Nebraska Baseball: Mixed bag of results as Huskers fall to Purdue
It was an interesting day for Nebraska baseball.
The first Nebraska baseball game of the season did not disappoint as far as action is concerned. Unfortunately, it did disappoint in terms of the result. Nebraska lost the game in the bottom of the ninth, as Purdue was able to come away with a 6-5 win.
Let me just start by saying this. Nebraska baseball did a lot of good things on Friday afternoon. For one, the offense came to play. Senior Joe Acker had a great game on Friday, going 3-for-4, with a home run, a double, and two runs batted in. Freshman Max Anderson and Junior Cam Chick each had a home run as well. In this game, the long ball wasn’t the issue for Nebraska baseball.
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The pitching left a little bit to be desired in this one. This was a something that I thought would be a problem for Nebraska baseball throughout the entirety of the season. Cade Povich started this game for Nebraska baseball and he struggled. In three innings of work, he gave up six hits and three earned runs, while walking four batters and striking out four batters. He threw 80 total pitches, 50 of which were strikes. For Povich, that was encouraging.
Ultimately however, the bullpen did not seal the deal. Max Schreiber really struggled in key moments, as the senior just could not get it done Friday afternoon. He gave up three hits and two earned runs on 29 total pitches. To their credit, Purdue was a very pesky team. They had a lot of talented hitters that made life difficult for Nebraska baseball pitching.
Overall, Friday looked like the same story as the beginning of last year. The Nebraska baseball offense did their part. 15 hits and five runs should have been enough to get the job done. Even the starting pitching was able to hold its own to some extent. The game was never totally out of reach. However, the bullpen just crumbled. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a common theme throughout the course of the season. I don’t want to overreact just yet.
Up next, Nebraska baseball will have a doubleheader Saturday against Purdue. The second game will start 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. This will be a huge Saturday for Nebraska baseball, as they could salvage the series with a split on Saturday. That could make for an intriguing rubber game heading into Sunday, and depending on the result, it could be a huge confidence boost as well.