The Nebraska baseball team erupted for nine runs in the first two innings and held on for a 12-9 win over Sam Houston in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
Nebraska (1-2) scored 12 runs on 13 hits and two errors, while the Bearkats tallied nine runs, 10 hits and two errors.
Luke Jessen led the Big Red at the plate, going three-for-five with two runs and a walk. Leighton Banjoff was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, a pair of runs and a walk. Griffin Everitt went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run. Brice Matthews knocked in two runs and Max Anderson touched home a team-high three times. Six Huskers recorded one hit apiece.
Making his Husker debut, Dawson McCarville got the no-decision after dealing four innings. McCarville allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and posted three strikeouts. Mason Ornelas recorded the win in the Husker debut, tossing three innings in relief. Ornelas allowed four runs, two earned, on three hits and struck out four Bearkats. CJ Hood, Jake Bunz and Drew Christo combined to pitch 1.1 innings, while Colby Gomes took the mound to record the final two outs.
Banjoff and Jessen started the second game with back-to-back hits after Banjoff doubled to the wall in the corner of right field and Jessen dropped a single into left field. Anderson followed with an RBI single down the right field line to plate Banjoff and give the Huskers a 1-0 lead. Gomes lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Jessen and double the lead. Everitt ripped an RBI double into the gap in right center to plate Anderson and later raced home after Luke Sartori reached on a fielding error to give the Huskers a 4-0 lead in the first.
Sam Houston capitalized on a two-out throwing error by the Huskers with back-to-back RBI doubles by Carlos Contreras and Tyler Davis to cut the Nebraska lead in half after the first inning.
The Nebraska offense carried the momentum into the second frame, pouring on five runs on two hits and a Bearkat error to expand the lead to 9-2. Banjoff led off with a walk and Jessen raced down the line to beat out the throw on a bunt single. Anderson loaded the bases after being hit by the pitch and Gomes drew a walk on full count to score Banjoff. Matthews drilled a two-RBI double to left center to bring home Anderson and Jessen. Gomes touched home after Cam Chick reached on a throwing error by the Bearkat shortstop to cap the scoring for the Big Red in the second.
The Bearkats plated their third run of the game in the bottom of the fourth on a fielder’s choice, but the Huskers were able to get the run back in the top of the fifth. Chick singled to left, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Efry Cervantes and came around to score on Banjoff’s RBI single through the left side.
The Huskers tacked on a run in the eighth to expand the lead over the Bearkats, 11-3. Jessen reached base for the fourth time in the game with a walk before Gomes blasted a ground-rule double to left center to put runners on second and third with one out. Everitt picked up his second RBI of the game with an RBI groundout to the shortstop to bring home Anderson.
Sam Houston trimmed the NU lead in half at 11-7 with four runs on three hits and a Nebraska error. A walk, an error and a single loaded the bases before Luke Repka unleashed a two-RBI double to center with no outs. A wild pitch scored the Bearkats’ third run of the inning, followed by a sacrifice fly from Clayton Chadwick to bring home Repka.
Nebraska added a run in the ninth when Garrett Anglim smacked a double to left and Cervantes reached on an infield single before Banjoff brought home Anglim on a sacrifice fly to left.
The Bearkats clawed back within three in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run homer. Gomes took the mound and recorded the final two outs to clinch the 12-9 victory for Nebraska.
The Huskers and Bearkats wrap up the weekend series with the series finale tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. Sunday’s game will be carried on KLIN (1400 AM, 99.3 FM) in Lincoln and can be heard on Huskers.com and the official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and Android devices.
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