Huskers rally, sweep doubleheader at Purdue
 Kalkowski |  Christensen |  DeLeon |
Freshman Jordan Minch baffled the Huskers for 7.0 innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out a career-high eight. The 6-3 lefty set the Huskers down in order three times on the night allowed a pair of runners in the same inning twice.
Nebraska's luck changed in the eighth when Brad Schreiber made his first relief appearance of the year after his first nine appearances came in starts.
Nebraska (18-19, 10-4 Big Ten) goes for the series sweep Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT against Purdue (11-24, 4-10).
The game will be streamed live on BTN.com (subscription required), while Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle will have the call across the Husker Sports Network.
Schreiber started the inning with a strikeout of Pat Kelly, but then gave up a hit to Michael Pritchard and a walked Chad Christensen, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in Kash Kalkowski with one down. The Husker first-baseman picked up his fifth RBI of the day with a single to right, and on the play Christensen went 1st-to-3rd to put runners on the corners. Darby stepped in and put pressure on the defense with a bunt, and it paid off, as Schreiber threw the ball into right field, allowing the tying run to score, Kalkowski to move to third and Darby got into scoring position at second. With the game tied, 3-3, Head Coach Darin Erstad looked to his bench and pinch hit senior Josh Scheffert, who delivered a clutch two-RBI single to give Nebraska its first lead of the game, 5-3.
After Dylan Vogt sent the Boilermakers down in order in the bottom of the eighth, Nebraska went right back to scoring runs in the top of ninth with five runs on six hits. With the top of NU's order up, Rich Sanguinetti singled, Kelly walked and Pritchard laid down a bunt single to load the bases for Christensen. The 6-3 left fielder came through with a 2-RBI single to put the Huskers up four, 7-3. Kalkowski followed with a sacrifice fly for his sixth RBI of the day, before Darby, Taylor Fish and Blake Headley strung together three-straight to score a pair of runs, extending Nebraska's lead to 10-3.
The Husker rally was made possible by strong outing from Nebraska's arms. Other than Purdue's three runs on four hits in the third, the Huskers held the Boilermakers to two hits the rest of the game. Relievers Jeff Chesnut, Vogt and Colton Howell held the Boilermakers hitless over the final 4.0 innings.
After scoring two runs in game one of the doubleheader, the Boilermakers plated three runs in the third inning with four-straight one-out hits. Nebraska starter Aaron Bummer retired leadoff hitter Brandon Krieg with one pitch, before Stephen Talbott produced Purdue's first hit of the game with a single and then stole second. Jack Amaro followed with a RBI-single and scored himself on a double by Sean McHugh, who homered in game one. Kyle Johnson kept the runs coming with a RBI single, putting Purdue up 3-0. Bummer put an end to the rally with a groundout and a strikeout, his third of the game.
Nebraska tried to answer in the top of the fourth when Michael Pritchard extended his hitting streak to 18 game with a one-out double. Minch didn't let the two-bagger hurt him, as he retired Christensen with a groundout and after he walked Kalkowski, Minch got Darby to flyout to right with Pritchard stuck at third.
The Huskers finally got on the board in the sixth with a leadoff homer from Rich Sanguinetti, his first of the year. The senior center fielder took the first pitch he saw from Minch and sent it into the NU bullpen behind the right-field wall. Kelly followed with a single, Nebraska's fourth hit of the game, and the Huskers looked to be in a good position with their 3-4-5 hitters up, but Minch dug in and retired three-straight Huskers to keep the damage to one run.
Game 2 R H E ------------------------------------------- Nebraska ........... 000 001 045 - 10 13 0 Purdue ............. 003 000 001 - 4 6 1 -------------------------------------------
Game 1: Huskers Improve to 5-0 in Big Ten Series Openers: Behind another solid outing from Christian DeLeon and 10 runs on 12 hits from the Nebraska bats, the Huskers took game one of a doubleheader, 10-2, with Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
DeLeon improved to 5-2 on the year and 4-0 in Big Ten play with 7.0 innings of work on the mound. The righty allowed just one run on six hits and two walks, while striking out three.
DeLeon has now gone at least 6.0 innings in eight of his 10 starts this season, including five start of at least 7.0 innings.
The junior from Richmond, Texas, allowed just one baserunner through the first two innings and didn't allow a hit until Conner Hudnall reached on a two-out single in the third.
Four Huskers totaled a pair of hits, including Kash Kalkowski, who drove in a game-high four RBIs.
Nebraska nearly plated a run in the first, but Michael Pritchard was cut down at the plate to end the inning. After Pritchard extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a two-out single, Chad Christensen dropped a double down the right-field line. With Pritchard running on the pitch, third-base coach Will Bolt sent Pritchard home, but Purdue got a perfect 9-4-2 relay to keep the Huskers off the board.
After totaling just a pair of hits over the first four innings off Purdue starter Robert Ramer, Nebraska's bats pounded out five hits in the fifth to score three runs.
Kalkowski nearly led the inning off with a double to right-center field, but Kyle Johnson made a diving catch to rob Kalkowski of extra bases. Blake Headley followed with a laser into the left-centerfield gap for his fourth double of the season and then Taylor Fish delivered his first career-extra base hit at just the right time, as his double down the right-field line scored Headley to put the Huskers ahead, 1-0. Bryan Peters kept the hits coming with a RBI single up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Rich Sanguinetti. The bunt immediately paid off when Pat Kelly came through with a two-out RBI single through the box that extended NU's lead to 3-0. Pritchard notched a second-straight two-out single to runners on the corners for Christensen, who hit the ball hard, but right at Hudnall in left field to end the NU fifth.
DeLeon kept Purdue scoreless through the first 6.1 innings, before Sean McHugh was able to just get a ball over the right-field wall into the Husker bullpen for his first home run of the season, cutting NU's lead to 3-1. The solo homer was just the fifth hit of the game off Nebraska's 6-3 starter.
The Huskers got the run back and three more in the top of the eighth on just two hits, while taking advantage of two Purdue errors and five wild pitches. Christensen led off with a single, his second hit of the game, and moved into scoring position on a groundout by Austin Darby. Kalkowski drove in his fellow senior with a single up the middle, notching his 102nd career RBI to put NU up 4-1.
Purdue's bullpen then struggled and the Boilermaker defense committed a pair of errors, allowing three more runs to cross the plate. Kalkowski and Fish each moved from second to home on a pair of wild pitches.
The Huskers scored three runs or more for the third time in the game on a bases-loaded double from Kalkowski in the eighth. After Pritchard reached on a leadoff error by Jake Hansen at short, Purdue's fifth of the game, reliever Brett Andrzejewski issued consecutive walks to load the bases. Kalkowski, who was robbed of a double in the fifth, dropped a two-bagger down the right-field line, pushing NU's lead to 10-1 on Kalkowski's fifth career four-RBI game.
Purdue scratched across a run in the bottom of the ninth on two hits off reliever Luke Bublitz, but NU turned its season-high fifth double play of the game to end the inning.
Game 1 R H E ------------------------------------------- Nebraska ........... 000 030 043 - 10 12 0 Purdue ............. 000 000 101 - 2 8 5 -------------------------------------------