Fueled by strong pitching and timely two-out hitting, Nebraska picked up a 4-1 win vs. Baylor in the season opener at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field on Friday afternoon.
Nebraska scored four runs on five hits and committed an error, while Baylor scored one run on seven hits.
Dylan Carey led the Huskers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Cayden Brumbaugh went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Garrett Anglim added a solo home run.
Brett Sears earned the no-decision in a 5.1-inning effort while making his first career start with the Huskers. The Westphalia, Iowa, native allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven Bears, matching his career high vs. South Dakota State last season.
Tucker Timmerman recorded the win in his collegiate debut after pitching 1.2 scoreless innings. Kyle Perry dealt a scoreless eighth inning, setting up Casey Daiss’ save in the ninth in his Husker debut.
A pair of walks had runners on first and second with two outs for the Huskers in the second frame, but a flyout to center kept the Big Red off the board. Baylor had two baserunners of their own reach in the bottom of the second after an NU error and a single to left, but Sears’ fifth strikeout of the day kept the game scoreless through two.
Sears added a pair of punchouts in the third and dealt scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings to send a scoreless game into the sixth.
Nebraska grabbed a one-run lead in the top of the sixth on two hits, including the Huskers’ first hit of the day. Brumbaugh’s one-out single and a wild pitch put the redshirt sophomore on second with one out for the NU offense. Dylan Carey came through with a key two-out hit for the Huskers, roping a 2-2 pitch into the right-center gap for an RBI double to give Nebraska a 1-0 advantage.
The Bears answered with a run on two hits in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at one through six innings. Timmerman inherited a runner on first with one out, before Hunter Simmons’ RBI double to the alley in right-center scored the Bears’ lone run.
Riley Silva was plunked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brumbaugh in the top of the eighth, before Carey lifted a two-out RBI double to left to give Nebraska its second lead of the day.
The Huskers tacked on a pair of insurance runs on two hits in the top of the ninth. Anglim smacked a 2-1 pitch over the fence in left to double the lead for the Big Red. Silva reached on a two-out dropped third strike and stole second with two outs, followed by Brumbaugh’s RBI single to right field to stretch the lead to three.
Daiss took the mound in the ninth and worked around a leadoff single to preserve the Big Red’s win on Opening Day and collect his first save with the Huskers.
Nebraska continues play at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown with a matchup at 3 p.m. on Saturday against No. 21 Texas Tech at Globe Life Field. Saturday’s game will be streamed on FloBaseball, while fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.