Huskers Hammer Wildcats, 11-1

Lincoln – Nebraska’s offense plated 11 runs on 11 hits, while the pitching staff limited the Kansas State Wildcats to one run on three hits in an 11-1 Husker victory on Tuesday night at Hawks Field. The Huskers are now 8-2 over their last 10 games and 13-10 on the year heading into Big Ten play this weekend at Indiana, while the Wildcats fell to 15-10 on the season.

14 different Huskers got an at-bat on Tuesday night, with Angelo Altavilla and Ben Miller each recording a pair of hits. Altavilla and Jake Schleppenbach each doubled, while freshman Luke Roskam hit his first home run as a Husker.

On a scheduled short start Matt Waldron didn’t allow a hit over 3.0 shutout innings. The sophomore right hander walked two and struck out two. Four relievers worked behind Waldron and combined to allow on run on three hits and one walk.

Waldron retired the Wildcats in order to start the game and then NU’s offense scored six runs, thanks to KSU starter Caleb Littlejim’s inability to throw strikes. The Wildcat freshman walked each of the first three batters he faced and then hit Scott Schreiber, plating the game’s first run. Miller followed with a RBI single and the Wildcats went to reliever Kasey Ford. With the bases loaded and no out, Ford was welcomed by a RBI single from Luis Alvarado, making it 3-0 Huskers. Ford got consecutive outs and was one strike away from ending the frame, but with a 2-2 count Schleppenbach roped a two-RBI double to the right-center-field gap, and an error on the play also allowed Jesse Wilkening to score. Mojo Hagge stepped in for his second at-bat of the inning and Ford was finally able to stop the bleeding with a strikeout, but not before the Huskers jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

The Huskers threatened against in the third when a leadoff single by Miller and a one-out single by Mike Waldron put two runners on. Ford stranded both runners and kept the Husker lead at 6-0 with a pair of fly outs

The Wildcats were held hitless through the first four innings and nearly the first five, but Jake Wodtke broke up the no hitter with a two-out single in the top of the fifth. Reece Eddins went right back to work and stranded him at first with an inning-ending 5-3 groundout.

Kansas State broke up the shutout the following inning when it cashed in a leadoff walk. Eddins walked No. 9 hitter Josh Ethier to start the sixth and he later scored on a RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Jake Scudder.

The Huskers got the run back in the bottom of the sixth and added another, pushing their lead to 8-1. Both runs scored with two outs, with the first coming in on a RBI single by Hagge. Hagge later scored on following a pair of wild pitches from reliever Colton Kalmus.

Nebraska added a run in the seventh and then two more in the eighth, including a pinch-hit solo home run by Roskam with two out in the eighth.

The Huskers open Big Ten play this weekend with a three-game series at Indiana. The series opener is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (CT) on Friday and it will be shown live on BTN.