Late Rally Falls Short in Series Finale

The Nebraska baseball team brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning but couldn’t convert, as the Huskers fell 6-3 in the series finale at Sam Houston on Sunday afternoon in Huntsville, Texas.

The Huskers (1-3) scored three runs on nine hits and two errors, while the Bearkats totaled six runs on 10 hits and committed one error.

Josh Caron went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a walk to lead Nebraska at the plate. Luke Jessen was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and run scored, while Griffin Everitt tallied a pair of singles. Also recording a hit for the Big Red were Max Anderson, Colby Gomes and Cam Chick.

Starter Braxton Bragg dropped to 0-1 on the season after allowing four runs on six hits in one inning. Emmett Olson made his second appearance of the weekend, dealing a career-high 3.2 innings.

Olson struck out three Bearkats and allowed two runs on four hits. Jaxon Jelkin threw 0.2 innings while making his Husker debut, followed by Tyler Martin recording the next two outs. Also making his Husker debut, Jackson Brocket pitched one inning in relief, while Ethan Bradford came in to toss the final inning.

Anthony MacKenzie led off the bottom of the first with a double down the right field line, while coming around to score on Justin Wishkoski’s RBI single to right center. A pair of back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly to left by Easton Loyd brought home Wishkoski to double the Bearkat lead in the first inning.

Sam Houston added to the lead in the second with four runs on four hits. Two straight singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out for the Bearkats. A wild pitch scored Walker Janek, a two-RBI single by Carlos Contreras brought home two and an RBI double to left by Trent Touchet grew the lead to 6-0.

Brice Matthews was hit by the pitch and Caron ripped a double to right field to put runners on second and third with no outs in the seventh, but the Huskers couldn’t plate their first run.

Nebraska cut the Bearkat lead in half in the eighth, scoring three runs on five hits. Jessen and Anderson began the inning with back-to-back singles before Gomes lifted an RBI single to the wall in right field, bringing home Jessen. A sac fly by Matthews scored Anderson, while Caron plated Gomes with an RBI single to left. Chick smacked a single up the middle in a pinch-hitting appearance to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Huskers couldn’t add to the rally.

The Huskers return to the Lone Star State next weekend, as the Huskers tangle with the reigning Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion TCU in a three-game set at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The facility opened in 2020 and serves as the home of the Texas Rangers.