Huskers Cruise Past UConn on Opening Day
Nebraska rolled to a 12-2 win in seven innings against UConn at the MLB Desert Invitational on Friday night at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Nebraska (1-0) scored 12 runs on 16 hits, while UConn (0-1) totaled two runs, four hits and an error.
The Husker offense hit 8-of-14 with two outs and 11-of-23 with runners in scoring position on Friday night.
Cole Kitchens, Dylan Carey and Case Sanderson led the Big Red with three hits apiece. Kitchens was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Sanderson went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Carey had a 3-for-5 night with a triple and team-high four RBI.
Jeter Worthley was 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored in his Husker debut, and Joshua Overbeek had a 2-for-3 performance with a double, three runs driven in and three runs scored.
Ty Horn allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts and four walks in 4.2 innings. Caleb Clark moved to 1-0 on the season after surrendering a run across 1.2 innings with three punchouts and a pair of walks. Tucker Timmerman recorded the final two outs for the NU pitching staff.
UConn opened the scoring in the opening frame with one run on a pair of hits. A plunked batter and an infield single had runners on first and second with two outs, while a first-pitch RBI single through the right side broke the scoreless deadlock.
The Husker offense responded with four runs behind two hits in the bottom of the first to hold a 4-1 lead through the first inning. Je. Worthley was hit by the pitch, while Overbeek drew a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. Carey laced a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center field to bring home Je. Worthley and tie the game at one apiece.
Max Buettenback followed Carey’s RBI single with a full-count walk to load the bases, before Kitchens delivered a bases-clearing double inside the right-field foul line to give the Big Red a 4-1 advantage.
Nebraska took advantage of a pair of walks to Je. Worthley and Sanderson and a single from Buck that set up an RBI fielder’s choice from Overbeek that stretched the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the second.
Horn and Clark combined to keep the Huskies scoreless in the second through sixth innings, before the Husker offense tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to expand the lead to 8-1.
The Big Red had runners on first and third with one out after a walk to Buck and Sanderson’s single to right field. Overbeek followed Sanderson by ripping a first-pitch two-RBI double down the right-field line, before Carey lined a first-pitch RBI single to left field, plating Overbeek and making it an 8-1 game through six innings.
UConn took advantage of two free passes in the top of the seventh, scoring their second run of the night on an RBI single to left field.
The Huskers answered with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the seventh to give NU its 12-2 run-rule victory in seven innings. Back-to-back doubles from Je. Worthley and Buck plated the first run, while consecutive singles from Sanderson and Overbeek tacked on a second run in the inning. Carey capped the scoring in the inning and ended the game with a two-RBI triple to the wall in center field.
Nebraska continues play at the MLB Desert Invitational, as the Huskers take on Northeastern tomorrow night at Sloan Park. First pitch between the Big Red and Huskies is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on MLB.com.