Clemson, S.C. – The 2016 Nebraska baseball season came to an end on Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C., with a 4-1 loss to the Western Carolina Catamounts (31-30). The Huskers ended the season with a 37-22 record and made their second NCAA Regional appearance in the last three seasons. Nebraska had scoring opportunities all afternoon, but was unable to get the hit it needed, while also hitting into five double plays.
Saturday’s game was delayed twice due to weather. First with two outs in the bottom of the fifth there was a 61-minute delay due to lighting. Rain then entered the Clemson area in the top of the eighth and the game was delay for 64 minutes
Sophomore Jake Meyers worked 5.0 innings for the Huskers and didn’t come out for the sixth following the lengthy weather delay. In his ninth start of the season Meyers allowed a run on six hits and three walks, while striking out three.
Western Carolina senior Taylor Durand worked out of multiple threats in his 4.0 innings on the mound Saturday. Durant walked six Huskers, but allowed just one unearned run on two hits. In each of the first two innings Nebraska had the bases loaded against Durant with only one out, but each time the left hander escaped with no runs crossing the plate. A pair of WCU reliever combined for 5.0 shutout innings.
The Catamounts took a 1-0 lead in the first, cashing in a leadoff walk. Garrett Brown started the game with a walk and Brett Pope followed with a single, but Meyers responded with a 4-6-3 double play. Matt Smith then delivered a two-out RBI single before Meyers ended the frame with his first strikeout.
Nebraska was in position to answer in the bottom of the first when Durand walked Jake Placzek and Ryan Boldt to start the frame, and both were quickly in scoring position following a sacrifice bunt by Meyers. Durand then walked Ben Miller to load the bases with one out, but left them loaded by striking out Taylor Fish and getting a pop up off the bat of Steven Reveles.
Durand retired NU’s leadoff batter in the second, but then issued three straight walks to again load the bases. But for the second straight inning Durand got out of the jam, as he got Boldt to line out to second baseman Nobu Suzuki and Jake Schleppenbach was doubled off at second base to end the inning with WCU leading 1-0.
The Catamounts started a threat in the fourth when they got a leadoff single and a walk, but Meyers got Caleb Robinson to line into a double play, quickly putting two outs on the board. Meyers ended the frame with a 5-3 ground out.
After failing to score in its first 12 innings of the Clemson Regional, the Husker offense evened the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the fourth. Reveles lead off the frame with NU’s first hit of the game and then took second on a throwing error by Pope when the WCU shortstop tried to double off Reveles on a lineout by Luis Alvarado. Durand got Cole Klemke to pop out, but couldn’t strand Reveles as Schleppenbach came through with a RBI single. NU’s lineup rolled over, but it didn’t get a chance to continue the inning, as Schleppenbach was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.
Western Carolina went to left hander Brendan Nail in the bottom of the fifth and Placzek started the frame with a single, but the bases were soon empty following a 4-6-3 double play. Meyers followed with a two-out single before the game was put into a 61-minute delay. When action started back up, Nail got Miller to pop up to end the fifth.
Reece Eddins took over in the top of the sixth and quickly retired the first two Catamounts he faced. WCU then put together a two-out rally, stringing together three straight single, including a RBI single from Andrew Bullock that put WCU back in front, 2-1. With the Catamounts looking for more, Jesse Wilkening picked off Bullock at first base to end the frame.
Nebraska got the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the bottom of the sixth when Reveles worked a one-out walk and Alvarado followed with a single. The inning quickly end though, as Klemke bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.
The Huskers again had a threat with one out in the seventh when they had runners on the corners following a fielding error by Suzuki at second. Meyers stepped in and hit a hard ground ball down the first base line where Smith fielded it, touch first and tagged Boldt for WCU’s fourth double play of the day.
Smith worked a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth and moved to second on a passed ball. With Danny Bermudez at the plate Eddins got ahead 1-2 before officials delayed the game for rain. Following a 64-minute rain delay Jeff Chesnut struck out Bermudez, but then uncorked a wild pitch that moved Smith to third with one out. With the Husker infield drawn in, Kramer Ferrell snuck a ground ball up the middle for a RBI single, pushing WCU’s lead to 3-1. Chesnut gave up another single before striking out Bullock, but couldn’t limit the damage to one run as pinch-hitter Reece Strong came through with a RBI single that extended the lead to 4-1. Freshman Chad Luensmann took over ended the frame with a ground out.
Nebraska got a runner on with one down in the eighth when Wilkening was hit-by-pitch, but for the third straight inning the Huskers hit into an inning-ending double play.
Luensmann kept the Catamounts off the board in the ninth, but NU’s offense went down in order it’s final at bat of 2016.