LINCOLN, Neb. -- Fighting Illini baseball (10-8) fell in their Big Ten opener, 8-4, to Nebraska (12-7-1) on Friday night at Haymarket Park.
The Cornhuskers jumped all over the Illini in the first inning, scoring five runs on five hits, with two of the runs coming with two outs in the frame.
Illinois began chipping away in the third, with Ryan Moerman and Coltin Quagliano leading off with singles and Connor Milton bringing them both in to score with a single of his own. Branden Comia then extended his on-base streak to 58 games with an RBI-single of his own to score Milton, cutting the lead to 5-3.
Nebraska would add a run in the fourth to take a three-run lead, but Illinois again would cut the deficit to two when Comia drove in Quagliano with his second RBI-single of the ballgame.
The Cornhuskers would keep the Illini off the board in the rest of the contest and would score a run in both the sixth and eighth innings.
Illinois will be back in action tomorrow in the second game of this series against Nebraska, with first pitch scheduled for 2:02 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Branden Comia extended his on-base streak to 58 games after going 2-for-3 with two RBI and being hit by a pitch.
    » He is just five games away from matching Cam McDonald's program record of 63 games, which was set last season.
» Connor Milton went 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI in the game.
    » First multi-RBI game in his Illini career.
    » Made his second-straight start.
» Coltin Quagliano went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
    » Has gone 3-for-6 in his last two starts with two runs.
» Korey Bunselmeyer worked 2.2 innings in relief allowing just one hit and one run, unearned, to go along with two strikeouts.
» TJ Constertina tossed 1.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and whiffing one.
» Illinois went 3-for-5 (.600) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 38 Nebraska hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out six.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
