Story by NU Athletic Communications
Gabe Swansen went 3-for-4 at the plate and matched his career high with six RBI, as No. 24 Nebraska knocked off No. 16 Vanderbilt with a 6-4 win at the MLB Desert Invitational on Saturday night at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Huskers (1-1) scored six runs on eight hits, while the Commodores (1-1) tallied four runs on seven hits.
Swansen doubled twice and homered for the first time this season while driving in a career-high six runs for the third time in his Husker career. Cayden Brumbaugh was 2-for-5 with a double, while Joshua Overbeek recorded a triple on the night. Case Sanderson scored a team-high two runs, and the sophomore joined Riley Silva with NU’s other two hits on Saturday.
Ty Horn allowed three runs on four hits across four innings in the start. The sophomore struck out a career-high six batters and issued a pair of walks in the no-decision. Jalen Worthley picked up the victory after pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in relief to maintain the lead for the Huskers. Tucker Timmerman tossed 2.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out a pair. Luke Broderick collected the save in his Husker debut after tossing a scoreless ninth inning with a punchout.
The Huskers raced out to a three-run lead in the opening frame behind a pair of base hits. Brumbaugh led off the evening with a single up the middle, while walks to Max Buettenback and Dylan Carey loaded the bases for the Big Red with no outs.
Swansen came through for the NU offense, hammering an 0-2 breaking pitch to the wall in left-center for a bases-clearing RBI double to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead.
The Commodores answered immediately with two runs of their own to make it a 3-2 game after the first. A leadoff homer plated the first run, while a pair of doubles into the right-center alley trimmed the Big Red’s lead to one.
Sanderson reached on a one-out single to left in the top of the third, before Swansen ripped an RBI double down the left-field line for his fourth RBI on the night to double the lead to 4-2 for the Huskers.
Horn drew a groundout and collected his career-high fifth and sixth punchouts of the night in the bottom of the fourth to maintain Nebraska’s 4-2 lead through four innings of play.
Vandy capitalized on a trio of walks in the bottom of the fifth after a two-out RBI infield single to third brought the Commodores within a run. Worthley induced a ground ball with the bases loaded and two outs to hold onto the one-run lead going into the sixth inning.
Sanderson reached on a one-out walk to set the table for Swansen’s towering, two-run shot into the berm in left field that stretched the Huskers’ lead to three at the seventh-inning stretch.
Timmerman retired the Vandy offense in order in the bottom of the seventh with a trio of groundouts to keep the 6-3 advantage heading into the final two innings.
The Commodores cut the NU lead to two in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of hits. A one-out double into the right-center gap put one in scoring position, before a sharp line drive ricocheted off Carey’s glove for a two-out RBI single.
Broderick took the mound in the ninth for the Huskers and struck out the first batter he faced. The junior induced a pair of lineouts from the next two hitters to clinch Nebraska’s 6-4 win over Vanderbilt.
Nebraska continues play at the MLB Desert Invitational, as the No. 24 Huskers face San Diego State tomorrow night at Sloan Park. First pitch between the Big Red and Aztecs is set for 6 p.m. CT on www.mlb.com.