Dylan Carey. It took just one pitch for Carey to blow the game open. He smacked a 3-run bomb to left center, giving Nebraska a 4-0 lead.
A quick swing of momentum in the fifth ultimately made the difference on Sunday.
Christo bounces back
Christo struggled mightily in his first four appearances this season. Entering Sunday’s contest, the veteran pitcher had allowed 10 runs in just 5.2 innings. He was the culprit of multiple crooked innings which cost Nebraska games.
Christo got his swagger back on Sunday. Following his clutch strikeout in the fifth, the right-hander retired six straight batters. He finished the day with six strikeouts in three innings of relief work.
Nebraska carried Christo’s energy to the plate, adding to their lead in the eighth. Devin Nunez blasted a solo home run to leadoff the inning and Stokes followed with a single. Sanderson tallied his second RBI of the day with a double to the left-field gap. He finished the day 2-of-4 at the plate along with a walk.
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