CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WOWT) – Nebraska baseball dropped its NCAA Tournament opener Friday night, falling 7-4 to Oklahoma in the first game of the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Huskers were held scoreless through seven innings before a four-run eighth gave them life. The late surge was not enough to overcome the early deficit.
Oklahoma, the No. 2 seed in the regional, got a dominant start from Malachi Witherspoon, who held Nebraska in check over six shutout innings. The right-hander struck out nine and allowed just four hits to earn the win. The Sooners built a 7-0 lead through seven, capitalizing on a pair of Husker errors.
Nebraska, the No. 3 seed in the regional, broke through in the eighth, loading the bases with no outs to spark its first real threat. Max Buettenback delivered the big swing with a bases-clearing triple down the left field line to cut the deficit to 7-3. Will Walsh then brought in Buettenback with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4, but that’s as close as the Huskers would get.
Nebraska struck out 14 times on the night, compared to just eight for Oklahoma. The loss sends the Huskers into an elimination game against four-seed Holy Cross on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The Sooners will advance to face top-ranked North Carolina in the winner’s bracket.
For the third time in five years, Nebraska will play in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
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