Nebraska drops season opener to Sam Houston
After taking an early lead, the Nebraska baseball team (0-1) was unable to hold on and fell to Sam Houston (1-0) in the season opener 8-5.
Kyle Perry got the start on the mound for the Huskers and in the first inning he found himself in a jam with the bases loaded, but escaped unscathed. Following the first inning scare, the Big Red loaded the bases with a walk and two base hits. A pair of Sam Houston errors gave NU a 3-0 lead, and things looked off to a strong start.
After walking two and hitting one batter in the first inning, Perry found himself doing the same in the second to load the bases. This time he couldn't escape and allowed two singles that tied the game 3-3. Koty Frank took over on the mound, and the first batter he faced hit a single that drove in two more runs for the Bearkats.
After the crooked numbers in the second inning, both pitchers settled in and it wasn't until the sixth inning that Nebraska showed offensive promise. Colby Gomes doubled to right field with one out, and with two outs Luke Sartori drove him in. The next inning, the Huskers found the tying run after Max Anderson tripled to deep center field and was driven in by Brice Matthews.
Emmett Olson took over for Frank in the bottom of the seventh inning, and things quickly went in Sam Houston's favor. The first three Bearkat batters loaded the bases, and a base hit gave them a one run lead. Justin Wishkoski drove in two more for Sam Houston and that three-run lead was too much for the Huskers to overcome.
Didn't string together hits
The Big Red recorded nine hits on the night, but of those nine, they were between just four players. Max Anderson and Colby Gomes led the way with three hits apiece, and Luke Sartori (2) and Griffin Everitt (1) combined for the other three.
Because of this, NU didn't string together many hits, which led to them struggling to score. The only time they did string together back-to-back hits was in the second inning, and both players scored.
Nebraska also saw a large number of strikeouts from the plate. Every Husker except Sartori struck out on the night, and three players went down on strikes three times.
Gave up crooked numbers
Coach Bolt preached in the offseason how he wants his team to avoid giving up more than a run or two when they get into tough situations. This game was not a good example of that. In the second inning, when Perry was faced with the bases loaded and no outs he allowed two runs. Frank allowed one more after taking the mound in that same inning. Olson also struggled to deal when he was in a jam and gave up three runs in the seventh inning with the bases loaded.
Aside from the two crooked numbers, the Big Red’s pitchers and defense were relatively mistake free, but the big numbers were too much to overcome.
What's next?
NU will get three more chances at Sam Houston, starting with a doubleheader tomorrow with the first game at 2:00 p.m. and the second around 30 to 45 minutes after the first.
The first game will be just seven innings, and the second will be nine. Both games are not on a TV or streaming service, but can be heard on Husker Sports Radio Network.