LINCOLN — Nebraska pitching coach Ted Silva doesn’t approach his staff as a jigsaw puzzle where only one piece fits in a certain spot.
Instead, the bullpen has developed into an erector set where any number of parts can be put together to create a finished product.
On Sunday, the bullpen combined for 42⁄3 innings of shutout relief for a 5-4 victory over Loyola Marymount in front of 4,775 at Haymarket Park.
“Two weeks ago, we were scuffing and searching and trying to put pieces together,” Silva said. “You have options. They don’t know when their number is going to be called so a lot of guys are on high alert, ready to go. It’s fun that they know they all might get the ball.”
The win completed a four-game sweep for the Huskers, their first since 2011 against North Dakota.
In the series, NU (9-6) used seven pitchers out of the bullpen, who combined to throw 12 scoreless innings without allowing a run. During that span, they allowed four hits with 10 strikeouts. They’ve allowed one run in 25 innings during the past seven games.
Reliever Reece Eddins picked up the win Sunday, while Chad Luensmann earned his second save in as many days.
Despite using Luensmann in the ninth inning in back-to-back games, coach Darin Erstad said NU doesn’t have a set closer.
“We don’t have defined roles,” he said. “(Senior Jeff) Chesnut probably has the only defined role out of the whole bullpen. Every day, we are going to piece it together to try and win, whatever it takes. We have a lot of faith in a lot of guys out there. It’s a good problem to have.”
It isn’t just the relievers who are throwing well recently. During the past six games (all wins at home), the NU staff has an ERA of 1.33 with a 45-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The offense Sunday was powered by the long ball early as Ben Miller and Scott Schreiber each went deep. Miller hit a solo shot in the first inning, while Schreiber hit a two-run homer in the third, his sixth of the season.
Nebraska has 17 home runs through 15 games this year after hitting 22 all last year. Erstad said the Huskers haven’t changed approaches, they are just executing better.
“Right now, guys are getting swings off and not missing them,” Erstad said. “We’re by no means trying to hit home runs, but we are trying to put our best swings on baseballs. When you do that, and have good pitch selection, usually good things happen.”
Schreiber’s home run gave NU a 4-1 lead, but LMU (6-10) responded with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom half of the inning, Miller, who finished 3 for 5, laced a double to the right-center gap to score Jake Placzek from first.
“We came out with right mentality to go for a four-game sweep,” Erstad said. “They punched us in the face and came back with a big three-run homer, but we responded right back. It was a real good battle on both sides.”
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Instead, the bullpen has developed into an erector set where any number of parts can be put together to create a finished product.
On Sunday, the bullpen combined for 42⁄3 innings of shutout relief for a 5-4 victory over Loyola Marymount in front of 4,775 at Haymarket Park.
“Two weeks ago, we were scuffing and searching and trying to put pieces together,” Silva said. “You have options. They don’t know when their number is going to be called so a lot of guys are on high alert, ready to go. It’s fun that they know they all might get the ball.”
The win completed a four-game sweep for the Huskers, their first since 2011 against North Dakota.
In the series, NU (9-6) used seven pitchers out of the bullpen, who combined to throw 12 scoreless innings without allowing a run. During that span, they allowed four hits with 10 strikeouts. They’ve allowed one run in 25 innings during the past seven games.
Reliever Reece Eddins picked up the win Sunday, while Chad Luensmann earned his second save in as many days.
Despite using Luensmann in the ninth inning in back-to-back games, coach Darin Erstad said NU doesn’t have a set closer.
“We don’t have defined roles,” he said. “(Senior Jeff) Chesnut probably has the only defined role out of the whole bullpen. Every day, we are going to piece it together to try and win, whatever it takes. We have a lot of faith in a lot of guys out there. It’s a good problem to have.”
It isn’t just the relievers who are throwing well recently. During the past six games (all wins at home), the NU staff has an ERA of 1.33 with a 45-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The offense Sunday was powered by the long ball early as Ben Miller and Scott Schreiber each went deep. Miller hit a solo shot in the first inning, while Schreiber hit a two-run homer in the third, his sixth of the season.
Nebraska has 17 home runs through 15 games this year after hitting 22 all last year. Erstad said the Huskers haven’t changed approaches, they are just executing better.
“Right now, guys are getting swings off and not missing them,” Erstad said. “We’re by no means trying to hit home runs, but we are trying to put our best swings on baseballs. When you do that, and have good pitch selection, usually good things happen.”
Schreiber’s home run gave NU a 4-1 lead, but LMU (6-10) responded with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom half of the inning, Miller, who finished 3 for 5, laced a double to the right-center gap to score Jake Placzek from first.
“We came out with right mentality to go for a four-game sweep,” Erstad said. “They punched us in the face and came back with a big three-run homer, but we responded right back. It was a real good battle on both sides.”
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