Midnight magic: Nebraska baseball outlasts Michigan in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal
OMAHA — It was a wild, late night that went back and forth, and ended near 2 a.m. on Saturday, but the Huskers got it done.
No. 2 seed Nebraska baseball (42-14) took down No. 7 seed Michigan (34-24), 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in front of 7,035 fans at Charles Schwab Field.
The Wolverines blasted a two-run homer to tie it 4-4, but Case Sanderson had enough. The junior first baseman swung the Big Red momentum right back in the seventh with his third hit of the night to regain the lead 6-4.
The junior first baseman had a team-high three RBI, going 3-for-4 at the plate, just a homer shy of the cycle.
Interestingly enough, each time Michigan evened it up, Nebraska immediately responded like it has all season to stuff any tide-turn attempts.
With a win essentially locking in the Huskers as a regional host, starters Carson Jasa and Ty Horn (W) tag-teamed the mound.
Jasa posted 6+ innings with four runs surrendered on four hits. Horn followed with two shutout frames. Closer J’Shawn Unger (SV: 12) closed it down, and Mac Moyer made a head-first dive in center field to rob a one-out Michigan single in the ninth.
Here is an instant recap from the midnight magic in Omaha…
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Gritty Nebraska offense responds per usual
Despite the clock ticking toward midnight, the red-hot Nebraska offense immediately carried its electricity to postseason play.
Jeter Worthley started the two-run-first-inning punch with an infield single that ricocheted off Michigan starter Erik Puodziunas. Dylan Carey followed with a single to left field. Moments later, Case Sanderson drilled them home with a triple down the right-field line to put Nebraska up 2-0 as the roars of Omaha roared.
Fast forward to the fourth, Sanderson once again came through with a lead-off double to snap eight straight Huskers retired. With two on and two down, Rhett Stokes cashed in a two-RBI knock to regain the Big Red lead, 4-2.
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Sanderson, Stokes and Worthley would not take NU off their backs. After another two-run Wolverine frame evened it back up, Stokes and Worthley set the stage for Sanderson to come through in yet another two-run inning.
The three combined for 8 of the 12 Husker hits.
Jasa, Horn tag-team Wolverines
After plunking the first Wolverine faced, Carson Jasa’s control took over to retire the next nine. The 6-foot-7 Nebraska ace showed some weakness in the fourth after allowing three hits, including a two-RBI double to even it back up at two apiece.
However, Jasa regained his command in the fifth to work a 1-2-3 frame, which included back-to-back strikeouts to cap it off. That dominant command remained in the sixth. The Thornton, Colorado, native stranded a Wolverine in scoring position with his seventh strikeout.
But in the seventh, Michigan yet again punched back to end Jasa’s solid outing. The lead-off hitter reached on a wild pitch after striking out, and Matt Ossenfort took Jasa deep with a two-run blast to even it back up, 4-4.
Jasa posted six IP off 95 pitches (61 strikes) with eight strikeouts and no walks issued.
Horn took over in the seventh and stuffed any Wolverine momentum trending. In fact, Horn worked through two singles during the top of the eighth with back-to-back strikeouts.
J’Shawn Unger shut it down in the ninth. But credit Mac Moyer for his head-first dive to snag the 26th out and avoid any late-Wolverine threat.
Nebraska returns to the ball diamond on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT for its semifinal matchup of the winner between Oregon and Washington. Watch on the Big Ten Network or listen on the Huskers Radio Network.
