LINCOLN, Neb. -- Fighting Illini baseball (10-9) fell to Nebraska (13-7-1), 8-3, on Saturday at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska again got on the board their first time up, starting off the game with back-to-back home runs before adding a third on a wild pitch to take a 3-0 lead.
Illinois tacked on a run in the second when Drake Westcott scored on a wild pitch and then added another in the third on a solo blast from Branden Comia to make it 3-2.
The Cornhuskers scratched an unearned run across in the fourth, but the Illini would cut the deficit back to one in the seventh, when Cam McDonald singled home Brody Harding with two outs in the frame.
Nebraska would deliver a decisive blow in the bottom half of the frame, hitting another set of back-to-back home runs to make it 7-3, before scoring one more run in the eighth.
After allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits in the first inning, freshman starter Julius Sanchez allowed no hits and no runs over his next 4.1 innings of work to keep the Illini in the ballgame.
The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow in the series finale against the Cornhuskers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT.
GAME NOTES
» Branden Comia extended his on-base streak to 59 games after going 2-for-4 with a run, home run, RBI and being hit by a pitch.
» He is just four games away from matching Cam McDonald's program record of 63 games, which was set last season.
» Ryan Moerman went 3-for-4 at the plate for his second three-hit game of the season.
» Cam McDonald went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
» The Fighting Illini out-hit the Cornhuskers at a 10-6 clip.
» Six of the nine Illini batters recorded a hit in the contest.
» Illini pitchers allowed no hits from the second through the sixth inning.
» Nebraska only had three hits in each the first and seventh inning.
» Illinois pitchers limited Nebraska to just 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 39 Nebraska hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out eight.
» First series lost by the Illini this season and first since Indiana took two of three since April 29 - May 1, 2022...ends a run of six-straight series wins.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
