Kenny Larabee, NRG Media
Lockdown pitching by Carson Jasa and J’Shawn Unger and solo home runs in the eighth inning by Dylan Carey and Jett Buck propelled Nebraska to a 4-1 win over South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA regional Friday at Hawks Field in Lincoln, the first NCAA games played in Lincoln since 2008.
Jasa (10-2) pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just five hits and one run. Unger took over from there to earn his 13th save of the season, throwing 2.2 shutout innings of relief.
It wasn’t easy for the Cornhuskers (43-15). Three straight hits to start the bottom of the fourth inning knocked South Dakota State pitcher Sam Schlecht (4-5) out of the game. Buck doubled to left, then moved to third when Joshua Overbeek singled to left. Trey Fikes singled to right to score Buck and get Nebraska on the board, moving Overbeek to second, ending Schlecht’s outing. Ty Madison entered the game for the Jacks, and Rhett Stokes bunted Overbeek to third. Mac Moyer grounded out to second to drive in Overbeek to push the NU lead to 2-0.
But Madison locked down the Huskers offense from there, allowing just one hit over the next three innings. Meanwhile, the Jackrabbits solved Jasa in the seventh. After Jasa plunked Carter Taylor with a pitch, Dayton Franke singled to right, moving Taylor to third. Keagan Jirschele tried to bunt in the run, but Jasa threw home in time to retire Taylor for the first out. Jasa fell down in the count 2-0 to the next hitter, Nic Werk, and was lifted mid-at bat. Unger entered and allowed a single to left, but Franke was thrown out by Buck at the plate trying to score from second. With two outs, Owen Siegert singled to left to drive in SDSU’s first run, but after Unger walked Grawe to load the bases, Nate Wachter struck out swinging to end the threat.
Nerves were still high until the eighth, when Carey belted a homer to left to lead off the inning. With two outs, Buck crushed a drive to right to push the lead to three. That capped a phenomenal day for Buck, in which he was 2-for-4 with a home run and an outfield assist at the plate. Carey was also top-notch, 3-for-3 at the plate.
The Huskers now prepare for a winner’s bracket game Saturday night against the winner of Ole Miss and Arizona State. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning on KLIN with the Jack and Friends Regional Road Show presented by Ambassador Health in Lincoln, live from the Wolfe Electric RV at 5:30 p.m, before the Huskers Radio Network takes over with its pregame at 6:30 p.m.