Huskers Fall at OSU, 5-4

Stillwater, Okla. - The No. 3 Nebraska baseball team built a 4-1 lead in the early innings before Oklahoma State scored the game's final four runs to come back for a 5-4 win in the opener of a three-game series in Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday.

With the loss, the Huskers slipped to 36-7 overall and 15-4 in the Big 12, while seeing their six-game winning streak come to an end. The Cowboys improved to 32-13 overall and 11-8 in the conference, while stretching their winning streak to 10 games.

Erik Bird suffered his first career loss and allowed his first career earned run in 15 innings for the Huskers, while Matt Gardner (4-3) scattered eight hits and allowed four earned runs in a complete-game victory for OSU.

Oklahoma State jumped to a quick 1-0 lead by scratching across the game's first run in the bottom of the opening, before Nebraska responded with three runs in the top of the second to take control of the game.

Luke Gorsett led off the NU second by being hit with an 0-2 pitch from Gardner. Andy Gerch then stepped to the plate and smacked an RBI double to the wall in center to tie the game. Jake Opitz followed with a base hit down the third base line to put runners at the corners with nobody out, before Jeff Christy laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored Gerch to give Nebraska a 2-1 edge.

Opitz, who had moved to second on the Christy sacrifice, then moved to third on a Gardner balk, before Jake Mort laid down another squeeze bunt to score Opitz from third and give the Huskers a 3-1 lead.

Gerch helped NU add to its lead in the fourth with a one-out double, which set up an RBI single by Opitz to give the Huskers' a 4-1 lead. Gerch and Opitz led the Huskers at the plate on the day, as both NU hitters went 2-for-4. Gerch scored a pair of runs and drove in another, while Opitz scored one run and added an RBI.

But Nebraska's inability to add to its three-run cushion over the next three innings proved costly for the Huskers, according to Head Coach Mike Anderson.

“That game changes if we punch some more runs across early,” Anderson said. “We had the momentum, and then they got the momentum late and held on to it.”

Anderson also credited the OSU starter Matt Gardner for battling throughout the game in a 124-pitch effort.

“He did a good job out there and kept us off-balance,” Anderson said. “From the fourth inning on, we didn’t have a great offensive approach and hit a lot of fly balls and didn’t stay on top of pitches, just like we did against Texas (in NU’s last loss on April 21).”

Oklahoma State began its comeback in the bottom of the fourth by adding its second run, before striking for a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Matt Clarkson led off the Cowboy seventh with a triple and scored on a one-out double by Keanon Simon.

Simon advanced to third on a groundout for OSU's second out, and NU starter Joba Chamberlain appeared poised to get NU out of the inning without further damage. But with two strikes on Deik Scram, Chamberlain uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Simon to score from third. Chamberlain struck out Scram to end the inning and finished the day by allowing four runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Bird came on in relief of Chamberlain in the bottom of the eighth after the Huskers went quietly in the top of the inning.

Adam Carr then smashed a one-out triple before Shelby Ford drove in the winning run off Zach Herr with a one-out single. Herr picked off Ford and got a flyout to end the eighth inning, but the Huskers went down in order in the ninth.

Nebraska will face Oklahoma State in game two of their three-game on set with a scheduled 2 p.m. first pitch on Sunday from Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater. A live radio broadcast will be available on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including 1400 AM in Lincoln and 1110 AM in Omaha, along with a free broadcast on Huskers.com. Live stats will also be available on Huskers.com, while live video will be available on HuskersNside for premium subscribers.