A wild weekend seemed like it would never end, but by the time it did Nebraska (23-11) had taken three of four in New Jersey to right the ship after being swept at home the weekend before.
The Huskers didn’t begin the weekend at Rutgers until Saturday, facing Indiana in a game that went into a 53-minute rain delay after just four innings. With a 4-1 lead and Cade Povich out after to the delay, the bullpen showed continued issues as the Hoosiers immediately took a 5-4 lead.
Both teams tacked on more runs, and with it tied at 6-6 in the ninth, Gunner Hellstrom notched a pinch hit, walk-off single to beat the top team in the Big Ten Conference 7-6.
Spencer Schwellenbach pitched 1.1 innings to earn the win. At the plate, he had a hit, an RBI, and scored a run.
Cam Chick earned the only multi-hit effort on the day for Nebraska, going 2-for-5.
Game one of a Sunday double-header was another close one, but Indiana scored four runs in the first and Nebraska could never get enough hits together to threaten, falling 4-2.
Despite the four spot in the first inning, Shay Schanaman went 5.0 innings. The Huskers only knocked four hits, including a pair from Jaxon Hallmark.
The second game of the double-header was the first of the weekend where Nebraska faced the host team in Rutgers. Once again, a weather delay pushed the game longer than usual.
Despite that delay, the Huskers scored five runs in the sixth inning to take an 8-1 lead. Although the Scarlet Knights would add two in the bottom half of the inning, Nebraska would tack on seven more, including six in the ninth, for the 15-5 victory.
Chance Hroch impressed over 5.2 innings, the final two-thirds coming after the weather delay, to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Nebraska racked up 12 hits, with Hallmark (2-for-5), Luke Roskam (3-for-4), and Max Anderson (2-for-6) all earning multi-hit games. Roskam knocked in six runs, including four on a sixth inning grand slam.
The final game of the series had its own chaos.
With Nebraska leading 6-3 and Rutgers batting in the bottom of the seventh, a snap throw to first saw the Scarlet Knight runner called out. After a short conference by the umpires, Luke Roskam was called for obstruction and the runner was given second base.
After a walk, Rutgers moved the runners up a base on an fielders choice, but the umpires again conferenced when Nebraska coaches pointed out that the bat being used didn’t have a knob at the end, making it illegal. The decision was the batter was out and that the runners then moved back to first and second.
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All that movement was for naught, though, as a three-run home run tied the game at 6-6.
That would remain the score until Griffin Everitt’s two-out single scored Brice Matthews in the top of the 13th inning. Koty Frank worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to earn the save as Nebraska won 7-6.
The Huskers used nine different pitchers on the day, including a 4.0 inning relief effort from Schwellenbach that yielded four hits and no runs while he struck out four.
Despite going scoreless from the 2nd through 12th innings, Nebraska knocked the ball around to the tune of 17 hits on the day. Anderson led the way with a 3-for-6 effort, while Joe Acker, Brice Matthews, and Everitt all added multi-hit showings.
Nebraska remains in the hunt for a Big Ten crown. Indiana leads the league at 23-10, followed by NU at 23-11, then Michigan at 23-12.
The Huskers will look for another solid series when they host Northwestern this weekend.