Recap: @NCBearsBaseball Extends Win Streak to Six, Defeats Nebraska

Tuesday, March 13

Lincoln, Neb.

12:35 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

11-5

University of Nebraska

9-7

Northern Colorado

Nebraska

3/13/2018 7:11:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Northern Colorado baseball continued its six-game win streak with a 6-3 win over Nebraska Tuesday

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

LINCOLN, Neb. – Northern Colorado baseball kept the momentum rolling on the road, as they beat Nebraska Tuesday afternoon 6-3 at Haymarket Park. The win extends the team's win streak to six and moves their record to 11-5 on the year.

UNC jumped out to an early lead and came through with clutch hitting late to take down the Huskers on Tuesday, along with key pitching. It didn't take the Bears long to get on the board, as Cole Maltese hit his third long fly of the season in the top of the first. Northern Colorado's offense set the tone early, showing they were not going to back down to the Big Ten pitching of Nebraska by loading the bases following the home run. The team left them loaded with the message was sent.

Northern Colorado used a plethora of arms on Tuesday as Karvar Pate and Austin Bergdahl combined to pitch over the first five innings allowing just two hits and no runs to Nebraska. The duo whiffed six Huskers and walked just two during that time.

The Bears put two more runs up in the fifth, as Tyler Yamaguchi came up with the big two-out hit to score Evan Johnson and Jack Pauley. Johnson and Pauley had led off the inning with a walk and single and moved into scoring position with a bunch from Brett Minnick. A throwing error by Nebraska's shortstop Brison Cornenbold allowed Yamaguchi to reach on a fielder's choice and the two runs to score.

Nebraska, quickly tied the game up in the bottom of the sixth when the first four batters reached safely to even the game at 3. It would stay that way until the eighth inning when the Bears struck again.

Matt Burkart and Yamaguchi each walked to leadoff the inning. Alex Kiel handled the bat well to advance the two on a sacrifice bunt and Lawson hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Burkart.

In the ninth, UNC added a pair of insurance runs on a wild pitch and passed ball to extend the lead to 6-3. Connor Leedholm came in during the eighth inning and kept the Huskers offense off the board, including a 1-2-3 ninth.

Game Changer
Cole Maltese got things started for Northern Colorado in the batter's box on Tuesday and his trend-setting kept throughout the game. Maltese went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and solo home run.

Stat to Know
The Bears pitching did a good job of keeping Nebraska from stringing together much of a rally, holding the Cornhuskers to five hits over the nine innings.

Game Notes
- The win snaps a six-game losing streak for UNC against Nebraska. The last time Northern Colorado beat the Huskers was in 2014 with a 9-2 decision.
- Jack Pauley is starting to come alive for the Bears as he went 3-for-5 with a run scored.
- Corey Nakakura picked up his second win of the year, while Connor Leedholm secured his fourth save.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado and Nebraska will close out its mid-week series tomorrow at 12:35 pm at Haymarket Park. The Bears will then head to UC Davis for a three-game series this weekend against the Mustangs.
To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.