Huskers Drop Heartbreaker in Ninth to Oklahoma

A walk-off single handed Nebraska its second-straight ninth-inning loss, as Oklahoma rallied for a pair of runs in the final frame to take down the Huskers, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field.

Nebraska (1-2) scored six runs on seven hits with two errors, while Oklahoma (2-1) had seven runs on 11 hits and a pair of errors.

Riley Silva and Josh Caron led the way at the plate for the Huskers, combining to go 4-for-8 with a pair of RBI. Cayden Brumbaugh, Dylan Carey, and Joshua Overbeek each added a hit for the Big Red. In three games this weekend, Overbeek finished .417 (5-for-12) at the plate.

Caleb Clark allowed one run on three hits and struck out a trio of batters in his 2.1 innings of work. Timmerman appeared in his second game of the weekend, punching out his only batter faced, while Drew Christo made his season debut with a pair of relief innings. Kyle Froelich also made his Husker debut with a scoreless sixth frame. Casey Daiss was dealt the loss in the ninth inning after allowing a pair of runs on three hits.

The Huskers got the scoring started in the opening frame, with Overbeek drawing a one-out walk before advancing to second on a single from Carey. A swinging third-strike from Stone and a throwing error behind the dish plated both Overbeek and Carey to give Nebraska a 2-0 lead.

Clark worked himself out of trouble in the first and second innings, escaping danger with a runner in scoring position both times. The Sooners got to the sophomore in third inning, however, loading the bases and cutting the deficit in half after a throwing error scored the Sooners’ Jason Walk.

A move to the bullpen paid off as Timmerman struck out his lone batter faced to strand the bases loaded. With Nebraska going down quietly in the top half, Christo made his season debut in the fourth inning, working around a leadoff walk to force a double-play ball and retire the side without trouble. 

Nebraska’s offense got going in the fifth frame, with Silva slapping a single up the middle and advancing to third on a double from Brumbaugh. Overbeek’s hot weekend continued with a two-run single to extend the Huskers advantage to 4-1.

A Carey groundout moved the junior into scoring position, setting the table for Caron who drove him in for his first RBI of the season. With a 5-1 lead, Christo allowed a pair of runs to cross after surrendering a single and walk to begin the inning.  He quickly retired the next two batters before an RBI single and run-scoring wild-pitch allowed Oklahoma to hang around and make it a 5-3 game.

Gabe Swansen led off the sixth with a walk and swiftly stole second before advancing to third on a flyout. A fielder’s choice cut him down at the plate but set the table for Silva’s RBI single later in the inning to push the advantage to 6-3 as he drove in Cole Evans.

Froelich needed just 18 pitches to retire the Sooners in order in the sixth inning, before the Huskers mustered just a Caron single in the top half of the seventh. Making his second appearance of the weekend, Kyle Perry allowed a two-run home run to left field off the bat of Bryce Madron to cut the lead to 6-5.

The southpaw struck out the next two batters, before handing the ball off to Borst who forced a lineout to end the threat. A walk and stolen base from Garrett Anglim was negated by a fielder's choice in the Huskers' half of the eighth, before Borst retired the side in the bottom half to complete his scoreless four-out appearance.

Daiss worked around a leadoff single in the ninth inning to set down the next two batters and bring the Huskers one out away from victory. However, Michael Snyder's double, coupled with a fielding error, and Jaxon Willits' walk-off RBI single handed Nebraska its second loss in as many days in the final inning.

The Huskers return to the diamond for a four-game road set next weekend in Phoenix, Ariz., as they meet Grand Canyon from Feb. 22-25 at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.