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Huskers' offense disappears as Nebraska is swept in doubleheader

Luis Alvarado reached base four times and scored NU's lone run in the second game.
Luis Alvarado reached base four times and scored NU's lone run in the second game. ()

Darin Erstad always preaches that each day is its own individual event, that one day's events do not affect the next.

Nebraska's performance Saturday certainly backs up his words.

After roughing up Chris Mathewson, a 2015 Freshman All-American, and Long Beach State for 15 hits in a 9-2 victory Friday night, the Huskers' offense completely dried up in Saturday's doubleheader. Nebraska dropped game one 1-0 in 13 innings, then fell 3-1 to the Dirtbags in the nightcap.

"That's going to be something that happens. The hits aren't going to come," Erstad said on the Husker Sports Network. "They pitched well and they got us out of our approach. We started to get a little frustrated and they got us thinking inside a little bit and they got us fishing too much on the outside corner.

"We had situations where we could have scored some runs. But we got carved up."

The Huskers are now 3-6 this season.

Nebraska can't blame its low run total on lack of opportunities. The Huskers had three doubles and put a man on second with no outs in both the seventh and eighth innings but were unable to push them across. Luis Alvarado singled and Steven Reveles was hit by a pitch with one out in the ninth, but Ryan Boldt grounded into a game-ending double play.

NU's lone run came in the fifth when Boldt brought Luis Alvarado home with a sacrifice fly.

Making his first career start, Matt Waldron worked through the offense's early struggles, facing the minimum through three innings. But he gave up a run in the fourth, then gave up a two-run blast in the fifth.

Garett King, Robbie Palkert and Jeff Chesnut came in and submitted three scoreless innings, but the bats couldn't do their part.

"We pitched very well and we defended for the most part OK," Erstad said. "If we pitch like that and play defense like that, the hitting is going to be just fine. This is one of those things where we learn that if we get outside of what we're trying to do, it can be very difficult to score runs."

The offense's disappearance seemingly came from nowhere. Though Long Beach State boasts a strong pitching staff, Nebraska figured to be able to plate some runs. The Huskers entered the game hitting .317 as a team with a strong .506 slugging percentage.

But the success NU experienced in its first seven games eluded them Saturday and the Huskers finished the weekend with a 1-2 record for the third straight time.

The Huskers return to Haymarket Park Tuesday for their next game, a matchup with Northern Colorado at 1:35 p.m.

Around the horn

***Scott Schreiber, who has been dealing with an arm issue, played in the field for the first base since the opening weekend. Schreiber had been the team's designated hitter with Ben Miller assuming first-base duties over the past five games.

***King, who was dropped from the weekend rotation after a pair of rough starts, pitched a perfect sixth inning. He figures to start one of Nebraska's two midweek games this week.

***Jake Meyers, who was off to a scorching start at the plate to begin the season, went 0-for-9 in Saturday's games.

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