Lincoln – After having over three inches of standing water on Hawks Field Thursday morning, the Nebraska baseball team (34-17, 9-10 Big Ten) didn’t think it’d be able to host their final home series of the year this weekend against the Purdue Boilermakers (15-34, 2-17 Big Ten). The facility staff worked its magic to get the field ready and the Huskers opened the series at home on Saturday with a 9-6 victory. Nebraska is now tied with Indiana for seventh place in the Big Ten.
Nebraska’s offense pounded out 13 hits off Purdue pitching, as five Huskers had multiple hits on the day. Ryan Boldt led the way with a 3-for-5 performance, his 23rd multi-hit game of the year and his ninth three-hit game on the season. Boldt has now recorded multiple hits in eight-straight games.
Seniors Austin Darby and Tanner Lubach each added a pair of hits, with Darby recording his second home run of the season in the fifth after Lubach led off the frame with a single.
Josh Roeder closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 15th save of the season. Roeder needs one more save this year to match Brett Jensen’s 2005 single-season record of 16 saves.
After Purdue took a 1-0 lead in the first on an unearned run that scored following a pair of NU errors, the Huskers took over with four runs in the second. Darby led off the frame with a walk and then the Huskers reeled off three straight singles. Jake Placzek followed with a sacrifice fly, Boldt delivered NU’s fourth hit of the inning and Blake Headley added a sacrifice fly to give NU a three-run cushion.
Purdue cut Nebraska’s lead to one with a run in both the fourth and fifth, but Darby gave NU’s pitching staff some breathing room with his two-run shot into the visitor’s bullpen in right field in the bottom of the fifth.
The Boilermakers threatened again in the seventh with one run and had the tying runs on base, but Colton Howell took the mound and retired Brandon Krieg with one pitch to end the rally. The Huskers pushed three runs across in the bottom of the frame on just one hit, a two-out double by Jake Schleppenbach that scored Darby. Schleppenbach then scored on a two-out error by left fielder Brett Carlson, who dropped a fly ball off the bat of Placzek.
Facing a 9-4 deficit in the eighth, the Boilermakers kept fighting and scored two runs, but had no chance against Roeder in the ninth. The senior struck out the first two batters he faced and ended the game with a fly out to Darby in right field.
The Huskers and Boilermakers continue their three-game series tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. The Huskers will honor their seven seniors prior to the game.