LINCOLN — Luis Alvarado took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, and Nebraska built an early lead en route to a 12-5 win and three-game sweep of Mountain West-leading Nevada on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskers (20-22) pushed Nevada starter Mark Nowaczewski to 68 pitches after two innings and led 6-0. Alvarado produced the rest of the drama, plunking batters with two outs in the second and fifth innings before No. 9 hitter Jaylon McLaughlin smacked a clean single to left-center leading off the sixth.
The 6-foot-4 senior right-hander from Puerto Rico logged a career-best eight innings, striking out three and walking none across 94 pitches. In his first start of a series finale, the normal Friday ace allowed just two hits, the second of which was a solo homer by McLaughlin to lead off the seventh.
Nebraska — which celebrated its first sweep in 356 days and matched a season-high three-game win streak — has wrapped up its nonconference schedule and continues a seven-game homestand Friday when Maryland comes to Haymarket Park.
Scott Schreiber moved into a tie for fifth in program history with his 42nd career home run in the second inning, passing his coach, Darin Erstad, with a three-run blast to right on the 10th pitch of his at-bat. That came after Luke Roskam’s RBI double and Gunner Hellstrom’s sacrifice fly in the first and Mojo Hagge’s run-scoring hit in the second put the hosts in front.
Schreiber finished a triple shy of the cycle, doubling off the wall near the “403” sign in left-center in the sixth and singling in the fourth.
Joe Acker and Hellstrom added RBI singles in the fifth and sixth, respectively. A four-run seventh was highlighted by a Wilkening sac fly, Hellstrom hit by pitch with the bases loaded and Hallmark two-run knock.
The bottom third of the lineup — a struggling group of shuffled players most of the spring — reached base in eight of its 15 plate appearances and all scored runs. Freshman shortstop Zac Luckey filled in for the injured Angelo Altavilla (mouth/jaw) by going 2 for 4 while second baseman Alex Henwood and Acker each added a single.
Nevada (21-19) scored four runs in the ninth, all of which were charged to freshman Andrew Abrahamowicz.
