Shade slid slowly across the third-base line counting down the last day of fall practice for Nebraska baseball. The team’s final scrimmage kept the same theme as many of its prequels.
There were intriguing pitching performances, led Wednesday by Red starter Tucker Timmerman as one of half a dozen Huskers with scoreless appearances. A flurry of stolen bases set up situational scoring chances. A competitive game again lingered into the late innings.
Red ultimately prevailed 4-0, having previously won the five-game series and likely a future meal cooked and served by White teammates. The Huskers transition into winter conditioning through November before beginning to ramp up in January for the 2025 season.
One more game at Haymarket Park gave everyone a parting glimpse of what veteran-laden NU might look like in the spring.
A gusting crosswind prompted extra baserunning aggression throughout. The Red team swiped five bags in six tries, called multiple hit-and-run plays and benefited from three White errors.
First-inning leadoff singles from Cayden Brumbaugh and Riley Silva against White starter Ryan Harrahill set up RBI groundouts from Robby Bolin and Case Sanderson. Silva in the third was hit by a pitch, stole second base, went to third on a high throw from the catcher and scored on a Sanderson sacrifice fly. Two fielding miscues in the sixth, a double steal and wild pitch plated the other Red run.
“It’s just such a diverse offense because you’ve got power, you’ve got speed, you’ve got a bunch of blending guys,†said senior infielder Rhett Stokes, who reached on all three of his plate appearances and swiped a pair of bags. “Any given day — even when the wind’s blowing in like this — we’re going to take advantage of everything we can.â€
Timmerman breezed through three spotless frames, striking out a pair and allowing only a Matt Evans single. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound sophomore from Beatrice kept hitters off balance with a slider and changeup that move horizontally in different directions along with a low-90s fastball.
The underclassman is again headed for a relief gig — his preferred job — after fading late as a freshman with just one appearance after late April. Confidence waned back then, he said, but it has come back after a breakout summer allowing just one earned run in 33 innings in the Alaska Baseball League. As pitching coach Rob Childress often reminds him, throw those lively pitches for strikes and watch the outs come.
“I think that’s going to be my role this year: Come in and get weak ground balls, get out of some jams,†Timmerman said. “I’m looking forward to it.â€
Stokes called Timmerman’s pitches “disgusting,†adding it was a win not having to face him Wednesday.
“He’s a workhorse,†Stokes said. “For him to have another year under his belt is really going to help him. Everyone else sees it.â€
Red completed the shutout with two clean innings from Grant Cleavinger — who struck out three and allowed only a Hayden Lewis single — ahead of single frames from Chase Olson and Trey Frahm.
White freshman reliever Colin Nowaczyk logged two perfect stanzas with a pair of punchouts. Fellow frosh J’Shawn Unger followed by surrendering an unearned run in the sixth before Pryce Bender — featuring both a sidearm delivery and over-the-top throwing motion — handled the seventh.