Huskers Capture Series Win Over Fifth-Ranked Beavers

Nine two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh inning led Nebraska to its first weekend series win over a top-five foe since 2011, as the Huskers rolled to a 16-7 win in eight innings over No. 5 Oregon State on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (12-15) scored a season-high 16 runs on a season-high 14 hits and had one error, while Oregon State (20-6) tallied seven runs, nine hits and two errors.

Tyler Stone led NU at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and a trio of runs scored. Riley Silva turned in a 3-for-4 afternoon with an RBI and three runs, while Cayden Brumbaugh drove in a pair of runs and had a 1-for-3 day at the plate.

Will Jesske and Max Buettenback crushed three-run homers, and Hogan Helligso recorded his first home run as a Husker. Case Sanderson, Rhett Stokes, Robby Bolin and Joshua Overbeek posted one hit apiece.

Jackson Brockett allowed three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 3.1 innings. Casey Daiss tossed 1.2 shutout frames, allowing just one hit. Caleb Clark surrendered three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings, while Luke Broderick improved to 2-0 on the season after recording a pair of outs in the top of the seventh.

Gavin Blachowicz pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a pair of punchouts to round out the action for the NU pitching staff on Sunday.

Stone broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning with a 399-foot solo homer to the berm in right-center field.

Oregon State evened the score at one in the top of the third. A leadoff double down the right-field line, followed by a sacrifice bunt, had the tying run at third with one out. Following a strikeout, a wild pitch with two outs allowed the Beavers to score their first run of the afternoon.

The Huskers took the lead back in the bottom of the third with one run on a pair of hits. Silva reached on a bunt single and moved to second on Overbeek’s sacrifice bunt. Sanderson’s one-out RBI single to left field brought home Silva and gave the Huskers a 2-1 lead through three innings.

A leadoff solo homer in the top of the fourth inning, and an RBI single with the bases loaded and one out gave Oregon State a 3-2 lead. Trailing by one with the bases loaded and one out, Daiss coaxed and fielder’s choice and groundout to keep the lead at one for the Beavers.

Nebraska responded immediately with four runs on four hits and an error to take back the lead at 6-3 after four innings. Dylan Carey drew a full-count walk, while Stone singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with no outs. Jesske cleared the bases with 362-foot three-run homer into the left-field berm for his first career home run.

Silva reached on a single, stole second and came around to score on Overbeek’s RBI single to first base that gave the Big Red its 6-3 advantage through four innings.

The Beavers got a run back in the top of the sixth after a leadoff double, followed by an RBI single to the left-center gap made it a 6-4 game.

Oregon State grabbed a one-run lead in the top of the seventh inning with a trio of runs on two hits and an NU error. A walk and a sacrifice bunt set the table for Wilson Weber’s two-run homer that locked the game at six with one out.

A walk and a two-out fielding error had runners on second and third for the Beavers, before Easton Talt’s RBI double down the right-field line plated the go-ahead run for Oregon State going into the seventh-inning stretch.

Consecutive strikeouts began the bottom of the seventh, before the NU offense erupted for nine runs on five hits and an error to grab a commanding 15-7 lead over the fifth-ranked Beavers. The Huskers loaded the bases without a hit after Sanderson was walked, Brumbaugh was plunked and Carey was hit by the pitch.

Stone ripped an 0-2 pitch to left-center field to give Nebraska an 8-7 lead. Buettenback stepped up to the plate in a pinch-hitting appearance and drilled the first pitch he saw 365 feet to right field for a three-run homer to stretch the lead to 11-7.

Consecutive run-scoring singles off the bat of Bolin and Silva enlarged the lead to 13-7. Silva stole second, before Overbeek and Sanderson were hit by the pitch to load the bases for the NU offense. Brumbaugh laced an 0-1 pitch through the left side for a two-RBI single to extend Nebraska’s lead to eight through seven innings.

Blachowicz sat down the Beavers in order in the top of the eighth, while Helligso hammered a 2-1 pitch to center field for his first home run as a Husker, growing the lead to 16-7 in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Stokes extended the inning with a two-out single up the middle, pushing the game past Sunday’s curfew and making the game final after eight innings due to Oregon State’s travel schedule.

Nebraska returns to play on Tuesday, as the Huskers welcome Creighton to Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch between the Big Red and Bluejays is set for 6 p.m. on B1G+.