The Husker baseball team shocked everybody in the college baseball world this past weekend taking down the Vanderbilt Commodores by a score of five to three in their opening game of the Cambria College Classic.
Nebraska took a 1-0 lead in the second but should have come away with more in the frame. Leaving the bases loaded almost immediately came back to bite them as the Commodores hit back-to-back solo shots in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. After another solo bomb by the commodores, the Huskers responded with an RBI double from Casey Burnham to cut the deficit to one. Nebraska followed this by tying the game on a passed ball during the next at-bat.
A clutch home run by Garrett Anglim, and an insurance run driven in by Brice Matthews in the eighth proved the difference on the scoreboard in upsetting the number seven Commodores. Though, the performance out of the bullpen by Shay Schanaman may have been what won the Huskers the game.
In the season’s opening series against San Diego, the Huskers could not close out games. Their bullpen struggled and was a major reason Nebraska could not get in the win column.
Schanaman gave up six runs in his three innings of work during that opening weekend series. However, he was much better on Friday against arguably a more talented team in Vanderbilt. At times making the Commodore hitters look like they were guessing what pitch was coming next. Schanaman only gave up one hit in his three innings of work and did not give away any free passes in route to picking up the win.
Riding high, this performance helped springboard the team to a 12-3 win over Hawaii. Setting up a meeting with last season’s national champion Ole Miss Rebels. Unfortunately, the Rebels jumped on the Huskers in the first, taking an 8-0 lead. Even though Nebraska showed some life by fighting back to make it an 8-4 game, in the end, they couldn’t compete with the Rebels’ offensive fire-power. The Huskers fell by a score of 14 to 5.
After an impressive weekend, the Huskers look to get back in the win column as they head back to Lincoln for their first home series of the year against Northern Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday.
