OMAHA, Neb. — One day removed from a thrilling late-night win over Michigan, Nebraska (42-15) couldn’t carry over its momentum against Oregon (40-15) in front of an impressive crowd on Saturday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
Despite a 73-degree first pitch on an evening devoid of rain, the Huskers’ bats were ice cold against Ducks starting pitcher Will Sanford. Sanford had Nebraska handcuffed at the plate all evening, tossing six shutout innings before Oregon’s bullpen finished the job with three scoreless to complete an 8-0?? win over the Huskers.
In terms of NU’s regional-hosting hopes, the loss was likely a non-factor. But it does take away the opportunity to three-peat as Big Ten Tournament champions, something that was certainly on the forefront of Nebraska’s minds when it entered this weekend.
Instant Big Red Reactions to Nebraska’s Saturday night loss:
Sanford stifles Nebraska bats in six shutout innings
If there were an award given out for Saturday’s best performance, it would be hard to argue against the case for Sanford.
In a vastly different outing than Blachowicz, Sanford delivered one of the most complete outings against Nebraska that any pitcher has all season—the sophomore right-hander held the Huskers hitless into the fifth inning.
Sanford delivered a masterclass performance on the mound, with a three-pitch mix that kept Bolt’s lineup off-balance the entire night. Nebraska still managed to reach base via three walks against Sanford, but long looked for the big hit to get on the scoreboard.
The moment presented itself in the bottom of the fifth inning after junior designated hitter Will Jeske led off the frame with a full-count walk. Two batters later, senior left fielder Jett Buck ended Sanford’s no-no with a line-drive single into center, setting the stage for Rhett Stokes.
The senior second baseman has been NU’s X-factor all season, with countless clutch at-bats and key hits in high-leverage situations. But with Sanford’s dominance and runners at the corners with one out, Bolt took the bat out of Stokes’ hands, with the intent to lay a bunt down the first-base line.
But Stokes didn’t succeed in laying a bunt down, dropping the barrel so far under the ball that Ducks’ first baseman Brayden Jaksa had to leave his feet as he charged in to make the catch. The unfortunate outcome turned the order back over to Moyer, who grounded out softly to end the inning.
The sixth brought more hope to the Husker faithful after freshman catcher Jeter Worthley snuck a double down the right field line, bringing up Dylan Carey. The senior shortstop hit a line drive at 103 mph, although it was directly to Molony at shortstop, who caught the ball and doubled off Worthley at second.
Sanford finished the sixth with relative ease, which effectively ended his night. His final line: six scoreless innings, two hits, nine strikeouts and three walks.
Blachowicz battles through five innings for first time in nearly a month
After his last start in the Huskers’ regular season finale against Minnesota, questions arose about whether Gavin Blachowicz would remain as one of the starting arms in Nebraska’s rotation.
It wasn’t an unfair narrative. The sophomore struggled mightily over his first three starts in May, posting an 8.10 ERA in 13.1 total innings, all of which were outings where he failed to throw at least five innings.
On the other side of that argument was Cooper Katskee’s most recent start. Against Creighton at Charles Schwab Field in NU’s last midweek game, he delivered a respectable 5.2 innings, and a late three-run home run was the only damage against him on the day.
And while head coach Will Bolt could have made a change ahead of the Big Ten Tournament, he didn’t. Blachowicz got the nod in the Huskers’ semifinal matchup against Oregon, just one day removed after Nebraska’s No. 2 arm junior Ty Horn threw two innings in relief. And in many ways, the right-hander’s performance wasn’t much improved.
Hard hits were still a factor against the Ducks from the get-go, as leadoff man Ryan Cooney lined a double off junior center fielder Mac Moyer’s glove at 101 mph to start the game. Then, in the top of the second, freshman designated hitter Naulivou Lauaki Jr. scolded a slider off the base of the left field wall at 118 mph. It was hit so hard that senior left fielder Jett Buck corralled the ball and threw it back before Lauaki Jr. hardly rounded first base.
In the top of the fourth, Maddox Molony jumped all over a high-and-in Blachowicz fastball, crushing it into the empty bleachers in left field to take a 2-0 lead. And again, in the top of the fifth, the Ducks added on another deep ball on a home run from right fielder Angel Laya.
It was far from pretty, but there was a significant difference in Blachowicz’s performance on Saturday: his ability to escape the big inning. He managed the hard hits and worked around trouble on the basepaths, which included escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third, to throw five innings on 83 pitches.
The effort was enough to keep the Huskers in the game, although it was the bats that truly struggled on the evening.
Ducks break the game open with four-run seventh
It seemed that all night, Oregon was waiting for its opportunity to put together a big inning and end Nebraska’s Big Ten title hopes. That inning culminated in the top of the seventh.
After working through a scoreless sixth, Katskee retook the mound against the bottom of the Ducks’ order the following inning. The junior right-hander started the seventh with a strikeout, but a hit batter and the Huskers’ inability to turn a double play kept the inning afloat. And that’s when the extra-base hits started piling on.
Third baseman Drew Smith, who hit a home run in Oregon’s first game of the day against Washington, laced a double to right-center field to bring home two runs. It was immediately followed by Jaksa’s second home run of the day, a line drive into NU’s bullpen in left, ending Katskee’s day after four earned runs in 1.2 innings.
It was a fitting ending to a disappointing night off the mound, as the Ducks totaled 10 hits against Nebraska’s arms, which included 5 extra-base hits.
The Huskers now set their sights on the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on Friday, May 29. Regional host sites will be revealed at 7:30 CT on Sunday evening through social media, while the selection show will air at 11 a.m. on Monday on ESPN2.
