Saturday Morning Sports – Husker Baseball’s Hot Start Down Illinois, Storm Blast Force, Elite Eight Begins Action Today, Kearney Baseball Wins First Game, Local Sports Schedules and Results

HUSKER BASEBALL TAKES DOWN ILLINI WITH HOT START:

Junior Emmett Olson threw a career-high 10 strikeouts against Illinois to propel the Huskers to a series-opening 8-4 win in front of a season-high crowd of 5,626 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park on Friday night.

Nebraska (12-7-1, 1-0 B1G) scored eight runs on 12 hits and an error, while Illinois (10-8, 0-1 B1G) had four runs on six hits and two errors.

Olson improved to 4-1 on the season, allowing four runs on six hits while issuing zero walks. Shay Schanaman picked up his second save while pitching two hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts.

Nebraska and Illinois continue the series tomorrow afternoon at Hawks Field. First pitch between the Huskers and Fighting Illini is set for 2:02 p.m.

STORM BLAST FORCE:

The Tri-City Storm posted a 7-3 victory over the league-leading Fargo Force Friday night at the Viaero Center. Six different players netted goals for Tri-City in the win. 

Graham Gamache (2), Cale Ashcroft, Kieran Cebrian, Evan Werner, Alex Bump, and Jacob Jeannette netted goals for Tri-City in the matchup. The Storm scored a season-high four powerplay goals in the victory. 

Puck drop for tonight’s rematch between the Storm and the Force is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.

HUSKER SOFTBALL POWERS PAST BOILERMAKERS:

Brooke Andrews powered the Nebraska softball team to a 9-7 victory over Purdue to open conference play on Friday night at Bowlin Stadium. After quickly falling behind 0-2 in the count, Andrews worked the count full and blasted the game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Andrews led the Huskers (21-9, 1-0 Big Ten), finishing 2-for-3 with five RBI. Andrews was one of six Huskers who recorded two hits in tonight’s game. The Boilermakers (15-14, 0-1 Big Ten) were led by Alex Echazarreta and Olivia McFadden, both tallying two hits. NU held Purdue to no extra-base hits on the night. 

The Huskers return to action Saturday, March 25, at 1 p.m. (CT) for the second game of a three-game series against Purdue.

SWEET SIXTEEN RESULTS/SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY:

No. 5 San Diego State 71-64 No. 1 Alabama

No. 5 Miami 89-75 No. 1 Houston

No. 6 Creighton 86-75 No. 15 Princeton

No. 2 Texas 83-71 No. 3 Xavier

ELITE EIGHT SCHEDULE:

SATURDAY:

No. 9 FAU v. No. 3 Kansas State – 5 PM

No. 4 UConn v. No. 3 Gonzaga – 7:50 PM

SUNDAY:

No. 6 Creighton v. No. 5 San Diego State – 1:20 PM

No. 5 Miami v. No. 2 Texas – 4:05 PM

Local Results & Schedules:

THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:

FRIDAY:

• • KEARNEY HIGH:
    • Baseball: @ LNK Invite @ Densmore Fields
      • GAME 1: Lincoln Pius X 3-1 KHS
      • GAME 2: KHS 6-1 Waverly
  • UNK:
    • Women’s Tennis; @ Newman @ Wichita, KS 

• UNK 4-3 Newman

SATURDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • Boys Soccer: v. KHS Invite
    • KHS v. Burke – 10 AM @ KHS
    • KHS v. Lincoln High – 4 PM @ KHS
  • Baseball: @ LNK Invite @ Densmore Fields – 12 PM
  • Girls Soccer: v. KHS Invite
    • KHS v. Lutheran NE/Norfolk Catholic @ KHS – 2 PM
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • Girls Tennis: @ Ralson Invite – 8:30 AM
  • Girls Soccer: @ Seward Tournament – 9:30 AM
  • Boys Soccer: @ Seward Tournament – 9:30 AM
• UNK:
  • M/W T&F: @ Emporia State Relays @ Emporia, KS – 11:30 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: @ Emporia State – 11 AM
  • Softball: @ Fort Hays State – 12 PM
  • Softball: @ Fort Hays State – 2 PM
• HASTINGS COLLEGE: 
  • Men’s Tennis: @ Concordia – 11 AM
  • Women’s Tennis: @ Concordia – 11 AM
  • Softball: v. Doane – 1 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 1 PM
  • Softball: v. Doane – 3 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 4 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Illinois (1:30 PM – 6 PM)

SUNDAY:

• KEARNEY HIGH:
  • N/a
• KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
  • N/a
• UNK:
  • N/a
• HASTINGS COLLEGE:
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 12 PM
  • Baseball: v. Jamestown – 3 PM
• KGFW Sports Schedule:
  • Nebraska Baseball v. Illinois (12:30 PM – 5 PM)