Can you call the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team - the number two seed in the Big Ten Tournament - a Cinderella squad? Probably not when one of the teams competing in the Championship team was the 8th seed (lowest seed in the tournament.)
Still, Sunday's matchup between Nebraska and Penn State feels like a magical matchup. Before the tournament started, no one expected the Nittany Lions to be there. After getting run-ruled in their opening game, the number of people expecting Will Bolt's boys to be in the championship game was not a lot.
However, since getting beaten 15-2 by Ohio State in the opening game of their tournament, they've outscored opponents 32-13. That's both a testament to an offense that has played very well and it's especially a testament to a pitching staff that was catching some guff in the final month of the season.
Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball continues its roll into championship game
It started with Brett Sears, doing Brett Sears things as the Huskers beat Purdue in the first game of the loser's bracket. Then they got their revenge against Ohio State by nearly run-ruling them behind a great outing by Mason McConnaughey.
And then there was the performance by Will Walsh in the first of two games against the Hoosiers on Saturday morning. Coming into the game knowing he had to do everything he could to save the bullpen arms for the second game and Sunday, he threw a complete game.
Saturday night it was Drew Christo's turn. He didn't go as deep as Walsh but he did give the Nebraska Cornhuskers five solid innings, allowing 5 hits, while striking out 5 and allowing just one run.
'SKERS TO THE SHIP. pic.twitter.com/6OmDZSaBwN
— Nebraska Baseball (@HuskerBaseball) May 26, 2024
While Christo was busy keeping the Hoosiers down, the NU offense slowly beat Indiana down, finishing things off with a 10-4 victory.
Now the Nebraska Cornhuskers will face off against a Penn State team that finished the regular season just 26-23 and 12-12 in conference play. The Nittany Lions squeaked into the tournament by winning their final three regular season games and passing the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the standings on the last weekend.
Penn State is red hot. They're playing with confidence. But so are the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Buckle up for what could be a wild tilt at 10am on Sunday.