Nebraska picked up its largest win since 2019 with a dominant 16-0 rout against Nicholls on Saturday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (12-5) totaled 16 runs on 11 hits, while Nicholls (17-5) had no runs, four hits and two errors.
Will Walsh went 3-for-3 for the Huskers, setting career-highs for hits (3), runs (3) and RBI (5). Rhett Stokes finished 3-for-4, tallying his fifth consecutive three-hit game at Haymarket Park to open the home slate.
Gabe Swansen launched a three-run home run, while Case Sanderson and Riley Silva each drove in a pair of runs. Cayden Brumbaugh, Joshua Overbeek and Garrett Anglim all recorded hits for the Big Red.
Brett Sears improved to 3-0 on the season, allowing three hits across a scoreless six innings. The right-hander recorded his fourth straight quality start, posting a 1.38 ERA (4 ER in 26.0 IP) over that span with 27 strikeouts.
Jalen Worthley tossed the final three innings, earning the first save of his collegiate career. The southpaw tied for his longest outing of the season, retiring nine of 10 batters faced.
Nicholls threatened early with a pair of walks and a single to load the bases with two outs in the opening frame. Sears eluded the damage with a two-out strikeout to keep the visitors off the board.
The Huskers needed just one hit to plate five runs in the bottom of the first to leap out to a 5-0 lead. Walks to Silva and Cole Evans and a hit by pitch to Overbeek loaded the bases for the Big Red with one out. Overbeek scored the game’s first run after Anglim was plunked on a 1-2 pitch.
Walsh lifted a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a 331-foot grand slam to grow the NU lead to five. Walsh’s grand slam is the first by a Husker since Griffin Everitt at Maryland last season.
Sears retired the Colonels in order in the second, while Silva’s sacrifice bunt after consecutive singles from Stokes and Brumbaugh stretched the lead to six in the bottom of the second.
The NU offense erupted for five runs on five hits and a Nicholls error to blow the game open with an 11-run advantage. Walsh’s RBI double to right-center began the scoring in the inning for the Huskers after Caron and Anglim reached on a walk and single, respectively.
Stokes kept it rolling in the third with a two-RBI single up the middle, while RBI singles from Silva and Overbeek extended the lead to 11.
Sanderson drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth to add to the Husker lead, before the Big Red plated four runs on two hits and a Colonel error to make it a 16-run game.
Evans was plunked and Caron drew a four-pitch walk to open the bottom of the fifth, while Swansen drilled a three-run shot to right-center for his first homer of the season. Sanderson reached on a fielder’s choice later in the inning to plate Walsh and grow the lead to 16-0.
Nebraska and Nicholls wrap up the weekend series today at 12:05 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
