Nebraska couldn’t climb out of an early four-run deficit, as the Huskers fell 9-4 vs. Kansas on Tuesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (25-13) scored four runs on eight hits, while Kansas (22-15) totaled nine runs, 11 hits and an error.
Tyler Stone led the way for the Huskers, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run in the second inning. Cayden Brumbaugh finished 1-for-4 with an RBI double, while Riley Silva extended his on-base streak to 13 games and stole his 23rd base of the season. Josh Caron, Dylan Carey and Joshua Overbeek each added a hit for the Big Red.
Drew Christo fell to 1-3 on the season after giving up four runs on four hits in two innings. The junior recorded a season-high five strikeouts and issued two walks. Caleb Clark allowed one run on one hit with a pair of strikeouts in an inning of work.
Tucker Timmerman and Kyle Froehlich combined to pitch an inning, while Jalen Worthley, Evan Borst, Kyle Perry and Casey Daiss threw one relief inning apiece. Grant Cleavinger and Trey Frahm teamed up to record the final three outs for the NU pitching staff.
Silva was plunked in the first inning, before stealing second and taking third on an errant throw from the KU pitcher with one out. A lineout followed by a strikeout prevented the Husker offense from plating the game’s first run in the opening frame.
The Jayhawks erupted for four runs in the top of the second to jump ahead 4-0. KU had runners on first and second with a one-out single and a walk, while an RBI double to left-center, followed by an RBI groundout had the visitors up a pair. Kansas plated their third run of the night on a wild pitch, before John Nett’s solo homer to right made it a four-run game.
Nebraska immediately got one of the four runs back with Stone’s 418-foot solo homer to begin the bottom of the second.
The lead grew back to four in the top of the third after a leadoff solo home run to right off the bat of Michael Brooks.
Kansas led off the inning for the second straight time with a solo homer in the fourth, while an RBI single later in the inning built the lead to 7-1.
The Huskers trimmed the deficit to four with a pair of runs on two hits in the fourth inning. Walks to Garrett Anglim and Overbeek gave the NU offense a pair of baserunners with two outs, setting up Brumbaugh’s two-RBI double off the wall in right-center.
After two scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth innings, the Jayhawks added to the lead with a two-RBI single from Collier Cranford to extend the lead to 9-3 in the seventh.
Nebraska had a pair of baserunners with two outs in the eighth after a full-count walk to Clay Bradford and Carey’s first-pitch single through the left side. Bradford came around to score on Overbeek’s RBI single that was drilled to right field.
The Huskers loaded the bases in the ninth inning but couldn’t come through as a flyout ended it.
Nebraska wraps up its homestand with a weekend series vs. Iowa on Friday-Sunday, April 26-28 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. First pitch in Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is set for 6:05 p.m.
