Nebraska entered Rocky Miller Park with one of the best batting orders in the Big Ten. The Wildcats put a halt to that this weekend, holding the Cornhuskers to just 12 runs during their three-game series.
After dropping its home opener, Northwestern (10-15, 3-3 Big Ten) took the next two games to win the series, defeating Nebraska 8-4 on Saturday and 6-1 on Sunday.
“This team’s morale has been the same, win or lose,” coach Paul Stevens said. “We had a lot of good things go on in the loss on Friday, and they just found a way to keep building on it on Saturday and then carry it over into (Sunday), so I don’t sit there and say that this team has changed its attitude or approach. I just like how things are starting to fall into place.”
Everything fell into place for NU’s pitching staff, with all three starters lasting at least six innings for the Cats. Redshirt junior Zach Morton and freshman Brandon Magallones both made it into the final frame.
Perhaps their work was best exemplified through the trials and tribulations of Cornhuskers shortstop Chad Christensen, who entered the weekend with a near-.400 mark at the plate. The Cats’ cadre of pitchers flummoxed Christensen, holding him to a mere single while striking him out six times.
“Any time you have an opportunity to keep pounding the zone and not put people on by walks or hit by pitch or things of that nature and make people earn it, that’s a key,” Stevens said. “That’s what our pitchers did, for the most part, all weekend. We made them put the ball in play and we made the plays.”
While NU executed in the field, committing just two errors all weekend long, Nebraska (19-11, 3-3) did not. Despite nine fewer hits on Saturday than they had on Friday, the Cats were able to produce far more runs than the Cornhuskers, with a generous assist from the Nebraska defense. The Cats batted around in the third inning and nearly repeated the feat in the fourth and sixth innings, riding six Cornhuskers errors to victory.
Meanwhile, Magallones was sterling on the mound, lasting into the ninth inning before succumbing to the Cornhuskers’ potent offense. He set the side down in order in five of his eight innings of work and never faced more than five batters in an inning. He surrendered just four hits and three earned runs, while recording 10 strikeouts.
In particular, Magallones made effective use of his curveball, which was a cause for concern entering the weekend.
“I felt real comfortable with it,” Magallones said. “It was one of my better pitches. I threw all of my pitches for strikes, which helped a lot, but having a third pitch to throw for a strike, it really messes with the batters.”
A late rally gave Nebraska some hope in the game’s final frame, but with the tying run on deck, sophomore reliever Kyle Ruchim struck out Kale Kiser looking to secure the victory for Magallones. The freshman has now won his first five starts for the Cats.
While Magallones went deep in several counts in Saturday’s win, Morton worked quickly through Nebraska’s lineup on Sunday. The redshirt junior didn’t give up a base runner until the fourth inning and ultimately faced just 35 batters in his complete-game effort.
“From the scouting reports, we knew they were going to be aggressive,” Morton said. “It was fine with me. I like swinging, and they were putting it into the ground and guys were making plays, so quick innings.”
While the Cats recorded just six hits on Saturday, they responded with 12 hits on Sunday, including a four-for-four performance from reserve infielder Colby Everett. Left fielder Jack Havey chipped in with a deep blast over the left-field fence, while third baseman Nick Linne extended NU’s lead to 6-1 with a sinking line drive to left field.
“This was a huge win to win this series and go to 3-3,” Magallones said. “It evens out the playing field. (It) puts us at a good spot.”
NU will be back at Rocky Miller Park next weekend to take on a Purdue team that has the best overall record in the Big Ten, although the Boilermakers (20-5, 4-2) were flattened by the Nittany Lions on Sunday by a margin of 16-6.
