IU @ Nebraska, Game 1: Another 9th inning rally sinks the Huskers, 10-5...

[ptrich]

This is a big series for both teams and especially for IU from a postseason standpoint with many believing that IU would be off the bubble and in the Field of 64 with a series win at this standpoint. The Huskers are considered a lock for the NCAAs right now.

LHP Ty Bothwell will be on the mound for IU with an ERA of 5.46 in 61.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.33 with an OBA of .254. The batting order is a familiar one with Taylor, Pyne, and Mitchell leading off with Cerny, Brenczewski, and Tibbitts in the middle of the order, and Mathison, Stadler, and Oliver at the bottom of the order with Stadler behind the plate and Brenczewski the DH.

RHP Brett Sears will be on the mound for Nebraska with an ERA of 2.17 in 78.1 IP and a WHIP of 0.84 with an OBA of .180.

It's 78 and sunny with the wind out of the NNW at 8 mph with gusts to 14 mph.

1st inning:

T1st:

Taylor was locked in for the game and hit a leadoff solo homer to left center to give IU an immediate lead.

B1st:

Bothwell got the leadoff hitter on a shallow pop up to Cerny. Bothwell then got the next batter on a K.
A lineout to Mitchell ended the inning as Bothwell got off to a good start by putting them down in order.

End of 1st: IU 1 UN 0

 

[ptrich]

2nd inning:

T2nd:
It was the 5 thru 7 hitters up with Brenczewski leading off. Brenczewski singled to put a runner on.

Tibbitts line out to CF for the first out with Brenczewski still at 1st.

On a throwdown to 1st by the catcher, Brenczewski just barely got back and the Huskers challenged the call. The safe call was upheld.

Mathison Kd looking on a full count for two outs. Stadler flied out to retire the side.

B2nd:

Bothwell faced the middle of the order. The leadoff hitter reached on an infield hit. A flyout got the first out.

Another single put runners on 1st and 2nd and one out. Pyne got jammed on a grounder but was able to get to the bag to get the lead runner at 3rd and two outs with runners at 1st and 2nd.

Another grounder to Pyne got the runner at 3rd to end the inning.

End of 2nd: IU 1 NU 0

 

[ptrich]

3rd inning:

T3rd:

It was the 9 thru 2 hitters up with Oliver leading off. Oliver grounded out to lead off and the top of the order up. Taylor Kd swinging for the 2nd out. Pyne popped out to the SS as IU went down in order in a quick inning.

B3rd:

Bothwell faced the 9 thru 2 hitters. The leadoff hitter reached on a single. A SAC bunt moved the runner to 2nd for the first out. Bothwell then got a K for the 2nd out. A flyout ended the inning.

End of 3rd: IU 1 NU 0

 

[ptrich]

4th inning:

T4th:

It was the 3 thru 5 hitters up for IU with Mitchell leading off. On a 2-2 count, Mitchell was hit by a pitch to put a runner on. After five foul offs on a full count, Cerny Kd looking for the first out with Mitchell stealing 2nd.

Brenczewski reached on an error by the 1B who bobbled a grounder and that put runners on the corners with one out.

A SAC fly by Tibbitts scored Mitchell to make it 2-0. Mathison grounded out to retire the side.

B4th:

Bothwell was back out there with a PC of 39 and he faced the 4 thru 6 hitters. Bothwell hit the leadoff batter and it was the 3rd straight inning that the Huskers had their leadoff hitter on.

A grounder got the lead runner a 2nd, but IU couldn't complete the DP with a runner on 1st and one out.

Taylor completed a diving catch of a fly for the 2nd out and the runner still at 1st.

A flyball got Taylor turned around and it was off his glove for a double, but the runner on first attempted to score and was thrown out at the plate on a LF to SS to Stadler play to end the inning.

End of 4th: IU 2 UN 0

 

[ptrich]

5th inning:

T5th:

It was the 8 thru 1 hitters up and Stadler and Oliver quickly flied out for two outs. Taylor grounded out as all three outs were on just five pitches by Sears.

B5th:

Bothwell faced the 8 thru 1 hitters and he was at a 49 PC. Bothwell got the leadoff on a K swinging on a 96 mph pitch. Bothwell got the next batter on a flyout for the 2nd out and the top of the order up for the Huskers.

Bothwell then walked a batter on a full count with two outs, and it was the first walk of the game by either starting pitcher.

Risedorph was warming up in the bullpen. A single through the right side put runners on the corners with two outs.

Another base hit scored a run with runners on 1st and 2nd and two outs.

IU brought in RHP Brayden Risedorph with an ERA of 7.96 in 37.1 IP and a WHIP of 1.63.

A ground ball went off Risedorph and he got the ball to Cerny who tagged out the runner at 2nd to end the inning.

End of 5th: IU 2 UN 1

 

[ptrich]

6th inning:

T6th:

It was the 2 thru 4 hitters up and Pyne Kd swinging for the first out. Mitchell doubled down the LF line with Cerny up and one out. It was just the third hit by IU even though they had the lead.

Cerny flied out with Mitchell taking 3rd and two outs with Brenczewski up.

Brenczewski Kd to retire the side.

B6th:

Risedorph faced the 5 thru 7 hitters. Risedorph walked the leadoff hitter on a full count and it was the fourth inning so far that IU had put the leadoff batter on.

The Huskers brought in a pinch hitter and Risedorph Kd him swinging for the first out and a runner at 1st.

Risedorph balked the runner to 2nd and he then Kd the batter for the 2nd out.

A WP moved the runner to 3rd. After having an 0-2 count on the batter, he walked the batter, Risedorph 2nd walk of the inning with two outs and the No. 9 hitter up.

Risedorph then got a huge K to end the inning and got out of a jam caused by two walks, a balk and a WP.

End of 6th: IU 2 UN 1

 

[ptrich]

7th inning:

T7th:

Sears was back out there with his PC at 94 and he faced the 6 thru 8 hitters with Tibbitts grounding out to lead off.

Mathison Kd for the 2nd time today with both looking. A pop out retired the side and Sears was at 107 pitches but has looked strong, so would they send him back out there in 8th?

B7th:

Risedorph faced the top of the order with the top of the order 2 for 7 in the game up to this point.

Risedorph got the leadoff hitter on a K swinging. Risedorph then walked another batter on a 3-1 count with one out.

Risedorph gave up a two-run homer to give the Huskers their lead of the game at 3-2. A walk finally came up to bite Risedorph after putting two of them on in the previous inning.

A flyout got the 2nd out with the bases empty.

A flyout ended the inning, but the walk and homer gave the Huskers the lead.

End of 7th: UN 3 IU 2

 

[ptrich]

8th inning:

T8th:

It was the 9 thru 2 hitters up for IU with Oliver leading off and the Huskers went to bullpen and brought in LHP Jalen Worthley with an ERA of 3.58 and a WHIP of 0.98.

Oliver greeted the new pitcher with a solo leadoff homer to tie the game at 3-3. Taylor flied out for the first out.

Pyne singled to put a runner on with one out. Mitchell flied out for the 2nd out and Pyne still at 1st.

A WP moved Pyne to 2nd. Cerny walked on a 3-1 count to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs.

The Huskers bring in another pitcher in RHP Bobby Olsen with an ERA of 7.71 in 7.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.71, and he faced Brenczewski with two on and two outs.

Olsen hit Brenczewski on his very first pitch to load the bases and two outs with Tibbitts up.

Tibbitts reached on a FC with the out at 2nd to retire the side.

B8th:

Risedorph was back out there to face the 6 thru 8 hitters. The leadoff hitter reached on a single to where the shift wasn't located for an easy hit. It was the fifth time in the game the leadoff hitter has reached for the Huskers.

A short fly that Mitchell couldn't reach, reached for a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs.

A SAC bunt moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd and one out. IU brought the infield in. On a grounder, it looked like Stadler had the runner at home but they called the runner safe and IU challenged the play. The umps upheld the call and the run.

There were runners at the corners and one out with the Huskers up 4-3. On a fly that was foul to RF, Mitchell caught the ball when he probably should have let drop since it scored the runner to make it 5-3 with two outs. A lineout to Cerny ended the inning.

End of 8th: UN 5 IU 3

 

[ptrich]

9th inning:

T9th:

It was the bottom of the order up with Mathison leading off and the Huskers went to the bullpen and brought in LHP Kyle Perry with an ERA of 5.19 in 17.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.15.

Mathison led off with a double off the wall. Sefcik came in to pinch hit for Stadler and he grounded out for the first out with Mathison taking 3rd.

Oliver singled to score Mathison and with the top of the order up, Taylor singled to put the runners on the corners with one out and the score 5-4 UN.

The Huskers went to the bulllpen and brought in RHP Kyle Froehlich with an ERA of 4.24 in 17.0 IP and a WHIP of 1.24 and he faced Pyne.

Pyne hit a SAC fly to score Oliver to tie the game with two outs and Mitchell was intentionally walked to put runners at 1st and 2nd with two outs.

Cerny walked to load the bases on a 3-1 count.

A throwing error by the pitcher scored Taylor to give IU a 6-5 lead with two outs and Brenczewski up.

Brenczewski hit an infield single to score both Mitchell and Cerny to make it 8-5 IU with two outs.

Tibbitts doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs and Mathison up.

The Huskers went to the bullpen yet again and brought in RHP Casy Daiss with an ERA of 3.72 in 19.1 IP and a WHIP of 1.29.

Mathison singled to score both Brenczwski and Tibbitts to make it 10-5. Sefcik Kd to retire the side.

B9th:

RHP Jacob Vogel came in to try to close it out and he had an ERA of 0.51 in 17.2 IP and a WHIP of 1.02, and he faced the 3 thru 5 hitters. A flyout to Taylor got the first out.

Vogel then got back-to-back Ks to end the game.

Final: IU 10 Nebraska 5

 

[dr.jb]

big win!!

 

[Orford]

That’s a big f’ing win against the best pitcher in the big so far!

 

[ptrich]

That’s a big f’ing win against the best pitcher in the big so far!

It was an all-around bad day for Husker athletics with IU baseball's big 9th rally and the softball Hoosiers tying their game with Huskers in the last inning and then blowing by them in the next inning to advance.

 

[ptrich]

Back-to-back IU 9th inning rallies are playing big for IU right now as they try to improve their resume for the NCAAs. IU's RPI as I post this has moved up 8 spots to 54 and their Q1 record right now is 8-7 with Q1 and Q2 teams moving back and forth as the season progresses.

Nebraska's ace pitcher Brett Sears, who had an ERA of 2.17 on the season, gave up a leadoff homer to Taylor to start the game and then handcuffed IU hitters until he left at 107 pitches at the end of the 7th. Sears did give up an unearned run in the 4th after a Husker error. The Husker bullpen was a little more giving for IU hitters.

IU outhit the Huskers, 11-9, and 5 of IU's hits were for extra bases to include three doubles and two homers. IU was 11 for 37 for a team average of .297, while the Huskers were 9 of 33 for .273. IU had four players with multiple hits.

Oliver - 2 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBIs.

Brenczewski - 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs.

Taylor - 2 for 5 with a homer and 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Mathison - 2 for 5 with a double and 2 RBIs.

Mitchell - 1 for 3 with a double and 2 runs scored.

Tibbitts had an RBI-double and Pyne had an RBI-single.


IU had no errors on the game while the Huskers had two errors which allowed IU to score six unearned runs in the game.


Pitching was good to inconsistent to very good to close out the game. Bothwell had a very good start on the mound for four innings, but ran into problems in 5th giving up a run, and was relieved by Risedorph. Risedorph pitched himself out of a jam in the 6th with runners in scoring position, but he wasn't as fortunate in the 7th and 8th innings with the Huskers getting four runs off him over that period. Vogel looked really good in closing the game out in the 9th.

Bothwell - 4.2 IP - 6 hits to include a double with 1 earned run, 3 ks, 1 BB, and a hit batter.

Risedorph - 3.1 IP, 3 hits to include a homer with 4 earned runs, 4 Ks, 3 BBs, a WP, and a balk.

Vogel - 1.0 IP - Put them down in order to include 2 Ks to end the game.

 

[TomEric4756]

https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/baseball/stats/2024/nebraska/boxscore/26987

Got the split. Winning a road series in Lincoln would be big time.

 

[TomEric4756]

One win in Lincoln was good for +7 RPI moments ago.

Q1 record improved to 8-7 …

Conference Standings tied for 2nd, Behind Illinois.

I’m glad there was a hot batting start start today.

 

[ptrich]

Other scores around the B1G:

PSU 7 Rutgers 6 - PSU is hoping for a playoff spot in the B1G tourney, but are a game out of 8th place right now.

Purdue 4 Michigan 0 - Purdue remains in 2nd place with IU.

OSU 7 NW 2 - OSU is fighting for a playoff spot in the B1G tourney and playing NW which is 2-17 in the conference sure helps out a lot.

Illinois 10 Iowa 5 - Illinois remains in 1st with Iowa still in 5th place 2 1/2 games out of 1st. Iowa has just two more games left in the B1G with a non-conference series to finish out their regular season.

MSU 6 Minn 4 - MSU is hanging on the 7th place right now.

Maryland @ Boston College - No game for Friday with a DH for Saturday and a Sunday game.

 

[TomEric4756]

Huskers.com story Hoosier Rally Stuns Huskers

https://huskers.com/news/2024/05/10/hoosier-rally-stuns-huskers

 

[TomEric4756]

Looks like Vogel is IU’s go to closer this year ( ERA 0.49 )

NE starter gave up 2 runs in 7 innings … ERA 2.05 … he did his job.
IU managed to get a homer in the first to get the early lead.
May IU score in the top of the first in the second game too.

I like to look at live stats scorecards, and comparative stats.
Wish the link didn’t disappear, when the box score gets posted.

https://stats.statbroadcast.com/sta...J*MTcxNTQwMTg3MS4xNC4wLjE3MTU0MDE4NzEuMC4wLjA.

 

[ptrich]

Looks like Vogel is IU’s go to closer this year ( ERA 0.49 )

NE starter gave up 2 runs in 7 innings … ERA 2.05 … he did his job.
IU managed to get a homer in the first to get the early lead.
May IU score in the top of the first in the second game too.

I like to look at live stats scorecards, and comparative stats.
Wish the link didn’t disappear, when the box score gets posted.

https://stats.statbroadcast.com/sta...J*MTcxNTQwMTg3MS4xNC4wLjE3MTU0MDE4NzEuMC4wLjA.

Buhr has been really effective out the bullpen over the past month and has been used primarily as a middle/long reliever, while usually relieving the starting pitcher. Over that period, he has gone 19.2 innings pitched while giving up 3 earned runs for an ERA of 1.62 over that period. Of the five games he appeared in over that period, his lone blemish was against Minnesota where he pitched 3.1 innings and gave up a homer and 3 earned runs, the only runs he has given up during that stretch. I believe I heard he is expected to replace Foley if he runs out of gas tonight.

 

[TomEric4756]

Buhr has been really effective out the bullpen over the past month and has been used primarily as a middle/long reliever, while usually relieving the starting pitcher. Over that period, he has gone 19.2 innings pitched while giving up 3 earned runs for an ERA of 1.62 over that period. Of the five games he appeared in over that period, his lone blemish was against Minnesota where he pitched 3.1 innings and gave up a homer and 3 earned runs, the only runs he has given up during that stretch. I believe I heard he is expected to replace Foley if he runs out of gas tonight.

Yes, pitching seems to have gelled the second half of the season. We found some guys who seem to be getting the job done.