Omaha – For the second straight year the No. 20 Nebraska baseball team (40-19) fell to the top-seeded No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers (42-13) in the title game at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two innings, which ended up propelling the Hoosiers to an 8-4 victory over the Huskers.
All-Big Ten Tournament performer Ryan Boldt lead the Huskers on the day, going 3-for-4 at the plate from his leadoff spot, including his ninth double of the season. Tanner Lubach also chipped in a pair of hits to end a spectacular weekend for the junior catcher, has he hit .500 (6-for-12) during the five-day event.
Fans packed TD Ameritrade Park on Sunday to watch the conference championship game, with 19,965 fans passing through the gates. It set a NCAA record for a conference tournament game and was the second-largest crowd to watch a college baseball game in 2014. The largest crowd of the season so far came on May 13 at Turner Field in Atlanta, when 21,310 fans attend a contest between Georgia and Georgia Tech.
The Hoosiers came through with the first big hit of the game, as Dustin DeMuth’s two-out double scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Both runners that scored reached base via a walk, while DeMuth tied an Indiana school record with his 61st career double.
Indiana took a 3-0 lead in the second when NU starter Austin Christensen uncorked a two-out wild pitch that allowed Will Nolden to score. Nolden led off the inning with a base hit.
Nebraska forced IU starter Sullivan Stadler out of the game in the third when Boldt picked up the Huskers’ first hit of the game to put runners on first and second with no outs. Luke Harrison came out of the bullpen and after Jake Placzek moved both runners into scoring position with a sac bunt, Harrison needed to retire Michael Pritchard and Pat Kelly in order. Pritchard hit a hard liner, but it was right to left fielder Brad Hartong, while Kelly grounded out 5-3 to end the inning.
Following back-to-back one-out singles by Lubach and Darby in the fourth, the Huskers were primed to get on the board, but Harrison dug in and got Christensen to fly out before striking out Steven Reveles to strand NU’s fifth and sixth runners of the game.
With three hits through the first four innings, the Huskers got three-straight hits to start the fifth with consecutive singles by Boldt and Placzek, along with a bunt single by Pritchard that loaded the bases. Harrison nearly got a double-play ball off the bat of Kelly, but the ground ball went through Casey Rodrigue’s legs at second base, allowing a pair of runs to score. Headley stepped up with the tying run at third base and grounded into a 3-6-3 double play, but Pritchard crossed home on the play to even the game at 3-3.
Facing the top of IU’s lineup in the bottom of the fifth, NU reliever Bob Greco struck out Rodrigue to start the frame. All-American Kyle Schwarber then gave the Hoosiers the advantage with a solo blast down the right-field line that put IU back in front 4-3. Greco retired Sam Travis and Scott Donley in order to keep the Hoosiers’ lead at one run through five complete.
IU pushed its lead to four runs in the bottom of the sixth, with two of the three runs unearned following a two-out error. After one run crossed the plate, Reveles fumbled a two-out grounder from Rodrigue. Schwarber made it hurt when he followed with a two-RBI single.
The Huskers trimmed Indiana’s four-run lead to a three-run deficit in the seventh, starting with a leadoff double by Boldt, his third hit of the game. The freshman scored three pitches later when he moved to third on a groundball play by Placzek that was followed by a throwing error by shortstop Nick Ramos. IU reliever Jake Kelzer didn’t allow any more damage though, retiring NU’s 3-4-5 hitters in order.
Nebraska had the tying run at the plate in the top of the eighth in Boldt. Kelzer jumped ahead 0-2, before a lightning streak forced a 43-minute rain delay. Following the delay, Kelzer’s first pitch got away from Schwarber for a passed ball, putting both Huskers in scoring position. Boldt tried to pick up his fourth hit of the game with a hard hit up the middle, but Kelzer snagged the grounder to end NU’s threat.
The Huskers now wait to learn where they will be playing in next week’s NCAA Tournament, which will be announced tomorrow during the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Selection/Road to Omaha Show that runs from 11 a.m. to Noon (CT) on ESPNU.
The 16 regional host sites will be announced tonight at around 8 p.m. (CT). The host sites will be shown on the BottomLine of ESPN, as well as @NCAACWS andfacebook.com/NCAACWS.
2014 Big Ten All-Tournament Team
P – Christian Morris, Indiana
P – Aaron Bummer, Nebraska
P – Kyle Kubat, Nebraska
C – Joel Fisher, Michigan State
1B – Dan Olinger, Minnesota
2B – Pat Kelly, Nebraska
2B – Casey Rodrigue, Indiana
3B – Dustin DeMuth, Indiana
SS – Travis Maezes, Michigan
OF – Kyle Schwarber, Indiana
OF – Cam Gibson, Michigan State
OF – Ryan Boldt, Nebraska
DH – Scott Donley, Indiana
Most Outstanding Player: Kyle Schwarber