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Nebraska Baseball falls to UC Irvine in 2025 season opener, looks to rebound against Vanderbilt

by: Carter Owens02/15/25
Dylan Carey 12oo pic
Dylan Carey (Photo credit: Nebraska Athletics)

Nebraska baseball opened its 2025 season with a disappointing 10-5 loss to UC Irvine on Friday, Feb. 14. The Anteaters struck first with a two-out RBI double in the top of the first inning and never looked back.

Nebraska starting pitcher Mason McConnaughey settled in after the early run, striking out nine batters, including recording his first six outs via strikeout. However, he ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing five earned runs before being pulled. Head coach Will Bolt turned to senior Drew Christo out of the bullpen, but he also struggled, surrendering five earned runs in the fifth. All 10 of Nebraska’s earned runs came from McConnaughey and Christo.

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Offensively, Nebraska’s bats were quiet early. Creighton transfer Hogan Helligso recorded the Huskers’ only hit the first time through the order, as Nebraska hitters struggled with swings and misses. The Huskers scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly and a hit-by-pitch but left the bases loaded, missing a key scoring opportunity.

Nebraska finished with eight hits, three of them from junior shortstop Dylan Carey, who also tallied an RBI. Carey was the only Husker with multiple hits. Nebraska hitters struck out 10 times.

A bright spot for the Huskers came from freshmen relievers Collin Nowaczyk and Pryce Bender, who combined for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless work, striking out two while issuing no walks. Nebraska pitchers allowed seven total walks, with five coming from McConnaughey and Christo.

Nebraska looks to bounce back on Saturday, Feb. 15 against Vanderbilt. Sophomore right-hander Ty Horn is set to start, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT on MLB Network.

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