Nebraska splits doubleheader in Texas

Casey Burnham went 4-for-4 at the plate and drove in three runs to lead Nebraska to a 12-1 run-rule win in eight innings over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader in Abilene, Texas.
The Huskers (15-8-1) scored 12 runs on 13 hits and an error, while the Islanders (13-15) recorded one run, five hits and three errors.
Emmett Olson improved to 5-1 with his fourth quality start of the season. The southpaw pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits and strikeout four Islanders. Corbin Hawkins tossed the final two innings, giving up just one hit.
Burnham fell a home run shy of the cycle in his four-hit performance, tallying two singles, a double, a triple, three RBI and three runs. Brice Matthews was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, while Dylan Carey went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Max Anderson had a 2-for-5 performance with a two-run homer, while Gabe Swansen, Ben Columbus and Cole Evans tallied one hit each.
Olson worked around a one-out double in the first, while Swansen made a wall-crashing catch in left field in the second to keep the Islanders off the board through two.
The Huskers plated the game’s first run in the third with one hit and an error. Burnham reached on a one-out bunt single down the third-base line and advanced to third on the plate with a two-base throwing error. In the next at-bat, Matthews lifted a 1-2 pitch deep to right for sacrifice fly, scoring Burnham for his team-leading 37th RBI on the season.
Nebraska blew the game open in the fourth with six runs on six hits and a pair of Islander errors to jump ahead 7-0. A pair of infield singles by Anderson and Columbus, followed by a sac fly to left by Josh Caron doubled the lead for the Big Red to 2-0.
Fischer reached on an AMCC error to put runners on first and second, before Evans drilled an RBI single up the middle to score Columbus and make it 3-0. Burnham followed with a two-RBI triple down the right-field line, while RBI singles from Matthews and Swansen gave the Huskers the 7-0 lead.
Three consecutive hits to begin the sixth expanded the lead to 9-0 for the Big Red. Burnham led off with a double to left for his third hit of the game, while Matthews lined an 0-2 pitch to left for an RBI single. In the next at-bat, Dylan Carey smacked a double off the wall in left-center to plate Matthews.
Texas A&M-CC scored its first run on two hits in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff double and a one-out RBI single through the left side plated the Islanders’ first run and placed runners on first and third. Olson struck out the next two batters to elude any damage.
The Huskers got the run back in the next half inning. Evans drew a four-pitch walk and stole second, before racing home on Burnham’s RBI single through the right side.
NU tacked on two more runs in the eighth to grow the lead to 12-1 with a two-run homer over the wall in center by Anderson to clinch the run-rule victory.
Huskers Fall 5-3 at Abilene Christian
Nebraska brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth but couldn't complete the comeback, as the Huskers fell 5-3 at Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon in Abilene, Texas.
The Huskers (15-9-1) had three runs on eight hits and a trio of errors, while the Wildcats (21-6) recorded five runs, six hits and an error.
Jace Kaminska suffered his first loss as a Husker, dropping to 5-1 on the season. The Caney, Kan., native allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits in four innings of work. Jackson Brockett pitched the next 1.2 innings, surrendering one hit and striking out two. Jake Bunz recorded two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work, while Shay Schanaman threw the final inning of relief.
Max Anderson led NU at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored. Brice Matthews was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs, while Ben Columbus, Griffin Everitt, Cole Evans and Garrett Anglim recorded one hit.
Nebraska scored in the first inning for the 11th time this season with one run on a pair of hits. Matthews reached on a first-pitch single and stole second, before Anderson's RBI single through the left side gave NU an early 1-0 lead.
Abilene Christian jumped ahead 4-1 with a four-run third inning. An RBI single to right field, followed by an RBI fielder's choice had the Wildcats out front by one, while a two-RBI double to left made it a three-run game.
The Wildcats added a run in the fourth off back-to-back NU errors with two outs to make it a 5-1 game after four innings.
The Huskers trimmed the deficit in half with a pair of runs in the seventh. Matthews singled through the right side, while Anderson smacked a two-run homer into the ACU bullpen behind the wall in right to make it 5-3.
Anglim began the ninth with a pinch-hit single to right field to put the tying run at the plate, but the Wildcats retired the next three Huskers to preserve the 5-3 win on Saturday.
The Huskers continue non-conference play on the road, as Nebraska ventures to Kansas State for a midweek matchup on Tuesday, April 4 in Manhattan, Kan. First pitch between the Huskers and Wildcats is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium.