Waldron makes triumphant return in game one of doubleheader

Just less than one month ago, Matt Waldron was strangely scratched from his Sunday start against Illinois, telling the Nebraska coaches just about 30 minutes before first pitch that his shoulder felt sore.

The reliable freshman had been absent since but reminded the Huskers how valuable he's been to the team Saturday. Waldron submitted six strong innings and NU (27-16, 8-6) used an offensive explosion in the middle innings to take game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Rutgers 8-1.

"They were a little shell-shocked (from Friday's walk-off loss) early on," Darin Erstad said during his postgame appearance on the Husker Sports Network. "It took a little prodding to get them going, but we just needed a spark. We needed something like that to get some guys on base and get that activity going. I expect them to come out and play hard and now we have to finish out the deal here."

Making his first appearance since April 3, Waldron showed no signs of rust. He threw 49 of his 77 pitches for strikes, allowing one run on six hits and a single walk. Waldron struck out four and kept the Scarlet Knights off the board for the first five innings.

"He's been out for a couple of weeks, but he did a nice job of pounding his fastball and slider early in the count," Erstad said. "He did a really nice job."

It looked like Nebraska would need everything it could get out of Waldron as the Huskers' offensive struggles continued early in the contest. Averaging just 3.3 runs over its last 11 games, NU had only one hit in the first four frames.

But things turned in the fifth, when the Huskers loaded the bases with no outs. Steven Reveles knocked in a run with a single, but Jake Placzek and Ryan Boldt both flew out to shallow left, not deep enough to bring in the runner from third.

Luckily the heart of the order was able to pick up the pair of struggling seniors. Jake Meyers and Ben Miller combined to bring home three runs with a pair of two-out singles, then Meyers came in himself on a wild pitch, giving NU a much-needed five-run inning.

But the Huskers weren't done. Nebraska scored twice in the sixth on an RBI single by Placzek and a sacrifice fly by Boldt, making it 7-0 and essentially putting the game on ice.

"There was a collective big sigh in the dugout," Erstad said. "We're obviously struggling offensively so it was good to put some hits together."

The Scarlet Knights finally got to Waldron in the sixth, scoring on a two-out single by Tom Marcinczyk. Robbie Palkert took over from there, shutting Rutgers out over the final three innings, giving up five hits but consistently wiggling out of damage.

The Huskers had just nine hits but used them efficiently. They hit 8-for-17 (.471) with runners on base and were 5-for-14 (.357) with two outs.

Meyers will take the mound for game two later Saturday afternoon.

***After batting leadoff for the past 39 games, Boldt was moved to the No. 2 hole in the order to try and help him break a 3-for-33 slump. The move didn't help - Boldt went 0-for-4, though he did drive in a run with a sacrifice fly.

***Placzek struck out twice, brining his team-leading total to 36.

***Meyers extended his hitting streak to seven games.

***Catcher Jesse Wilkening stole the first base of his career in the eighth inning.