Nebraska opened its four-game series at Grand Canyon with a 7-2 win over the Lopes in front of 2,437 fans at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark on Thursday night.
Nebraska (2-2) scored seven runs on nine hits, while GCU (4-1) had two runs on eight hits and committed two errors.
Tyler Stone led the Husker offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, home run, three RBI and a run. Case Sanderson went 2-for-4 with a triple, while Dylan Carey had an RBI double and Josh Caron added an RBI triple. Riley Silva was hit by the pitch three times, going 0-for-1 on the night with three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Drew Christo moved to 1-0 on the season after dealing six strong innings, allowing one run on seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Jackson Brockett pitched 1.2 innings in relief, before Tucker Timmerman dealt 1.1 scoreless innings to clinch the win.
Christo battled traffic on the bases early, as the Lopes had a pair of baserunners in the second and third innings. The junior induced a pair of two-out flyouts to extinguish the threat and keep the series opener scoreless through three innings.
Nebraska jumped out to a three-run lead after the Husker offense plated three runs on three hits in the fourth. Carey laced a 1-0 pitch into the left-center gap for an RBI double after Silva was hit by the pitch to open the inning. The lead grew to three after Stone slugged a towering two-run shot over the wall in left field.
The NU offense tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 5-0. Silva worked a one-out walk on full count, before Caron lifted an RBI triple off the wall in center field. Caron scored on the play after the relay throw hit Caron and rolled out of play while advancing to third.
Sanderson collected his first collegiate hit with a triple off the wall in left to begin the sixth frame. The freshman came home in the next at-bat after Garrett Anglim lifted a 1-0 pitch to right field for a sacrifice fly.
GCU scratched across its first run of the night behind three hits in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-1 game. Christo induced a 4-6-3 double play by the Husker defense, while a single and an RBI double plated the Lopes’ first run.
A leadoff double, followed by a one-out sacrifice fly to left in the bottom of the eighth trimmed the Husker lead to 6-2 after eight innings.
Silva was plunked a third time on the night to open the ninth inning and stole second and third. Caron drew a walk on full count to put runners on first and third with one out, setting up Stone’s RBI double into the alley in left-center to expand the lead to 7-2.
Nebraska and Grand Canyon continue the weekend series tomorrow at 7 p.m. CT at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. Friday night’s matchup can be seen on ESPN+, while fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network.
