After a disappointing 11-2 loss the day before, Nebraska baseball bounced back, defeating the Maryland Terrapins 16-4 in seven innings Sunday afternoon.
With the victory, NU picked up its third Big Ten series win of the season, moving its record to 25-11 on the year and 8-4 in league play.
After much speculation heading into the week, Will Walsh got the start for the Big Red on Sunday. Walsh was dominant through five innings, allowing one run and striking out six. The lefty, who’s known for his soft contact, painted the corners, striking out seven, his second-highest mark of the season.
Walsh was helped by a dominant display at the plate from multiple Husker hitters. The day began with a bang in the first inning when Tyler Stone launched a two-run homer over the right field fence. The Terrapins responded in the next inning with a solo home run to cut the lead in half, but it’d be the closest the Huskers led all game. In the second, the Big Red added three runs, making their lead 5-1.
Two innings later, the offense went into peak form. A Josh Overbeek bunt single scored Dylan Carey, Overbeek was brought in by a Cayden Brambaugh triple, and Brumbaugh was brought in by a Riley Silva single. Silva scored after Ben Columbus extended his hitting streak to seven games with another single, and a couple of batters later, a Cole Evans single allowed Columbus to touch home, making it 10-1 Huskers. NU returned in fifth and added one more run, extending their lead to 10.
Unfortunately for Walsh, his masterful outing was spoiled in the 6th, where he gave up three runs on three hits and hit by pitch. Kyle Froelich entered the contest and punched out two Terrapins to get out of the jam.
Entered the Bottom of the 6th leading 11-4.
The Husker’s hitting allowed them to run deep into the Maryland bullpen, forcing the Terrapins to use pitchers who hadn’t seen the field all year. The Big Red capitalized on Maryland’s inexperienced pitching by staying patient in the box and induced four walks in the innings, leading to five more plated runs.
Entering the seventh, Nebraska lead 16-4
Due to the Big Ten’s new run rule on the final days of the series (if a team leads by ten after seven innings, the game is over), NU entered the 7th with an opportunity to close out the game. Kyle Perry entered from the pen and did exactly that, retiring 3 batters with ten pitchers clinching the series win.
Nebraska’s next game is Tuesday, April 21, against Kansas.