In a team huddle down the right field line, the Nebraska baseball team let out a collective “woo” that could be heard by everyone remaining at Illinois Field. 

Most of Illinois’ players weren’t around to hear the celebration; the Illini made a beeline for their clubhouse after they had finished shaking their opponents’ hands. 

The Cornhuskers (8-14, 2-1 Big Ten) had just won two out of three against the Illini, who came into the series winners of 12 of their last 13 games, with their confidence high and aspirations higher. This was a chance to prove how good Illinois could really be, facing a Nebraska team Big Ten coaches picked to place second in the conference. 

Nebraska’s sub-.500 record shouldn’t be scoffed at, as it faced an early schedule filled with tournament regulars such as Cal-State Fullerton, Southern California, Texas, Louisiana Tech and UC-Irvine.

Instead, it turned out to be a series that magnified what problems Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb had been prodding his team to correct. 

All three games featured back-and-forth action with lead changes and a lot of offense, as both teams had double-digit hits in each game over the cool, breezy weekend. With the completion of the series, Nebraska had played seven games in the past nine days, so Illinois would’ve seemed to have the advantage, especially after incoming inclement weather forced the teams into a doubleheader Saturday. 

But the Illini left a staggering 30 runners on base during the three-game series.

The Illini pitching staff, especially its bullpen, was a large reason why Illinois (14-6, 1-2) had been playing so much better, posting an identical 1.86 ERA during the past two weekend series, both sweeps for the Illini. Nebraska scored 22 runs in the three games with 39 hits, and a normally solid Illinois defense committed five errors on the weekend that allowed eight unearned runs to score.

“We just weren’t a disciplined team,” Hartleb said. “It was a number of guys, and some guys that we’ve asked to make adjustments and do certain things, and it shows up in tight games.”

The lone Illinois victory came in Game One of Saturday’s doubleheader in the last at-bat of the ninth. The hero was catcher Alex Lincoln — nicknamed “Abe” because of his last name — who hadn’t had an RBI all year, with just two at-bats. The redshirt junior entered the game in the eighth, and his first at-bat came with the bases loaded and no outs. Assistant coach Eric Snider put the sign on while Nebraska was meeting on the mound with its pitcher — a squeeze bunt that scored the game winning run. Lincoln raised his arm in the air as he crossed first and waited to be mobbed by his teammates. It was Illinois’ first walk-off victory since May 21, 2011, against Indiana, a win that clinched the Big Ten regular season championship. 

“It’s always a good feeling when the guys come running out,” Lincoln said.

Freshman pitcher Tyler Jay emerged as one of Illinois’ most reliable relief pitchers during the start of the season and led the team in ERA. Jay was tagged for both losses in the series after entering both Friday and Saturday’s second game with the game tied, but walked the leadoff hitter before the Cornhuskers came around to score the eventual game-winning run in both instances. 

Illinois pitchers seemed to pitch from behind in the count most of the series, giving Nebraska a chance to be aggressive with a lot hitting and running on the base paths.

That’s exactly how Nebraska manager Darin Erstad wants his team to play. Erstad, a former two-time MLB all-star with the Los Angeles Angels, played and learned from manager Mike Scioscia, who has never been afraid to be aggressive on the base paths.

“Well, you’re a creature of all the things you learned along the way,” Erstad said with a smile at the mention of his former manager. “College baseball is all about putting pressure on defenses and making them screw up. Whoever screws up more usually loses.”

Jamal can be reached at [email protected] and @jamalcollier.