Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
Six runs in the first inning and one each in the second and third were enough for the Nebraska baseball team to cruise to an 8-5, home-opening win over Omaha Tuesday at Hawks Field in Lincoln.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run home run by Tyler Bishop. But the Cornhuskers wasted no time answering. In the bottom of the first, Dylan Carey hit a RBI double down the right-field line to get NU on the board. Case Sanderson followed an RBI ground out to tie the game at two. After that, Cole Kitchens hammered a two-run home run to right field, giving the Huskers a 4-2 lead. Mac Moyer followed with a two-run single, pushing the Nebraska lead to 6-2.
Kitchens drove in another run with a double in the second, making it 7-2 NU, and Carey drove in a run in the third with a single, growing the Huskers lead to 8-2. Omaha chipped away with single runs in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, but wasn’t able to pull even with Nebraska.
Cooper Kitskee (1-0) earned the win with 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched. He allowed three runs (two earned) with five hits. Carey was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a double, while Kitchens was 2-for-4 with three RBI, a double and a home run.
The Huskers will return to the diamond Wednesday to face South Dakota State. Pregame coverage begins at 1 p.m., with first pitch at 1:30 p.m. on KLIN.