HUNTSVILLE – It was a near textbook performance on Opening Night for the Sam Houston baseball team on Friday night as it picked up an 8-5 win over Nebraska at Don Sanders Stadium.
The Kats' (1-0) pitching staff punched out 15 Cornhuskers (0-1) in the game, including eight from starting pitcher
Matt Dillard who went 5.0 innings before leaving with the lead. He took a no-decision, but
Cole Wesneski picked up the win in relief after a 3-run seventh inning proved to be the difference.
Wesneski struck out four and did not walk a batter in 3.0 innings of work before handing things off to
Lance Lusk who struck out the side in the ninth for his first save of the year.
Justin Wishkoski led the offense with three RBI, including a 2-run double in the seventh that provided key insurance runs.
Clayton Chadwick and
Tyler Davis also picked up 2-run singles in an explosive, 5-run second inning that put the Kats in front early.
The duo of
Walker Janek and
Easton Loyd provided plenty of spark at the bottom of the lineup, each contributing a pair of hits and scoring twice, while it was Loyd's go-ahead RBI single in the seventh that pushed home the game-winning run.
Nebraska, the defending Big 10 champions, pushed across three runs in the top of the second, but the Kats answered right back with a 5-spot on RBI from Chadwick, Wishkoski and Davis. The Huskers eventually knotted things up with runs in both the sixth and seventh, but Nebraska's lone error of the night cost them big in the bottom of the seventh, sparking the Kats' 3-run rally.
The miscue put
Christian Smith on base to kick start the inning and after a hit batter and a bunt single from Janek, Loyd dumped an RBI single into right field to score pinch runner
Lane Brewster. Three batters later Wishkoski sent one into the same area to push home two more and the combo of Wesneski and Lusk did the rest in the final two frames.
The Kats and Huskers will do it all over again on Saturday with a twinbill scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at The Don.
