Baseball Tournament: Day 5 Update

Photo by Mark Kuhlmann

OMAHA, Neb. — The pairing is set for the championship game of the Big Ten Baseball Tournament Presented by IFS.ai following a tripleheader at Charles Schwab Field on Saturday. No. 2 seed UCLA will meet No. 8 seed Nebraska at 2 p.m. tomorrow with an NCAA berth on the line. The Cornhuskers won twice on Saturday to advance to the final.

Nebraska began the day by posting a 7-3 win over No. 1 seed Oregon in a game postponed last night. The Cornhuskers won their pool with a 2-0 record. Leadoff hitter Riley Silva went 3-for-4 for Nebraska while pitcher Jackson Brockett allowed one run over six innings. Anson Aroz recorded three hits for the third-ranked Ducks (42-14), who saw their 11-game winning streak snapped.

In the first semifinal, UCLA strung together 14 hits in a 9-3 victory over Iowa, who was appearing in the semis for the third time in four years. The Bruins (42-15) scored five times in the fourth to break the game open. UCLA's Roch Cholowsky connected on his 23rd home run of the season and executed a rare bunt double against a defensive shift. Iowa (32-22-1) received two hits and two RBI from senior Andy Nelson.

The second semifinal resulted in Nebraska downing Penn State, 6-3, in a rematch of last year's championship game. Up by a run, Nebraska (31-27) brought in closer Luke Broderick in the seventh and received a two-run shot from Gabe Swansen in the bottom of the inning to extend its tournament win streak to eight games. The Nittany Lions (33-23) clubbed back-to-back home runs in the fourth.