Nebraska fell 11-3 in its home opener against South Alabama at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park on Friday night.
Nebraska (7-4) scored three runs on nine hits and left nine men on base, while South Alabama (11-3) had 11 runs on 12 hits and left three men on base.
Rhett Stokes went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles at the plate for Nebraska, while Tyler Stone finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run single. Bryce Hughes drove in the other Husker run, with Josh Caron adding a double. Riley Silva reached in three of his five plate appearances, including a pair of hit-by-pitches.
In his third start, Drew Christo allowed seven runs, all earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts across 4.1 innings of work. Caleb Clark tossed a scoreless inning of relief, while Rans Sanders retired all four batters faced in his third outing this season. Jalen Worthley, Trey Frahm and Hayden Lewis each made appearances across the final two innings.
South Alabama came out of the gates firing as the first four batters reached base. Lucas Ismalli capped off the big inning with a three-run homer to right field to put the Jaguars up, 4-0, in the opening frame.
Christo settled in after a rocky first inning, needing just 21 pitches to retire the next six batters to keep the Huskers within striking distance. Caron doubled with one out in the second but was then tagged out at third on Cole Evans’ fielder’s choice, putting an end to the Nebraska rally.
A leadoff double, followed by a wild pitch, fueled another multi-run inning for the Jaguars. With the wind blowing heavily to right field, Joseph Sullivan slugged a two-run home run to that part of the park to give South Alabama a 6-0 lead.
The Huskers responded in the bottom of the third inning, with the top of the order loading the bases. Stone put Nebraska on the board with a two-run single, plating Cayden Brumbaugh and Silva who have both reached in every game this season.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Christo in the top of the fourth, Stokes’ double and Dylan Hufft’s walk put runners on first and second with two outs. A Brumbaugh strikeout stranded both men on base, as the Jaguars held a 6-2 advantage heading into the fifth inning.
Another home run to begin the frame spelled the end of the day for Christo as South Alabama pushed their lead to 7-2. Clark made his first appearance out of the bullpen this season and forced a strikeout and flyout to bring an end to the inning.
Despite retiring the leadoff batter, Clark allowed a single and a walk to put runners on first and second for the Jaguars. However, Sanders got the Huskers out of trouble in the sixth inning, inducing a double-play ball.
South Alabama added four more runs in the ninth inning to bring an end to the Huskers' four-game winning streak. Hughes recorded his first RBI of the season for the Big Red in the bottom half, bringing home Stokes who singled to lead off the inning.
Nebraska and South Alabama continue the weekend series tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. CT at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. Saturday’s matchup can be seen on B1G+, while fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.