Look out, college baseball. The Huskers are the real deal with a clear path to host a regional for the first time since 2008. <\/p>\n
Nebraska (31-9, 15-3) completed the series sweep over No. 12 USC (30-11, 13-8) by crushing the Trojans 16-6 (8 inn.) on Sunday at Haymarket Park. It marked NU\u2019s first sweep over a ranked opponent at home since Texas in 2015.<\/p>\n
A statement was made this weekend in Lincoln in front of a combined 21,383 fans over the course of the series to mark a new attendance record. <\/p>\n
Shortstop Dylan Carey<\/a>, center fielder Mac Moyer<\/a> and Drew Grego<\/a> led the way with their series-finale homers at the plate. Carey finished 4-for-5 for two RBI, while Moyer went 2-for-5 for another four RBI. <\/p>\n Grego, a true freshman right fielder from Papillion (Neb.), shut out any USC hope with his 408-foot grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to make it 13-6.<\/p>\n Gavin Blachowicz<\/a> (3.02 ERA) significantly struggled in his Sunday start. The sophomore righty yielded five runs in just two innings. However, former starter Ty Horn<\/a> (W, 4.03 ERA) provided five innings of stability in relief and surrendered only a run. <\/p>\n Here is an instant recap of the series finale in Lincoln\u2026<\/p>\n Get 50% off an annual membership bundle for access to HuskerOnline + On3 + Rivals by joining today!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Complementary offense remains red-hot<\/p>\n Nebraska\u2019s offense picked up right where it left off on Saturday with early juice to plate six runs off of USC starter Andrew Johnson<\/a> in just three-plus frames. <\/p>\n In the first, freshman designated hitter Jeter Worthley<\/a> drilled a one-out triple to the deepest part of Hawks Field. Moments later, Case Sanderson<\/a> and Carey gave the Big Red a 2-1 lead with back-to-back RBI doubles. <\/p>\n After stranding two in the second, Carey launched a solo-shot in the third to left field to cut the Trojan lead to two, 5-3. In the fourth, the Huskers retook the lead, 6-5, thanks to a 98 mph 368-foot three-run nuke to right field by Moyer.<\/p>\n Worthley and Sanderson each drew walks to end Johnson\u2019s outing, and Carey immediately advanced Worthley to third base with a sac-fly to center. Just 90 feet away from home plate, he took advantage of a wild pitch to make it 7-5 and cap off a four-run inning. <\/p>\n It was pure small-ball at its finest in the fifth. After third baseman Joshua Overbeek<\/a> and second baseman Rhett Stokes<\/a> each reached, catcher\u00a0Trey Fikes<\/a> advanced them with a sac-bunt. And each came all the way around home off a wild pitch to make it 9-6, Nebraska. <\/p>\n Blachowicz can\u2019t find command, Horn dominates in relief<\/p>\n In the first, Blachowicz struck out the side but yielded a Trojan run. He surrendered a one-out single before a throwing error on a pick-off attempt. As the inning ensued, USC took advantage of Blachowicz\u2019s inconsistencies to smack a two-out RBI single.<\/p>\n The Olathe, Kansas, native could not find his command in the second, either. In fact, Blachowicz issued another three walks before a two-out, three-run homer and a solo shot put USC ahead 5-2. <\/p>\n Off his 55 pitches (32 strikes) to only retire five of 13 Trojans, his start ended after just two innings. <\/p>\n Horn took over in the third and brought immediate force to bump. The Nebraska righty delivered two shutout innings, including a 1-2-3 fourth frame, before allowing a solo homer in the fifth to make it 7-6. <\/p>\n Two singles later, and the 6-foot-2 junior faced runners at the corners with just one out. However, Horn escaped the jam by forcing a 1-4-3 double play to hold the NU lead. He tossed a quick 1-2-3 sixth and a scoreless seventh to cap his stellar five innings of relief. <\/p>\n Horn threw those five innings off just 59 pitches (47 strikes) to retire 13 of the 19 Southern Cal batters. <\/p>\n Dannen sells \u201cBig Red Rebuild\u201d masterfully, with critical days ahead<\/a><\/p>\n Nebraska hammers nail in coffin to put country on notice<\/p>\n In the sixth, the complementary baseball remained in full swing to put the nail in the USC coffin. With the bases loaded, Grego hammered a ball to right-center for a grand slam. <\/p>\n As the frame ensued, the Huskers extended their lead to nine to make it 15-6. Most impressively, NU scored those six runs off just three hits. <\/p>\n