Another sterling pitching performance by Ty Horn and just enough offense propelled Nebraska baseball to a 4-1 win over Holy Cross Saturday in the elimination bracket of NCAA Regionals in Chapel Hill, N.C. The win boosts the Cornhuskers’ record to 33-28, while ending the Crusaders’ season at 31-27.
Horn (4-4), who pitched eight shutout innings last Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament championship game against UCLA, threw 7.1 strong innings on Saturday, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out six. Luke Broderick came on in the eighth, struggled to find his command early, but induced an inning-ending double play to turn Holy Cross away in the eighth, then sat down the Crusaders 1-2-3 in the ninth to grab his 13th save.
Nebraska had runners on in each of the first four innings, and even left the bases loaded without scoring in the third. But Holy Cross broke the scoreless tie in the fifth when Sean Scanlon hammered a home run to right. But the Huskers responded in the bottom of the fifth. Riley Silva doubled to left, then Cayden Brumbaugh homered to left to give NU a 2-1 lead. Hogan Helligso led off the seventh with a home run to left to push the lead to 3-1.
The Crusaders mounted their biggest threat in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Holy Cross loaded the bases with two hit batters and a walk. But Chris Baillargeon hit a ground ball to the shortstop, and Dylan Carey triggered a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Rhett Stokes sparked a two-out rally with a double to left. Helligso drove him in with a single to right to post an insurance run.
Nunez led the Husker lineup by hitting 4-for-4 with two doubles, while Helligso drove in two runs and was 2-for-3 with a homer from the No. 9 spot in the NU order.
Nebraska extends its season to Sunday, where the Huskers will take on the loser of Saturday night’s matchup between Oklahoma and North Carolina in the elimination bracket. Pregame coverage will begin at 10:30 a.m., with first pitch at 11 a.m. on KLIN.