Champaign, Ill. – The Nebraska baseball team held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when rain put the game into a delay at 3:16 p.m. The teams waited for nearly two hours for the weather to clear, but at 5:07 p.m. the game was called. Since the fifth inning had not been completed, it’s like the game had never been played. The game will not be finished and the Huskers end the regular season with a 34-21 overall record, including a 9-14 Big Ten record.
With the regular season in the books, the Huskers now head to Minneapolis where they will complete in the Big Ten Tournament. The No. 8 seed Huskers will practice at Target Field on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and then will play No. 1 seed Illinois on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m.
Illinois took an early lead with a run in the first and an unearned run in the second. Trailing 2-0, freshman Elijah Dilday got the Huskers doing with a leadoff double in the third and then the Huskers had runners on the corners following a bunt single by Jake Placzek. Ryan Boldt drove in Dilday with sacrifice fly to cut Illinois’ lead in half. Placzek quickly moved to third when he stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Jason Goldstein. With a runner on third and one out, the Huskers couldn’t even the game, as John Kravetz got a shallow pop out from Jake Schleppenbach and a warning-track fly out from Tanner Lubach to end the inning.
Just like the third, the Huskers got a double to start the fourth with Blake Headley delivering a two-bagger. Two batters later Alvarado drove in Headley with a one-out single and Alvarado moved to second on a groundout by Austin Christensen. Dilday came calling again and the freshman stroked a two-out RBI single that gave NU its first lead of the day at 3-2. Placzek followed with another two-out single before Kravetz struck out Boldt looking to end the Husker rally.
Derek Burkamper took the mound in the bottom of the fourth and had a full-count on leadoff batter David Kerian when the game was put into a delay.