Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
No. 24 Nebraska baseball finished its regular season with a 14-11 slugfest win over Minnesota Saturday in Minneapolis. The win completed a three-game sweep for the Cornhuskers over the Golden Gophers and continued to strengthen Nebraska’s case to host an NCAA regional.
The Huskers (41-14, 23-7 Big Ten) led 4-0 through one-and-a-half innings. After Minnesota (30-23, 11-19 Big Ten) tallied three in the bottom of the second, Nebraska scored four in the third and three in the fourth to push the lead to 11-3. After the Gophers scored one in the fourth and two in the fifth to cut the Huskers’ lead to 11-6, NU scored in the sixth to make it 12-6. Minnesota scored four in the sixth to draw within 12-10, but Nebraska scored a pair in the seventh to push the lead to 14-10. The Gophers scored one in the seventh, but drew no closer.
Jett Buck was 3-for-5 with four RBI, a double and a homer, while Case Sanderson was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI. All nine Huskers either had a hit or scored a run. Nebraska closed the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
The Huskers will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha. Nebraska has a bye through the double-elimination bracket and will begin play Friday at a time to be determined, though the game will be carried on KLIN.