Slow Start Costs Huskers in Series Finale

Nebraska couldn’t climb out of an early three-run deficit, as the Huskers fell 10-7 in the series finale on Sunday against Nicholls at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.
 
Nebraska (11-6-1) had seven runs on 10 hits, while the Colonels (12-10) had 10 runs on 18 hits.
 
Michael Garza dropped to 1-2 on the season, allowing four runs on six hits in 1.1 innings. Kyle Perry pitched 2.2 innings in relief, surrendering one run on three hits. Jalen Worthley allowed one run on three hits in two innings on the mound. Shay Schanaman tossed two innings, while Brett Sears threw the final inning with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Brice Matthews led the Huskers at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, a homer, four RBI, three runs and a pair of walks. Max Anderson was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Ben Columbus and Dylan Carey also had two-hit games. Carey went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two walks and a run.
 
Nicholls opened the game with three runs on four hits in the first to grab an early lead. A double, followed by three consecutive singles had the Colonels up 2-0 with no outs. A wild pitch plated Nicholls’ third run of the inning.
 
The Huskers got one of the runs back in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit to two. Matthews reached on a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch to put a runner on third with no outs for the Big Red. An RBI groundout from Anderson brought Matthews home to plate the Huskers’ first run.
 
The Colonels got the run back in the second with an RBI single through the left side after a one-out triple to center to make it a 4-1 game after two innings.
 
Matthews reached on a four-pitch walk with one out in the third, while Anderson picked up his second RBI of the day with an RBI double into shallow right field, cutting the Colonel lead to 4-2.
 
A solo homer in the fourth and an RBI single with the bases loaded in the fifth stretched the lead to 6-2 for Nicholls.
 
Nebraska climbed back within two in the bottom of the fifth after Matthews’ two-run homer over the wall in left.
 
The Colonels answered with a two-run homer of their own in the seventh to grow the lead back to four at 8-4.
 
The Huskers fought back to get within a run in the bottom of the seventh with three runs on a pair of hits. A double from Carey and walks to Columbus and Gabe Swansen loaded the bases to set up Matthews’ bases-clearing RBI triple to the wall in right-center.
 
A double, followed by an RBI single and an RBI triple added a pair of insurance runs for Nicholls in the eighth to grow the lead back to three at 10-7.
 
A pair of two-out hits from Columbus and Carey put the tying run at the plate with runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth, but the Huskers couldn’t convert to cut into the three-run deficit.
 
Nebraska returns to action on Tuesday, March 21, visiting Creighton at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. First pitch between the Huskers and Bluejays is set for 6 p.m.