The Nebraska baseball team scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth finish off a doubleheader sweep of Maine, completing a three-game series sweep of the Black Bears and an undefeated homestand for the Cornhuskers. After Nebraska (14-5) beat Maine (2-16) in game one, 6-3, the Huskers came back to beat the Black Bears, 8-7.
The Huskers got out to a hot start in game one. Jett Buck drove in a run with a single to left in the first inning. Then in the second, Jeter Worthley singled to center to drive in a run and double the lead. Mac Moyer followed with an RBI double to score Worthley to boost the Nebraska lead to 3-0. A RBI single by Devin Nunez in the third pushed the lead to 4-0. Juju Stevens cut the Huskers’ lead in half with a two-run home run to left to make it 4-2. Two more runs by NU in the sixth grew the lead to 6-2. Maine tallied a run in the top of the seventh, but drew no closer.
The No. 1 hitter Moyer and the No. 9 hitter Worthley led the Huskers’ offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and 3-for-4 with an RBI, respectively. Carson Jasa (3-1) earned the win, striking out 10 while walking two in 6.2 innings pitched.
In game two, Nebraska jumped to a 1-0 lead in the second with Josh Overbeek homering to right. But in the top of the sixth, the Black Bears exploded for seven runs, putting the Huskers down 7-1. Nebraska scored a run in the seventh and one in the eighth to cut the deficit to 7-3. Then in the bottom of the ninth, an error, a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases ahead of Case Sanderson, who singled in two runs with a single to right-center. Buck singled in a run to cut Maine’s lead to 7-6. Overbeek drew a walk to load the bases. Then with one out, Rhett Stokes drove a two-run single to right-center, winning the game for Nebraska. It was the Huskers’ second walk-off win in the three game series.
Sanderson led the Nebraska offense in the nightcap, hitting 3-for-5 with three RBI. Buck, Overbeek and Stokes all had two hits each. Jalen Worthley (1-0) threw 1.1 innings of shutout ball to earn the win in relief.
The win was the Huskers’ ninth in a row, and completed the homestand 9-0. Nebraska returns to action Tuesday at Wichita State. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., with pregame coverage at 5:30 p.m. on KLIN.