Quantcast HuskerMax

  
Stats & coverage
• Box score: 1, 2
LJS
OWH
HuskerOnline
Illinois Athletics
• BBS: 1, 2
 
Video
• Huskers.com: 1, 2
 
The series
• Game 1, 2-3
March 23, 2013
 
Huskers take series at Illinois
 
mug
Kelly
 
mug
Hirsch
 
mug
Vogt
 
Champaign, Ill. — After dropping the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Illinois Field, Nebraska responded with a 6-4 win in game two to take its Big Ten opening series over Illinois. The Huskers took the series opener Friday, 9-5, behind a season-high 16 hits.

The teams were tied, 4-4 after the third inning, when Nebraska's bullpen put up zeros the rest of the way on the scoreboard, while NU's offense scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to aid in the win. Zach Hirsch delivered 3.1 innings of shutout relief of starter Brandon Pierce, and Dylan Vogt closed the door with 2.2 innings of one-hit relief to earn his first win over the season after throwing 35 pitches for a save in Friday's win.

The Huskers (8-14, 2-1 Big Ten) continued to swing the bats well with 12 hits in game two, as the Huskers totaled 39 hits in the three-game series against the Illini (14-6, 1-2 Big Ten). Austin Darby led the way in the series clincher with a 3-for-5 performance, while Pat Kelly, Michael Pritchard and Chad Christensen each had two hits.

Illinois starter Drasen Johnson lasted just 2.1 innings against the Husker bats, giving up four runs (all earned) on seven hits and a walk.

UP NEXT
The Huskers cap their 12-game road trip Tues­day when they head to Man­hat­tan, Kan., for a midweek game with Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. The game will be carried by Fox College Sports and will be streamed at K-StateHD.TV (subscription required).
 
The Huskers return to Hawks Field next weekend, when they host Northwestern for NU's Big Ten home opener.

Nebraska jumped out to a 1-0 lead to start the game, as Sanguinetti got the offense going with a hustling double on a ground ball into right field. With one down, Pritchard lined a single into left field to score Sanguinetti. Illinois was in position to score in the bottom of the first after loading the bases with a two-single and a two-out walk, but Pierce struck out Thomas Lindauer looking on end the inning.

Pierce retired the first two Illini batters he faced in the second, but then gave up a pair of walks and hit Michael Hurwitz to load the bases. Unlike the first inning, Pierce was unable to escape without damage, as Justin Parr lined a two-RBI single to right field to give Illinois a 2-1 lead.

The Husker offense got back to work in the third, sending nine batters to the plate to score three runs on five hits and the Huskers knocked Johnson out of the game after 2.1 innings of work. Sanguinetti lead off the inning with his second hit of the game and after Kelly grounded out, the Huskers strung together four straight singles. Nebraska had the bases loaded with two down, where reliever Rob McDonnell retired Wes Edrington to end the NU third.

The bottom of the third was a replay of the second for the Illini, as Pierce retired the first two batters he faced, but then allowed a pair of runners. No. 9 hitter Kelly Norris-Jones delivered a two-RBI double down the left-field line to tie the game, 4-4.

Illinois loaded the bases for the third time in the fifth inning, but just like the first inning, the Illini were unable to capitalize. After reliever Zach Hirsch hit Norris-Jones to load the bases with one down, the Husker lefty got a 1-2-3 ground-ball double play off the bat of Will Krug to keep the game tied, 4-4, through five innings.

Nebraska had the go-ahead run at third base with one out in the seventh in Pritchard, but McDonnell stranded him there by retiring Darby and Kash Kalkowski in order.

The Illini loaded the bases again in the seventh following a pair of one-out singles and a walk. Head Coach Darin Erstad went to Dylan Vogt, who calmed the waters for the Huskers. After Illini won the first game of the doubleheader on a walk-off squeeze, they tried it again to take the lead, but Vogt fielded his position well and flipped the ball from his glove to Tanner Lubach at the plate to cut down Lindauer. With the bases still juiced, Vogt struck out Krug with a nasty pitch that got away from Lubach, but the NU backstop quickly got to the ball and beat Hohl to the plate for the third out of the inning.

After being held scoreless for five-straight innings, Kelly put the Huskers back in front, 6-4, with a clutch two-out single in the eight. Blake Headley led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice from Lubach. Bryan Peters then pinch hit for Edrington and reach on a throwing error by Hohl at third base, which also allowed Headley to move to third. Sanguinetti struck out for the second out, but during the at-bat Peters stole second. With two down, Kelly lifted the first pitch he saw from reliever Jay Tyler into the right-field gap to plate two runs.

Vogt came out and retired the Illini in order in the eighth, as he sat down Illinois' 2-3-4 hitters in order, including a strikeout of Jordan Parr to end the inning.

David Kerian led off the ninth with a single, but Vogt's defense got behind him as Peters made three straight putouts from short, including two diving stops, to secure the win.

                                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Nebraska............ 103 000 020 -  6 12  0
Illinois............ 022 000 000 -  4 11  1
-------------------------------------------

 

GAME 1: Illini even series with walk-off squeeze

After Nebraska and Illinois battled back and forth over the first eight innings of game one of Saturday's doubleheader, the Illini evened the three-game series with a base-loaded squeeze to score the game's winning run, 8-7.

mug
Darby
 
mug
Peters
 

Pat Kelly had three hits for the second straight game, as well as two RBIs, to lead Nebraska's offense, who produced 11 hits in game one.

Illinois took the first lead of the game with a pair of two-out hits. After a single from Brandon Hohl put runners on first and second with two-down, Reid Roper delivered a double into the right-field corner that plated two runs.

After Illinois starter John Kravetz retired the first six Huskers he faced, Kash Kalkowski started the third with a single and then went 1st-to-3rd on a sacrifice bunt from Taylor Fish, as no one covered third base when third baseman Hohl charged on the bunt. Bryan Peters, Rich Sanguinetti and Kelly followed with three straight singles to tie the game, before Michael Pritchard grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to end the Husker rally.

The Illini got both runs back in the bottom of the third, again with two-out hitting. With leadoff hitter Will Krug on second base, Jordan Parr lined a single to score Krug and then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Parr moved to third on a wild pitch, which proved important, as David Kerian followed with a swinging bunt that just stayed in fair territory as it rolled down the third-base line to score Parr.

Chad Christensen led off the fourth with a single, stole second to get into scoring position and moved to third on a groundout to the right side by Austin Darby. After Kravetz got Josh Scheffert to pop out for the second out of the inning, shortstop Thomas Lindauer committed a fielding error on a groundball off the bat of Kalkowski that scored Christensen and extended the inning. After Fish beat out an infield single, Kravetz got a ground-ball out off the bat of Peters to keep the Illini in front, 4-3.

Nebraska took its first lead of the game in the fifth with three runs on three hits and an Illinois error. After Sanguinetti flew out to start the inning, Kelly reached on a single and tied the game, 4-4, when Pritchard doubled into the left-field gap. Christensen then hit the ball hard at Lindauer, who committed an error for the second straight inning to put runners on the corner with one out. Darby drove in Pritchard with a single and Scheffert plated Christensen with an RBI groundout to put Nebraska in front, 6-4.

The Husker lead didn't last long, as the Illini answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to retake a 7-6 lead. After NU starter Ryan Hander gave up a leadoff single to Michael Hurwitz, reliever Luke Bublitz came in and gave up three singles, before retiring Hohl and Roper to end the fifth.

Nebraska put together a two-out rally in the sixth to tie the game, 7-7. After Kravetz sat down the first two Huskers he faced, the righty hit Peters with a full count. With the HBP, Peters tied Kale Kiser for third in the Nebraska record book with 46 career HBP. Kraventz then walked Sanguinetti and with a righty in Kelly coming up, Illinois Head Coach Dan Hartleb made an unorthodox move to bring in lefty reliever Anthony Milazzo. Kelly took advantage of the righty-lefty matchup with his third hit of the game to drive in Peters. With runners on first and second and two down, Milazzo got Pritchard to groundout to end the Husker sixth.

After the Husker pitchers shut out the Illini in the sixth and seventh, Nebraska had the go-ahead run on to lead off the eighth when Kalkowski was HBP for the 11th time this season. Kalkowski moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Fish and to third on a groundout by Peters, but was unable to score when reliever Bryan Roberts struck out Sanguinetti to end the inning.

Illinois was in position to retake the lead in the bottom of the eight when they had the bases loaded with one out and its No. 3 and 5 hitters due up, but relieve Caleb Hawkins came in a got a pair of big outs. The junior from Queens City, Texas, got Jordan Parr to ground out and Kerian to pop up to keep the game tied, 7-7, heading to the ninth.

Nebraska had the go-ahead run in scoring position with two-outs, but again Roberts kept NU scoreless when he retired Blake Headley.

Lindauer doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Hawkins then hit Hohl and error by Kelly on a sacrifice bunt by Roper loaded the bases. Alex Lincoln stepped in and laid down a squeeze bunt on the first pitch he saw to win the game for the Illini.

                                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Nebraska............ 002 131 000 -  7 11  2
Illinois............ 022 030 001 -  8 15  2
-------------------------------------------

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.