Huskers Drop First Game of Doubleheader, 8-3

College Park, Md. – For just the second time this season the Nebraska baseball team gave up more than five runs, as the No. 18 Huskers dropped the first game of a doubleheader and their first Big Ten game of the year on Saturday to the No. 17 Maryland Terrapins, 8-3.

Saturday’s series opener was a pitching matchup between two of the Big Ten’s top starters in NU’s Chance Sinclair and UM’s Mike Shawaryn. Each pitcher gave up three runs, but UM’s sophomore right hander won the battle, going 7.0 innings to improve to 7-0 on the year.

Five of NU’s seven hits came from Jake Schleppenbach and Blake Headley, with Schleppenbach notching three singles, while Headley drove in all three of NU’s runs. Headley end the game with 28 RBIs on the season, which tops is previous single-season best of 27, set last year.

The Huskers got off to a great start with back-to-back singles from Ryan Boldt and Schleppenbach to start the game. Headley then delivered a RBI groundout to put the Huskers on top 1-0. With two down and Schleppenbach on third, Austin Darby nearly drove a ball down the right field line for extra bases, but UM first baseman Justin Morris made a leaping catch to end the inning.

After Shawaryn gave up consecutive hits to start the game, the sophomore right hander retired 14 straight Huskers, before Elijah Dilday broke the streak with a two-out single in the sixth.

The Terps responded in the bottom of the first with three hits off Sinclair, including a pair of two-out singles, to even the game at 1-1. Maryland added to its lead in the fourth with a two-out rally that plated a run and extended its lead to 3-1 in the fifth with a two-out solo home run from Nick Cieri.

Nebraska put together its own two-out rally in the sixth, starting with a single by Schleppenbach. Headley followed with his 11th double of the season and on the play Schleppenbach scored all the way from first to cut Maryland’s lead to 3-2. With the tying run in scoring position, Shawaryn got Ben Miller to bounce out, 4-3, to end the NU rally.

The Huskers had the tying run on base in the seventh when Austin Christensen worked a one-out walk, only the eighth walk of the year for Shawaryn in 54.1 innings. Christensen moved to second on a ground out by Tanner Lubach, but was stuck there when Dilday struck out looking to end the frame.

The Terps then blew the game open in the bottom of the seventh with four runs on three hits and a Husker error. The Terps bunted four times in the inning, including a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Tim Lewis.

Each team scored in the eighth and UM reliever Robert Galligan ended the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Game two of today’s doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.