Nebraska right-hander Jake Hohensee shut down the Maryland baseball team Friday, allowing three hits over 8.1 innings and striking out eight batters.
After earning a two-out single in the first inning, No. 24 Maryland didn’t notch another hit until center fielder Zach Jancarski led off the ninth with a line drive.
That sparked a rally, as right fielder Marty Costes lined a double into left field, chasing Hohensee from the game with the Cornhuskers leading, 3-0, after 8.1 innings.
Huskers right-hander Luis Alvarado moved from left field to the mound and allowed a run-scoring single to first baseman Brandon Gum, but retired the next two batters to polish off a 3-1 win.
Terps ace right-hander Brian Shaffer battled through an eight-inning complete game, but Nebraska’s opportunistic offense, combined with Hohensee’s dominance, put the Huskers (17-10-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) over the top in the series-opener.
Hohensee (4-2, 1.98 ERA) pounded the zone, issuing just two walks and hitting one batter, while setting career-highs in strikeouts and innings pitched.
Shaffer (4-2, 2.12), meanwhile, scattered eight hits.
His first pitch of the third inning, though, hit Husker catcher Jesse Wilkening in the back, and No. 9-hitter Jake Schleppenbach punched a hit-and-run single through the left side to put runners on first and second.
Wilkening moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Huskers a 1-0 lead.
In the next frame, Wilkening lined a two-run, two-out double down the right-field line to extend the Huskers’ lead to 3-0. The rally started with a one-out bloop single from first baseman Ben Miller and a bunt single from Alvarado.
Shaffer forced a flyball for the second out of the inning, but then elevated a fastball just above the belt that Wilkening smacked down the right-field line, scoring Miller and Alvarado.
Hohensee, meanwhile, was in a rhythm. He retired eight Terps in a row at one point and allowed just one hit through eight innings. Until the ninth, Maryland (19-9, 5-2) had just one runner in scoring position.
Jancarski created that scoring threat in the top half of the third, leaning into a breaking ball that didn’t break and stealing second a few pitches later, despite the Huskers throwing a pitchout. Jancarski advanced to third on a flyout, but a harmless fly ball from Costes ended the inning.
In the ninth, Jancarski again ignited the offense, eventually coming around to score on Gum’s single. Alvarado slammed the door from there, however, getting the final two outs and securing his fifth save of the season.
