Nebraska baseball (3-1) concluded the MLB Desert Invitational against Stanford (2-2) on Monday afternoon. Despite winning big in two of its last three games, the Huskers fell to the Cardinal 11-6 for their first loss of the season.
Stanford set the tone on the second pitch of the game, nailing a triple at the start of a six-run opening inning. The Cardinal added to their lead in the third, tallying three more runs to pin Nebraska in a 9-0 hole. Though the Huskers responded by scoring six straight runs, Stanford put the game away in the eighth by going up 11-6.
The Cardinal tallied 14 hits for 10 RBIs on the afternoon, left 10 runners on base and put seven pitchers on the mound, who combined for eight strikeouts. The Huskers finished with 13 hits for five RBIs, leaving 13 runners on base.
Mac Moyer hit a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, earning two doubles and a walk. Cole Kitchens and Will Jesske each posted two RBIs for Nebraska in the third inning. Kitchens started with a two-RBI double, and Jesske delivered a two-run home run, their only hits of the game. Jett Buck, Joshua Overbeek and Dylan Carey all added two hits with Overbeek and Buck earning one double.
Colin Nowaczyk (0-1) suffered the loss at the mound, starting the game and surrendering six runs on five hits. Tucker Timmerman took over in the second and allowed three runs on four hits in 1.2 innings. Braxton Stewart closed out the third inning, facing three batters and walking two of them.
Auden Pankonin pitched 1.1 innings, earning one strikeout against two hits. Pryce Bender stood on the mound for 3.0 innings, throwing one strikeout and allowing one hit and one run.
Kevin Mannell and Caleb Clark pitched in the eighth. Mannell allowed two hits and a run. Clark threw one strikeout. Ryan Harrahill took over for the ninth inning, going three-up, three-down with one strikeout.
Nebraska returns to play on Friday for its second and final tournament of the regular season at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. The Huskers begin the tournament on Friday afternoon against No. 15 Louisville. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT on FloCollege.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Rough first inning dooms Nebraska in 11-6 loss to Stanford