Cougars Take Game Two, 13-5

Charleston, S.C. – After holding the College of Charleston scoreless in the season opener on Friday, the Huskers were unable to take the series on Saturday, as the Cougars’ offense carried them to a 13-5 win. The Huskers were only out-hit on the day 12-11, but committed four errors that earned to four un earned runs.

Charleston jumped out to a 7-0 lead through two innings, but the Huskers clawed back and were within three in the sixth, 8-5. The Cougars went on to score the game’s final five runs, including four in the seventh inning.

Garett King’s first weekend start did not go as planned, as the sophomore lasted a career-low 1.0 inning and gave up a career-high six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks. Charleston starter Bailey Ober, who missed last season following Tommy John surgery, lasted 4.1 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits and four walks. Ober was tabbed as the NCBWA National Freshman of the Year in 2014.

Three Huskers produced multiple hits, including freshman Jesse Wilkening, who was 2-for-5 in his first career game with a double and a home run. It was the first time a Husker had hit a home run in their first career game since Tanner Lubach homered in the 2013 season opener at CSU Bakersfield. Also, it was the first time a freshman had homered in their debut since 2010 when Chad Christensen did it against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Feb. 26.

The Cougars jumped on King in the bottom of the first with three runs on five hits, and all nine batters came to the plate. The Cougars saw all nine batters hit again in the second, platting four runs on three hits and three NU errors. For the second straight inning Bradley Jones drove in a pair of runs with a double, with the second double ending King’s day. Reece Eddins took the mound and got two quick outs before a pair of singles and two errors scored two more runs.

Following a 1-2-3 inning from Eddins in the bottom of the third, the Huskers got on the board in the fourth when Jake Meyers drove in a pair of runs with a two-out triple, his first as a Husker. Ryan Boldt stepped in looking to cut even more into the lead, but Ober got him to bounce into a 4-3 groundout.

Eddins again put the Cougars down in order in the fourth and Nebraska chipped away another run in the top of the fifth. With one out the Huskers got a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases. Reliever Michael Carpin got Luis Alvarado to pop up in the field for the first out, but then walked Elijah Dilday to force in a run. Carpin limited the potential big inning to one run when he got Jake Placzek to fly out to left field.

The Husker cut the lead to three runs in the fifth when Wilkening lined a two-run homer over the left field fence. Erven Roper got one of the runs back for Charleston in the bottom of the frame when he blasted a solo shot to right field that pushed the Cougars’ lead back to four, 9-5.

The Cougars put the game away in the seventh when they plated four runs, including a two on a double by Dupree Hart. For the third time in the game the Cougars sent nine batters to the plate.

The Huskers and Cougars will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 10 a.m. (CT).