From NU Media Relations:
Lincoln – A pair of Huskers earned weekly awards from the Big Ten Office on Monday, as Ben Miller was named Big Ten Player of the Week, while Matt Waldron was named both Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week. It’s the first time either player has earned a weekly award from the league office, and marks the second straight week the Huskers have earned freshman of the week honors after Chad Luensmann was honored last week.
Scott Schreiber was the last Husker to be named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 14, 2016, while Kyle Kubat was the last pitcher to earn pitcher of the week honors on March 31, 2015.
Miller was on fire at the plate last week, especially during Nebraska’s 2-1 series win over Penn State. Against the Nittany Lions he hit .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored. Adding in NU’s victory over Omaha during the midweek, Miller hit . 474 (9-for19) with multiple hits and multiple RBIs in three of NU’s four games last week. The junior from Clive, Iowa, struck out just twice all week, while leading the Huskers in hits (9), doubles (2) and RBIs (8).
After Nebraska dropped the series opener to Penn State on Friday night, Waldron came out on Saturday and set the tone for the rest of the weekend. For the first time since 2010 a Husker pitcher tossed a complete-game shutout, as Waldron went the distance in a 6-0 win over the Nittany Lions to even the series. Waldron limited the Nittany Lions to four hits and no walks on the afternoon, while striking out a career-high six. In the win he improved to 6-2 on the season, becoming just the fifth NU freshman since 2000 to record six wins in a year and the first since Johnny Dorn led the 2005 team with a 12-2 record.
It was an efficient 105-pitch outing for Waldron, as he tossed nine pitches or less in three different innings, including a six-pitch fifth inning and five-pitch eighth inning. After stranding a runner at third in the first, the Nittany Lions didn’t put another runner in scoring position until there were two outs in the ninth when Tyler Kendall lined a double down the right-field line. Waldron put the Nittany Lions down in order five times on the day. The Omaha native faced more than four batters in an inning just once, as PSU sent five to the plate in the first. The fifth batter in the first only came to the plate because Waldron struck out leadoff hitter Nick Riotto, but he reached on a wild pitch. Following a one-out single in the sixth, Waldron retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.
The Huskers are back in tomorrow night in Omaha at TD Ameritrade Park for a 6:35 p.m. meeting with the Creighton Bluejays. Nebraska wraps up the regular season this weekend when it hosts Indiana for a three-game series that runs Thursday-Friday-Saturday.
Lincoln – A pair of Huskers earned weekly awards from the Big Ten Office on Monday, as Ben Miller was named Big Ten Player of the Week, while Matt Waldron was named both Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week. It’s the first time either player has earned a weekly award from the league office, and marks the second straight week the Huskers have earned freshman of the week honors after Chad Luensmann was honored last week.
Scott Schreiber was the last Husker to be named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 14, 2016, while Kyle Kubat was the last pitcher to earn pitcher of the week honors on March 31, 2015.
Miller was on fire at the plate last week, especially during Nebraska’s 2-1 series win over Penn State. Against the Nittany Lions he hit .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored. Adding in NU’s victory over Omaha during the midweek, Miller hit . 474 (9-for19) with multiple hits and multiple RBIs in three of NU’s four games last week. The junior from Clive, Iowa, struck out just twice all week, while leading the Huskers in hits (9), doubles (2) and RBIs (8).
After Nebraska dropped the series opener to Penn State on Friday night, Waldron came out on Saturday and set the tone for the rest of the weekend. For the first time since 2010 a Husker pitcher tossed a complete-game shutout, as Waldron went the distance in a 6-0 win over the Nittany Lions to even the series. Waldron limited the Nittany Lions to four hits and no walks on the afternoon, while striking out a career-high six. In the win he improved to 6-2 on the season, becoming just the fifth NU freshman since 2000 to record six wins in a year and the first since Johnny Dorn led the 2005 team with a 12-2 record.
It was an efficient 105-pitch outing for Waldron, as he tossed nine pitches or less in three different innings, including a six-pitch fifth inning and five-pitch eighth inning. After stranding a runner at third in the first, the Nittany Lions didn’t put another runner in scoring position until there were two outs in the ninth when Tyler Kendall lined a double down the right-field line. Waldron put the Nittany Lions down in order five times on the day. The Omaha native faced more than four batters in an inning just once, as PSU sent five to the plate in the first. The fifth batter in the first only came to the plate because Waldron struck out leadoff hitter Nick Riotto, but he reached on a wild pitch. Following a one-out single in the sixth, Waldron retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.
The Huskers are back in tomorrow night in Omaha at TD Ameritrade Park for a 6:35 p.m. meeting with the Creighton Bluejays. Nebraska wraps up the regular season this weekend when it hosts Indiana for a three-game series that runs Thursday-Friday-Saturday.
