Nebraska baseball was back in action for a double header on Saturday, with the Huskers falling 10-9 to California-Riverside in the first game of the day and battling back to take the second, 10-6.
Slow starts have been a theme for the Big Red so far this opening weekend, and that was the case in the first game of the day. While the Huskers managed to turn Friday’s slow start around for a big 21-6 win, they weren’t as fortunate Saturday afternoon.
The first game of the day provided a lot of missed opportunities for Nebraska. Despite outhitting UC Riverside 15-12, the Huskers left 15 runners on base including runners in scoring position in eight innings. The Huskers also were unable to capitalize from runners on first and third in the top of the ninth, which ultimately sealed the deal for the Highlanders.
In only his second career start, Reece Eddins pitched 3.2 innings for Nebraska. It was an up-and-down performance for the senior right-hander, who struck out three batters but gave up seven runs (with five earned). Max Schreiber (1.1 innings) and Mike Waldron (3.0) came in on relief.
Waldron finished strong for Nebraska on the mound over the last three innings of the first game. He retired six straight.
The Huskers found themselves down 4-0 after the first inning, but were able to come back and score in every inning after the fourth. It appeared as if Nebraska had found some momentum in the eighth inning, cutting UC Riverside’s lead 8-7 on a Cam Chick RBI hit. The Highlanders quickly added two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Nebraska cut UC Riverside’s lead to 10-9 in the top of the ninth, but left the bases loaded when the final out was recorded. The loss was Nebraska’s first of the 2019 season.
Nebraska bounced back in the second game of the day, despite another slow start. Neither team scored until the fifth inning. The Huskers scored nine runs in the final four innings, continuing their theme of finishing strong.
Nate Fisher started for the Huskers and stepped up big when needed. He pitched five innings, striking out six and giving up three hits. Fisher looks to be one of the staples for the Nebraska pitching rotation in 2019.
Offensively, Jaxon Hallmark continues to clobber baseballs. He had three hits in the second game of the day to add to his impressive weekend. Chick made some noise in the second game as well, scoring three runs on the way to a 10-6 Husker victory.
Nebraska (2-1) and UC Riverside (1-2) wrap up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. The game can be streamed on BigWest.TV.
