Nebraska’s Ben Columbus (10) hits a home run during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Hawks Field on Friday, April 19, 2024, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska’s Ben Columbus (10) hits a home run during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Hawks Field on Friday, April 19, 2024, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Huskers secured a decisive 16-4 victory over Maryland in a dominating seven-inning performance on Sunday afternoon. After a difficult loss yesterday, the Huskers rebounded strongly to claim the series 2-1, ending the game early due to the 10-run rule.
Nebraska wasted no time establishing its dominance, jumping ahead early in the game with a lead after the first inning.
“I couldn’t be prouder of how we played,” head coach Will Bolt said postgame. “After yesterday’s loss, today just goes to show how mindset is everything in sports.”
The Terrapins faced a staunch outing from junior pitcher Will Walsh, who got the start on the mound.
“Will came out and he did what we needed him to do,” sophomore infielder Cayden Brumbaugh said postgame. “This was probably one of our bigger games of the year up to this point and he came out and nailed it.”
Walsh got it started in the top of the first with a strikeout of junior infielder Eddie Hacopian. Consecutive flyouts from freshmen outfielder Brayden Martin and designated hitter Chris Hacopian followed, keeping Maryland scoreless after the opening frame.
Huskers capitalized on their first turn at bat in the bottom of the inning. Brumbaugh led off with a walk and advanced to second on junior outfielder Riley Silva’s sacrifice bunt.
A groundout by senior infielder Ben Columbus put Brumbaugh in scoring position, setting the stage for junior designated hitter Tyler Stone, whose powerful swing sent the ball soaring over the right field fence for a two-run homer, putting Nebraska up 2-0.
The Terrapins answered back in the top of the second when after two outs, senior infielder Kevin Keister hit a solo home run to the right field. Despite the homer, the inning ended with Maryland still trailing 2-1.
The Huskers continued their offensive push in the bottom of the second. Freshman infielder Case Sanderson drew a walk and senior outfielder Cole Evans followed with a single to right field, advancing Sanderson to third.
Evans stole second base and a wild pitch allowed Sanderson to score. Keeping the momentum going, Brumbaugh singled up through the right side, bringing Evans home.
“[Brumbaugh] really can spark the team with his mindset,” Bolt said postgame. “He really did that all weekend and it has shown.”
Brumbaugh scored off of Silva’s subsequent hit up the middle, pushing Nebraska’s lead to 5-1 by the end of the inning.
The Terrapins were held scoreless again in the top of the third. In the bottom of the frame, Stone singled through the left side, but junior catcher Josh Caron’s fielder’s choice play ended with Stone being forced out at second base.
Caron stole second base before Evans grounded out to second base, leaving the score unchanged at 5-1 in favor of Nebraska.
The top of the fourth saw Martin lead off with a single down the first baseline. However, the Huskers quickly shut down Maryland’s offense with consecutive outs, including a strikeout by senior infielder Sam Hojnar and a flyout by junior infielder Jacob Orr, leaving Martin stranded on base.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Huskers took advantage of the Terrapins’ defensive mistakes. Sophomore infielder Dylan Carey ignited the offense with a double down the left-field line, putting him in scoring position.
Junior infielder Joshua Overbeek’s bunt single turned into an extra base thanks to a throwing error by Terrapins’ third baseman, Orr, allowing Carey to score an unearned run.
Brumbaugh then delivered a pivotal triple down the left-field line, bringing Overbeek home and extending Nebraska’s lead.
Maryland made a pitching change, bringing in freshman Evan Smith, but the Huskers continued to capitalize on defensive mistakes.
Silva singled and advanced to second on an error by first baseman Eddie Hacopian, scoring Brumbaugh. Columbus followed with another single, plating Silva and further extending the Huskers’ lead to 10-1 at the end of the fourth inning.
“I thought we were on top of our game today,” Bolt said postgame. “It’s the little things like ball reads and being more ready to hit at the front of the count and less at the back.”
In the fifth inning, the Terrapins struggled to generate offense. Keister struck out swinging, and freshman infielder Jordan Crosland grounded out to the shortstop. Junior outfielder Elijah Lambros then flew out to left field, and Maryland was unable to narrow the deficit.
Nebraska’s offense remained relentless in the bottom of the fifth. Overbeek singled through the right side and stole second with aggressive baserunning. Brumbaugh then doubled to left field- allowing Overbeek to score and pushing the Huskers’ lead to 11-1.
“I’m getting good swings off and good counts,” Brumbaugh said postgame. “I’m putting myself in good situation.”
Despite Brumbaugh advancing to third on a groundout by Silva, Nebraska was unable to add to their lead as junior outfielder Garrett Anglim popped up to second base and Stone grounded out to first base to end the inning.
As the game entered the top of the sixth inning, the Terrapins looked to mount a comeback. Sophomore catcher Devin Russell led off with a swinging strikeout against Walsh. However, Eddie Hacopian ignited Maryland’s offense with a single to left field.
Martin followed suit with a well-placed single through the right side, allowing Eddie Hacopian to score.
The Terrapins continued to apply pressure as Chris Hacopian was hit by a pitch, advancing Martin to second base. Hojnar then delivered a clutch single to right field, scoring both Martin and Chris Hacopian.
A pinch hitter, freshman infielder Michael Lannazzo, joined the rally with a single to right field. This play brought Hojnar home, making the score 11-4.
Nebraska responded quickly with a pitching change, bringing senior pitcher Kyle Froehlich to the mound to kill Maryland’s momentum. Froehlich proceeded to strike out Keister and Crosland, preserving the Huskers’ lead.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Nebraska’s offense exploded once again, capitalizing on the Terrapins’ pitching change. Caron drew a leadoff walk, setting the stage for a series of walks. After walking both Sanderson and Evans, the bases were loaded for the Huskers.
They were able to get their fourth consecutive walk when Carey took first and Caron scored another run. Overbeek followed suit, drawing another walk and scoring Sanderson.
Despite another pitching change by Maryland, the Huskers’ relentless offensive attack continued.
Silva flew out to left field, allowing Overbeek and Carey to each advance a base on a throwing error made by the outfielder. This error also brought Evans home to record another run for the Huskers.
An Anglim single to left field drove in Overbeek and Carey, further extending Nebraska’s lead, 16-4.
“Normally good things happen when we aren’t passive and that showed up on the scoreboard today,” Brumbaugh said postgame.
In the top of the seventh, senior pitcher Kyle Perry took over on the mound and swiftly shut down the Terrapins’ offense.
Freshman infielder Riley DeCandido struck out swinging, Russell grounded out to third base, and Eddie Hacopian flew out to center field, sealing the Husker’s decisive 16-4 victory thanks to the 10-run rule.
“We just wanted to bring the energy,” Walsh said postgame. “We didn’t want anyone sulking about yesterday. We knew we had to come out passionate today and I think that played a big part in our success today.”
The Huskers will be back in action at Haymarket Park against the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday, April 23 at 6:05 p.m. They will look to end the mid-week struggles that have plagued them as of late.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
