Huskers Fall in Series Opener at Maryland

Nebraska plated an early three-run lead but couldn’t hold on, as the Huskers fell 12-5 in the series opener at Maryland on Friday night at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Md.

Nebraska (19-23, 7-12 Big Ten) scored five runs on nine hits, while Maryland (20-23, 6-13 Big Ten) totaled 12 runs and 13 hits.

Dylan Carey was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two runs scored. Joshua Overbeek went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Cayden Brumbaugh had a 1-for-3 night with a homer and two runs scored.

Robby Bolin, Max Buettenback, Tyler Stone and Will Jesske tallied one hit apiece.

Will Walsh fell to 4-6 on the season after allowing five runs on five hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts in three innings of work. Tucker Timmerman worked a career-high 3.2 innings and picked up a career-high six punchouts while allowing six runs, five earned, on six hits.

Pryce Bender surrendered a run on two hits in one inning, while Blake Encarnacion recorded the final out for the NU bullpen.

Brumbaugh broke the scoreless tie in the opening frame with a 386-foot solo blast over the wall in left field.

The Huskers tacked on two more runs in the second to build the lead to 3-0. Carey got the inning going with a ground-rule double to left field, while Jesske’s RBI single up the middle doubled the lead for the Big Red. Overbeek’s two-out RBI single through the left side plated Jesske and had the Huskers up three.

Maryland responded with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second to lock the game at three. A one-out walk and single had runners on first and second, before an RBI double to the left-center gap scored the Terrapins’ first run of the night.

A sacrifice fly to left field brought Maryland within a run, while an RBI single to center field locked the game at three through two innings.

The Terrapins added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to grab a 5-3 lead over the Huskers. A first-pitch solo homer to begin the inning gave Maryland its first lead of the night. The Terrapins doubled the lead to 5-3 with an RBI single to left field after back-to-back one-out walks.

Nebraska plated a run on two hits in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit in half. Carey laced a single to center to begin the inning and advanced to second on a four-pitch walk to Colin Cymbalista with one out. Bolin smacked an RBI single through the left side against Maryland’s defensive shift to score Carey from second and make it a 5-4 game.

Maryland immediately got the run back with a leadoff solo homer over the wall in left-center field to extend the lead to 6-4 through four innings.

The Huskers climbed back within a run in the seventh inning with Stone’s two-out RBI double to right-center field. Brumbaugh began the inning with a four-pitch walk and later came around to score on Stone’s RBI double to make it a 5-4 game.

The Terrapins scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the seventh to stretch the lead to six through seven innings. Maryland had runners on first and third with one out after a walk and a single, while a passed ball plated the first run of the inning.

A 368-foot fly ball to center field cleared the wall for a two-run homer, extending the lead to 9-5. The lead grew to 11-5 for Maryland with a solo homer and an RBI single to shortstop.

The Terrapins added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-out walk, followed by back-to-back singles.

Nebraska and Maryland continue the series tomorrow afternoon at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. First pitch between the Huskers and Terrapins is set for 1 p.m. CT on B1G+.