Gallery: Huskers Finish Sweep of No. 12 USC With Second Straight Run-Rule Win

Nebraska finished a strong weekend on Sunday afternoon by beating No. 12 USC 16-6 in a run-rule win at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. With 7,510 fans in attendance, the Huskers earned their first sweep of a ranked opponent since 2015, making the series even more memorable.

The three games against the Trojans brought in record crowds. Over the weekend, 21,383 fans came to Haymarket Park, setting a new program record for a Big Ten home series. This is also the fifth-highest attendance for any conference series at the park since it opened in 2002, showing how important the matchup and Nebraska’s play were.

On the field, Nebraska kept up their strong offense, scoring 16 runs on 14 hits and taking advantage of two USC errors. USC scored six runs on 10 hits and also had two errors. Throughout the series, Nebraska’s hitters stayed aggressive, putting up 36 runs against one of the top pitching staffs in the country. This ties for the second-most runs in a three-game conference series for Nebraska since joining the Big Ten, just behind the 39 runs scored against Purdue in 2019.

Several Huskers had big games at the plate. Dylan Carey nearly hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Drew Grego went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, and Mac Moyer also went 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs. Case Sanderson got on base often, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two walks. Trey Fikes added two hits, a double, and scored twice.

Jeter Worthley added more offense with a triple and two runs scored, while Rhett Stokes led the team with three runs. Nebraska’s strong lineup helped them overpower USC’s pitching in all three games.

Nebraska used several pitchers to get the win. Gavin Blachowicz started and gave up five runs, four of them earned, on four hits and four walks in two innings. Ty Horn came in as a reliever and pitched well, earning the win to move to 2-1 this season. He threw five innings, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out four. Caleb Clark pitched a scoreless eighth inning with one strikeout to help finish the game.

USC scored first in the opening inning, taking advantage of a Nebraska error to go up 1-0 with an RBI single. The Huskers answered right away in the bottom of the inning, putting together three hits to take a 2-1 lead. Worthley’s triple started things off, and then Sanderson and Carey hit back-to-back RBI doubles.

The Trojans took the lead again in the second inning with back-to-back home runs, first a three-run shot and then a solo homer, making it 5-2. Nebraska started to come back in the third inning with Carey’s solo home run.

Momentum swung to Nebraska in the fourth inning. The Huskers scored four runs, with Moyer hitting a three-run homer to right field. Later, a wild pitch let Worthley score, putting Nebraska ahead 7-5. USC hit a solo home run in the fifth to get within one, but Nebraska answered with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 9-6.

Nebraska broke the game open in the sixth inning with a big offensive push. Ten Huskers came to the plate, and they scored six runs on three hits. Grego hit the biggest blow with a grand slam to right-center. Moyer and Worthley each drove in runs later in the inning, making it 15-6.

The Huskers scored once more in the eighth inning when Sanderson hit an RBI single, finishing off the 16-6 run-rule win.

The Huskers stand for the National Anthem before their final game of the weekend against USC. | Amarillo Mullen

Gavin Blachowicz made his ninth start of the season for the Huskers. | Amarillo Mullen

Jeter Worthley runs the bases to get to third for a triple to start his day at the plate. | Amarillo Mullen

Case Sanderson (14) celebrates an RBI double to score Jeter Worthley. | Amarillo Mullen

Dylan Carey celebrates a back-to-back RBI double to score Sanderson. | Amarillo Mullen

Mac Moyer catches a flyball in center field. | Amarillo Mullen

Dylan Carey comes home after his solo homerun. | Amarillo Mullen

Drew Grego points to the dugout after a single. | Amarillo Mullen

Ty Horn replaced Gavin Blachowicz the mound in the third and gave up just one run in five innings. | Amarillo Mullen

Mac Moyer celebrates his three-run homer to give the Huskers the lead in the fourth. | Amarillo Mullen

Jeter Worthley scores on a wild pitch to give the Huskers a two-run lead. | Amarillo Mullen

Joshua Overbeek slides home to score on a USC wild pitch. | Amarillo Mullen

Drew Grego (10) celebrates his sixth-inning grand slam. | Amarillo Mullen

Ty Horn celebrates as he walks off the mound after a quick inning. | Amarillo Mullen

Caleb Clark pitched the top of the eighth inning, which would be USC's final three outs in Lincoln. | Amarillo Mullen

Case Sanderson sent the crowd home in the eighth with a single to score Moyer and clinch the run-rule victory. | Amarillo Mullen

The Huskers are now 31-9 on the season and 14-3 in Big Ten play. — The Huskers are now 31-9 on the season and 15-3 in Big Ten play. | Amarillo Mullen

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