Nebraska Baseball Secures Series Over Grand Canyon University with Resilient 10-8 Victory (2024)

After the dust up between the two teams last night following the Lopes win, you had to figure emotions would run high in the series finale, and whomever could manage those in a productive way would be the winner.

It sure seemed like Nebraska came out fired up and ready to play after the events of the night prior. Dylan Carey hit yet another double in the first inning and was brought in by Josh Caron’s 10th RBI of the series to give Nebraska the 1-0 lead. After GCU tied it up in the bottom of the inning, Nebraska got right back to work in the 2nd. Garret Anglim hit an infield single, was bunted over to 2nd, stole 3rd, and came home on a balk by the Lopes freshman starting pitcher. Nebraska led 2-0 after 2 innings, but were far from done.

The third inning started with Riley Silva getting hit (shocking, I know.). It was the 5th time he’d been hit over the weekend, though this time was right in the ankle bone. He was on the ground for quite some time, but remained in the game. The Huskers quickly hit into two outs, but then really got to work. Ty Stone hit an RBI single, and then Garret Anglim looked like he was going to end the inning with a groundout, the the GCU short stop threw wild, allowing the inning to continue.

After a walk loaded the bases, a wild pitch reached the backstop, allowing Stone to score. Cole Evans than hit a 2 RBI single. After a Rhett Stokes single, GCU threw another wild pitch that the catcher gathered in and threw into center field trying to nab the runner. That allowed Evans to jog home, and Stokes to head to third. Cayden Brumbaugh continued his hot weekend with an RBI single, and after all was said and done, Nebraska had a commanding 8-1 lead going to the middle of the third inning.

GCU clawed back, with first baseman Zach Yorke driving in a run in the bottom of the 3rd. Then a double and RBIS single in the 4th, brought it back to an 8-3 game. Then Husker starting pitcher Caleb Clark gave way to Tucker Timmerman in the bottom of the 5th. Thats where things went sideways for Nebraska, as Timmerman did not have his usual command of multiple pitches.

Timmerman hit his first batter, then threw a wild pitch and walked the next batter to load the bases. Despite that showing, the coaching staff left him in there. The next batter drove hit an RBI single, making the score 8-4. Three pitches later, GCU left fielder Tyler Wilson hit a grand slam to tie the game 8-8. Wilson was ejected following the play as he carried his bat all the way to first base and then tossed it high into the air.

Nebraska turned to pitcher Jalen Worthley after that, and all he did was retire 9 of the next 11 batters he faced. The only problem was that the Husker offense was similarly in a rut.

It took until the 8th inning for the stalemate to finally end. Cayden Brumbaugh led off the inning with a single, and was bunted over to second by Riley Silva. Dylan Carey was then hit by a pitch. Josh Caron hit behind the runners, moving them over to 2nd and 3rd base, as he was out at first. GCU then switched pitchers, and pitch number 2 went right between the catchers legs to the backstop. Brumbaugh raced in to score, and Dylan Carey advanced to third.

As the at bat progressed Carey saw an opportunity in how lackadaisical the ball was being thrown back to the pitcher from the catcher. He crept further down the line, until he was nearly halfway, and bolted for home the second he saw the catcher begin his throwing motion. The pitcher threw the ball back as fast as he could, but Carey had already stolen home, and put Nebraska up 10-8.

The Huskers used a combination of 4 pitchers to get through the final 2 innings. Brown grad transfer Bobby Olson came in first and had mixed success, needing Tulane transfer Grant Cleavinger to finish off the 8th. Then UNO transfer Rans Sanders got the first out of the 9th, and Kyle Perry came in to face a couple lefties, and gave up a double to left center, before getting a groundout to preserve the hard fought win, and the 3-1 series victory.

That was a great series win against a team that will more than likely be in the NCAA tournament, especially once their freshmen pitchers progress through the season. Husker bats were opportunistic, pitching had one bad inning, but was otherwise more than good enough to win, and fielding was solid and even spectacular sometimes…

Some guys did not have their best series from the plate, but the depth of the team was on full display this series. Last year if one or two of the stars were off, the team had trouble with the Summit League teams, doesn’t feel like that will be the case this year.

Nebraska next heads to College of Charleston for a 4 game series starting Thursday, February 29th. CofC is coming off a couple of strong years, and is 7-0 so far in 2024, sweeping Marshall in a 4 game series and Youngstown St in a 3 game series. Two teams that are really not good at baseball currently. Should be an interesting series. Look for Corn Nation’s preview of the series later this week!