Huskers Drop Series Finale at UCLA

Nebraska concluded its weekend series at UCLA with a 5-3 setback to the Bruins on Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.

Nebraska (7-11, 1-5 Big Ten) scored three runs on seven hits and an error, while UCLA (16-4, 5-1 Big Ten) totaled five runs and 10 hits.

Dylan Carey led NU at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Joshua Overbeek, Cayden Brumbaugh, Tyler Stone, Will Jesske and Cael Frost had one hit apiece.

Jackson Brockett allowed three runs on six hits across 4.1 innings. Caleb Clark dropped 0-1 after surrendering two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings of work. Drew Christo threw 2.1 perfect innings in relief, striking out four Bruin hitters.

The Husker offense plated two runs on a pair of hits in the top of the second to give the Big Red an early 2-0 lead. Jesske singled up the middle, followed by a full-count walk to Frost to put runners on first and second with one out.

A wild pitch advanced the duo to second and third, before Carey laced a two-RBI double to left to give the Huskers a two-run advantage.

Overbeek drew a leadoff walk in the third and later came around to score on Stone’s sacrifice fly to right field, extending the lead to 3-0 through three innings.

UCLA cut into the Huskers’ 3-0 lead with a leadoff solo homer to left off the bat of Roch Cholowsky.

A hit batter, followed by a single and an error had runners on second and third with one out for the Bruins in the bottom of the fifth inning. Dean West’s two-RBI single into the right-center gap locked the game at three.

The NU offense threatened with a pair of baserunners in the top of the sixth, but Frost and Carey were left stranded after reaching on consecutive singles.

Jarrod Hocking broke the tie with leadoff solo homer to open the bottom of the sixth frame. Two straight singles after the homer, followed by an RBI single through the left side gave the Bruins a 5-3 advantage. Back-to-back fielder’s choices and a strikeout put a halt to UCLA’s threat and kept it a 5-3 game through six innings.

Christo shut down the Bruins in the seventh and eighth frames, before the Huskers were retired in order in the top of the ninth to clinch UCLA’s 5-3 win on Sunday afternoon.

Nebraska will stay on the west coast, as the Huskers venture to Malibu for a two-game midweek set at Pepperdine on Tuesday-Wednesday, March 18-19.