Unlike many games this season, the Nebraska baseball team capitalized with men in scoring position in game two against Ohio State, winning 10-5.
Caught up in an offensive affair, the Huskers tallied 11 hits in the game while hitting .305 as a team in the afternoon, a dominant performance from the Husker bats.
In the top of the second for the Huskers, freshman second baseman Core Jackson hit a beautiful sacrifice squeeze, scoring freshman right fielder Garrett Anglim from third after he tripled down the right field line. Buckeye sophomore pitcher Nate Haberthier then struck out consecutive batters to leave two men on base for Nebraska.
Now with the Buckeyes at the plate, things got even more explosive.
Three straight singles evened the score for the Buckeyes at 1-1 and put men on the corners with no outs. Using a page from the Husker playbook, Buckeye junior right fielder Mitchell Okuley laid down the second squeeze bunt of the afternoon, pushing across another run with the score now 2-1.
Senior catcher Griffin Everitt continued his hitting hot streak in the third inning as he sent a missile over the left field wall, scoring sophomore third baseman Max Anderson and retaking the lead for the Huskers, 3-2.
Defensive disaster hit Nebraska in the bottom of the third inning. Husker senior pitcher Koty Frank hit senior first baseman Zach Dezenzo, who then took a free trip to second base on a passed ball. On the ensuing at-bat, freshman second baseman Tyler Pettorini singled through the left side, tying up the game at 3-3.
Nebraska maintained its offensive success in the fourth, as junior center fielder Luke Sartori hit an RBI single to left field. On the throw to home plate, Sartori advanced to second with the lead now 4-3 and set up Nebraska for a chance to run away with the game.
Looking to capitalize with two men in scoring position, sophomore shortstop Brice Matthews delivered, sending home both Sartori and Jackson to extend the Huskers’ lead to 6-3 .
Now entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Buckeyes offense caught fire, as three different hitters recorded a double in the inning. Those doubles pushed two runs across the plate to cut the Huskers lead to one.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Buckeyes brought in freshman pitcher Tim Baird to relieve Haberthier, a decision that backfired almost immediately by Ohio State manager Greg Beals.
With Baird in, the Huskers quickly loaded the bases with Husker senior left fielder Cam Chick up to bat with one out in the inning. Forcing yet another pitching change in the inning, Beals turned to junior pitcher Ethan Hammerberg.
After Hammerberg struck out Chick, Anderson did his best Griffin Everitt impression by sending a laser to deep center field for a grand slam, extending the Husker lead to 10-5.
The Huskers attempted to tack on more runs in the seventh, loading the bases yet again. Unfortunately for the Huskers both Sartori and Matthews couldn't answer the call as they both went down at the plate, keeping the lead within reason for a potential Buckeye comeback.
After the Huskers went down quietly in the top of the ninth inning still up five runs, manager Will Bolt turned to junior pitcher Braxton Bragg in the bottom of the ninth inning, looking to close the game with zero theatrics.
With little momentum in their favor, the Buckeyes could not get a run across in the final half inning. Bragg struck out two in the inning and secured the win for the Huskers, 10-5.
The win pushes Nebraska to 11-14 overall on the season, 4-7 on the road and 3-2 in Big Ten play. A win in game three of the series would give the Huskers the sweep over the Buckeyes.
Senior pitcher Tyler Martin came into the game for the Huskers in the fifth inning and dominated from his first pitch until the end, allowing just one hit through the eighth inning while recording four strikeouts. Martin’s performance was a stark contrast to the Buckeyes’ bullpen, who struggled to keep Nebraska off base.
Haberthier allowed six runs on seven hits through five innings, while Baird and Hammerberd combined to give up the other four Husker runs in the sixth inning on three hits.
The final game of the series will again be played at Bill Davis stadium in Columbus, Ohio at 12:05 p.m on Sunday.