Huskers Fall to Coastal Carolina, 8-3

Lincoln ? Jeff Tezak went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but it was not enough, as the Nebraska baseball team fell to No. 18 Coastal Carolina, 8-3, Friday evening at Hawks Field.

The Chanticleers (37-9) took advantage of Nebraska starter Tony Watson’s early struggles, jumping to a 5-1 lead after three and a half innings en route to victory. Dom Duggan and Derek Martin had two hits and drove in two runs apiece for Coastal Carolina, as Duggan’s two-run homer in the fourth gave the visitors a four-run cushion.

Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said that Coastal Carolina’s fast start against Watson was the key to their success on a night where the Huskers were not crisp in their first game following final exams.

"You have to give them a lot of credit on the offensive side of things," Anderson said. "They went out and had a very good offensive plan against Tony. They were able to create some runs early and get a 2-0 lead, and take the momentum from the start."

Watson, who was 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in his last six starts, fell to 5-2 with the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits over seven innings.

The Chants got on the scoreboard early against the Husker left-hander, scoring twice in the top of the first on Chris Raber’s RBI double and a two-out RBI from Tommy Baldridge. Coastal Carolina added an unearned run two innings later, loading the bases on a single, a hit batter and a fielding error before Derek Martin’s sacrifice fly to left made it a 3-0 lead.

The Huskers got on the board in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of wildness from Coastal Carolina starter Andy DeLaGarza. A hit batter and a two walks loaded the bases with one out before Andrew Brown coaxed DeLaGarza’s third walk of the inning to get NU on the scoreboard.

Coastal Carolina came right back in the fourth, as David Sappelt reached on a two-out infield single before coming home moments later on Duggan’s fourth homer of the season.

Nebraska pulled within 5-2 in the bottom of the fame, as two walks and an error put runners on second and third with no outs before Bryce Nimmo lofted a sacrifice fly to left to score Tezak, who walked to open the fourth.

From there, reliever David Anderson (4-3) came in for DeLaGarza, who walked six over the first three-plus innings, and kept the Husker offense at bay, holding Nebraska scoreless until Tezak’s two-out RBI single in the ninth.

Tezak was the only Husker who had more than one hits, as NU was out-hit 10-7, but could not take advantage of nine walks and two hit batters, leaving 14 runners stranded.

The Huskers continue the series Saturday afternoon at 2:05 p.m., as Johnny Dorn looks for his eighth win of the season. The game will be carried on the Husker Sports Radio Network and on Huskers.com.

-- Huskers --