Carey Leads Huskers to 5-4 Win

Dylan Carey went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI to lead Nebraska to a 5-4 win against South Dakota State on Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (7-5) scored five runs on 11 hits, while South Dakota State (4-8) totaled four runs and 10 hits.

Carey’s five-hit performance is the first by a Husker since Gunner Hellstrom at Rutgers on April 21, 2018. With the two doubles, Carey moved into a tie for second with Daniel Bruce (2000-05) and Matt Hopper (2000-03) on the all-time list, trailing Will Bolt by one.

Mac Moyer was 2-for-3 with two walks and a pair of runs scored, while Cole Kitchens went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a walk. Case Sanderson drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Trey Fikes added a hit and a run.

Pryce turned in a strong performance in his first career start, working four scoreless innings on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Tucker Timmerman tossed two innings, allowing two runs, before Colin Nowaczyk surrendered two runs across 1.1 frames. Kevin Mannell earned his first win of the season, retiring all five batters he faced across 1.2 scoreless innings to close it out.

Nebraska jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Moyer drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, while Overbeek singled to put runners on first and second. Carey doubled down the left-field line to score Moyer, and Kitchens’ two-RBI single to left field brought home Overbeek and Carey to make it a three-run lead.

The Huskers added a run in the second when Fikes was hit by a pitch and scored on Sanderson’s sacrifice fly to center, extending the lead to 4-0 through two innings.

South Dakota State chipped back into the game in the fifth against Timmerman, as a pair of RBI doubles pulled the Jackrabbits within 4-2.

The Jackrabbits tied the game at four in the top of the eighth with two-run homer to right field.

Nebraska answered immediately in the bottom of the eighth to retake the lead. Moyer doubled down the left-field line to open the inning, and Carey continued his impressive day at the plate with an RBI double to left field that brought home Moyer to give the Huskers a 5-4 advantage.

Mannell then shut the door, retiring the Jackrabbits in order in the ninth to preserve Nebraska’s one-run victory on Wednesday.

Nebraska continues its homestand this weekend with Big Ten play, as the Huskers welcome Michigan State to Lincoln for a three-game series on Friday-Sunday, March 6-8 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.