Husker Baseball Takes Two From Penn State Saturday
Huskers Erase Early Deficit in Series Opener
Tucker Timmerman tossed four shutout innings in relief to help No. 19 Nebraska overcome an early four-run deficit and pick up an 8-7 win against Penn State in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (24-6, 9-1 Big Ten) scored eight runs on 10 hits, while Penn State (8-19, 3-7 Big Ten) totaled seven runs, eight hits and an error.
Rhett Stokes led the Big Red with a 3-for-3 performance that included a double and an RBI. Mac Moyer went 1-for-3 with a homer and three RBI, and Drew Grego finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Jett Buck was 1-for-2 with a homer and an RBI, and Case Sanderson was 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Timmerman earned his second win of the season, retiring 12 of the 14 batters he faced across four dominant innings while allowing just one hit. J’Shawn Unger earned his fifth save of the season, throwing two perfect innings to close it out. Ty Horn gave up seven runs on seven hits with two punchouts and a walk in three innings while making his eighth start of the season.
A wild pitch plated the Nittany Lions’ first run of the afternoon in the top of the second, while a 421-foot solo blast to right-center field off the bat of Buck even the game at one through two innings.
Penn State erupted for four runs in the third with a two-RBI double and a two-run homer to grab a 5-1 lead.
Moyer cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer to right field that brough the Big Red back within 5-3 going into the fourth inning.
The Nittany Lions answered with a two-run home run of their own in the top of the fourth to stretch the lead back to four. Grego began the bottom of the fourth with a double and came around to score on Moyer’s sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 7-4.
Grego’s RBI single through the right side in the fifth scored Sanderson to make it 7-5, and a wild pitch with a throwing error by the PSU catcher allowed Stokes and Moyer to touch home and tie the game at seven in the bottom of the sixth.
The Husker offense scored for the sixth consecutive inning when Stokes delivered the go-ahead RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Grego from second to give Nebraska an 8-7 advantage.
Unger was untouchable in the next two innings to preserve Nebraska’s 8-7 victory in game one.
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Buck's Slam, Jasa's 11 K's Highlight Nebraska's 13-1 Rout
Jett Buck’s grand slam highlighted a five-run first inning and Carson Jasa struck out a career-high 11 batters across seven innings to lead No. 19 Nebraska to a 13-1 run-rule win in seven innings against Penn State in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday evening at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (25-6, 10-1 Big Ten) scored 13 runs on 11 hits, while Penn State (8-20, 3-8 Big Ten) totaled one run, four hits and two errors.
Buck finished 2-for-4 with a grand slam and six RBI to pace the Big Red offense. Mac Moyer went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Will Jesske was 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and run scored. Trey Fikes added two hits, a double and an RBI, while Preston Freeman had a two-RBI double.
Dylan Carey scored twice and drove in a run with one hit, and Drew Grego tallied a double and an RBI.
Jasa improved to 6-1 on the season, striking out 11 batters across seven innings while allowing just one run on four hits to earn the win.
Nebraska wasted no time in the first, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring five runs. Moyer singled, Jesske was hit by a pitch and Sanderson drew a walk to load the bases before Carey singled to the wall in left-center field to score Moyer. Buck then unloaded a grand slam to right field to give the Huskers a 5-0 lead before the Nittany Lions recorded an out.
The Huskers kept rolling in the second, as Fikes singled, Moyer singled and Jesske delivered an RBI single up the middle to score Fikes. A passed ball scored Moyer to push the lead to 7-0 through two innings.
Penn State got one back in the third with an RBI double after a pair of singles, but it was the Nittany Lions’ only answer of the evening.
Fikes doubled to left field in the third to score Grego, who had reached on a throwing error, making it 8-01after three.
Buck’s two-run single in the fourth scored Freeman and Carey to extend the lead to 10-1, and Grego’s RBI double to right field brought home Buck and had the Huskers out front 12-1 through four innings.
Fikes reached on a fielding error, and Moyer drew a full-count walk to put runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Freeman laced a two-RBI double down the left-field line to plate both baserunners and give Nebraska its 13-1 lead.
Jasa retired the Nittany Lions in order in the sixth and worked around two walks in the seventh to record the complete-game victory for the Huskers on Saturday.
Nebraska and Penn State conclude the series tomorrow afternoon. First pitch between the Huskers and Nittany Lions is set for 1 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.