Anderson, Matthews Club Three-Run Homers in Series Opener

Facing a seven-run deficit after six innings, Nebraska scored four runs in the seventh and three in the ninth, but the Huskers couldn’t complete the comeback in an 8-7 loss at Indiana on Friday night at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind.

Nebraska (14-22, 4-6 B1G) scored seven runs on nine hits and two errors, while the Hoosiers (15-22, 3-7 B1G) had eight runs on 12 hits and an error.

Shay Schanaman dropped to 2-6 on the season, allowing seven runs, six earned, on eight hits in four innings. Mason Ornelas surrendered one run on four hits and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings, while CJ Hood recorded the final out for the Huskers.

Max Anderson led the Big Red at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored. Garrett Anglim went 3-for-5 with two runs, while Brice Matthews had a 1-for-4 night with a three-run home run.

A pair of doubles and a walk had the Hoosiers out front 1-0 in the first, before Indiana tacked on three runs in the third. An RBI single, followed by an RBI double and a sacrifice fly gave the Hoosiers a 4-0 lead after three.

The lead for the Hoosiers grew to seven after Josh Pyne’s three-run homer to left made it 7-0 in the fourth.

Nebraska poured in four runs on three hits in the seventh to trim the deficit to three. Cam Chick was hit by the pitch and Anglim singled to first, before Griffin Everitt’s RBI single up the middle scored Nebraska’s first run of the game. In the next at-bat, Anderson drilled the first pitch for a three-run blast to make it a 7-4 game.

Singles by Anglim and Anderson put two runners on for the Huskers in the top of the ninth, before Matthews smacked a two-out three-run homer to center to bring Nebraska within a run.

Game two of this weekend’s series with the Huskers and Hoosiers is set for 1 p.m. CT tomorrow afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind. Saturday’s game can be seen on B1G+, while fans can also listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.