Lincoln - Behind a one-hit
performance from the Husker pitching staff, the Nebraska baseball team (4-7,
0-0 Big Ten) completed a doubleheader sweep of the Northern Colorado Bears (3-6,
0-0 Great West) on Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field. After taking game one,
10-5, the Huskers posted a 5-1 win in game two to extend their winning streak
to four games.
Six
Husker pitchers combined to shut down the Bears, including freshman starter
Jeff Chesnut, who struck out three Bears in 4.0 innings of work to earn his
first career win at Nebraska. Five relievers pitched an inning each, combining
for seven strikeouts.
Offensively
Austin Darby, Pat Kelly and Kash Kalkowski each had two hits in game two, with
Darby adding two RBIs. Kalkowski was 5-for-7 on the afternoon, raising his
average over 100 points from .179 to .286.
The
Bears' Dylan Banach led off the game with a base hit and later scored in the
inning on a sacrifice fly. The Bears were unable to add to their hit total in
their next 30 plate appearances.
Nebraska
took the lead in the second when it scored three runs on three hits and a
Northern Colorado error. Kelly and Kalkowski started the frame with consecutive
singles, before Josh Tinnon retired Corey Stringer for the first out of the
innings. Tinnon then hit Bryan Peters to load the bases with one down and
Taylor Fish reached on an fielding error by third baseman Joe Love, which
allowed Kelly to score, tying the game at 1-1. Ty Kildow stepped to the plate
and laced another ball at Love, but this time he made the play and retired
Kalkowski at the plate. With the bases still loaded and two down, Darby delivered
a single to center that scored both Peters and Fish.
The
Husker offense plated two more runs in the fifth on clutch hitting. Following a
two-out walk to Chad Christensen, the Huskers rattled off three straight
two-out singles to extend their lead to 5-1.
Following
a four-game homestand, the Huskers head to Ruston, La., for a three-game series
with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The series kicks off on Friday night with a 6
p.m. game at J.C. Love Field. Play continues on Saturday at 3 p.m. and the
weekend concludes with a 10 a.m. meeting on Sunday morning. Each game will be
carried on the Husker Sports Network, including for free on Huskers.com.
