Nebraska’s Gabe Swansen (44) bats during the game against Wichita State at Haymarket Park on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Lincoln.
Nebraska’s Gabe Swansen (44) bats during the game against Wichita State at Haymarket Park on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Lincoln.
Crooked innings on the mound and no fire at the plate continue to plague Nebraska baseball. The preseason-ranked top 25 Huskers have some soul-searching to do after their 11-3 loss at UCLA.
“There’s a lot of moments when games get sideways on us and we’re not very tough,” head coach Will Bolt said postgame.
Here are three takeaways following Nebraska’s loss:
Two pitches ruin Horn’s outing
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ty Horn brought the heat to Los Angeles. Horn didn’t mess around early. The sophomore pitcher fanned the first three Bruins he faced. UCLA put six left-handed batters in its lineup to get an advantage over the right-handed pitcher. Horn was unfazed until a fourth inning blowup.
“Ty [Horn] gets three punchouts, it’s on,” Bolt said. “Grabbed the momentum and we’re not able to cash in.”
The three-run homer in the fourth and the solo bomb in the fifth that he allowed negated his impressive start. Nebraska’s starting pitcher posted four plus innings on the mound, striking out six and walking two Bruins.
“How we responded on the mound and defensively, the game completely got away from us,” Bolt said.
Horn’s kryptonite this season has been throwing a bad pitch or two for a home run. If the sophomore pitcher can avoid slip-ups that lead to crooked innings, he could become elite on the mound.
Offensive slump presses on
Nebraska had opportunities, but it failed when it counted. The Huskers struck first blood when senior designated hitter Tyler Stone hit a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning. From there, the offense was nonexistent.
“We got off to a pretty good start,” Bolt said, adding, “We never responded offensively.”
It took until junior center fielder Robby Bolin’s two-out RBI single for the Huskers to get a hit with a runner in scoring position. Nebraska was 0-for-16 throughout the series until Bolin came through in the top of the eighth inning. Two of the Huskers’ three runs came from two-out RBIs. Moreover, Nebraska’s 4-for-17 hitting with runners on made it difficult for the chance of obtaining a big offensive inning.
“A lot of the times we start a rally, but they’re with two out,” Bolt said. “A two-out RBI is tough to come by. We have got to have more quality at-bats.”
As a team, the Huskers struck out 10 times at the plate and finished with a .242 batting average to Bruins’ .361 percentage.
“At the end of the day it’s all about how you compete,” Bolt said. “They put up a three-spot and we punch out immediately the next inning.”
Bender continues to impress
One of the lone bright spots came from freshman right-handed pitcher Pryce Bender out of the bullpen. The rookie pitcher’s sidearm fastball is challenging for opposing batters to hit. Bender allowed only one hit in his 2.1 scoreless innings pitched.
The downside of Bender’s performance was his ball-to-strike ratio. Of his 44 pitches thrown, only 23 hit the strike zone. This led to two walks allowed of the 11 batters faced. Although the ratio is far from ideal, Bender continues to find a way out of each inning without allowing damage.
The freshman pitcher has a veteran type of presence when adversity strikes. An earned run still has yet to happen with Bender on the mound. The Oklahoma native has enough work in 6.1 total innings pitched on the year to be considered a viable option for Nebraska out of the bullpen.
The (7-10, 1-4 Big Ten) Huskers will look to avoid a series sweep when they take on UCLA at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Brockett will get the start.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
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