No. 23 Nebraska trailed by five through two innings and never cut into the deficit, as the Huskers fell 10-2 in the series finale at Louisiana on Saturday evening at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park in Lafayette, La.

The Big Red (3-4) totaled two runs, five hits and three errors, while the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-3) scored 10 runs on 13 hits and committed an error.

Devin Nunez had a solo homer in his first career start, while Will Jesske had an RBI triple. Dylan Carey, Max Buettenback and Riley Silva each had a single in the loss.

Will Walsh dropped to 1-1 on the season after giving up five runs, four earned, on four hits in two innings. Drew Christo surrendered three runs, one earned, on two hits in 1.2 innings of work. Colin Nowaczyk recorded the final out in the bottom of the fourth via a strikeout, while Jackson Brockett allowed two runs on four hits in an inning.

Ryan Harrahill, Grant Cleavinger and Gavin Blachowicz pitched one inning apiece for the NU pitching staff, shutting out the Cajuns over the final three innings.

A five-run second inning from the Cajuns blew the game open and gave Louisiana a 5-0 lead. A bunt single, joined with a throwing error plated the first two runs, while an RBI double had the Cajuns out front 3-0. A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt allowed a third run to come home, before a sacrifice fly plated Louisiana’s fifth run of the inning.

Carey reached on a one-out single in the fourth frame and advanced to second on an errant throw on a pickoff attempt. The junior scored Nebraska’s first run after Jesske laced a 1-2 pitch to left for an RBI triple to make it a 5-1 game.

The Cajuns responded immediately in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on two hits and an error. A single, followed by a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt had runners on second and third with no outs. An RBI single to left grew the lead back to five, while a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout grew the lead to 8-1 through four innings.

An RBI single in the fifth inning and an RBI fielder’s choice in the sixth extended the lead to 10-1 for the Cajuns.

Making his first career start as a Husker, Nunez drilled a 368-foot solo homer just inside the right-field foul pole to score Nebraska’s second run of the night in the top of the eighth.

Nebraska continues play next weekend, as the Huskers take part in the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas. The Big Red are set to take on Sam Houston on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.

Huskies Run Past Huskers

Lincoln - Alexis Markowski and Jessica Petrie both posted double-doubles, but Washington used a 15-0 third-quarter run to fuel an 83-62 victory over the Nebraska women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

With the loss, Nebraska slipped to 18-10 overall and 9-8 in the Big Ten, while Washington improved to 16-12 and 7-9 in the conference.

Elle Ladine did the most damage for the Huskies, scoring a game-high 28 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while Dalayah Daniels added 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in an outstanding all-around effort to lead Washington.

Markowski, playing in the final regular-season home game of her Husker career, produced the 51st double-double and 11th of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Petrie pitched in her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Senior Alberte Rimdal added nine points and three assists, senior Kendall Moriarty contributed seven points and four assists, and senior Kendall Coley notched six points in the contest.

In a tightly contested first half, Markowski pumped in 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but the Huskers still trailed 39-37. The 6-3 senior scored 13 of NU's 16 points in the second quarter, including a three-pointer and two traditional three-point plays. Markowski added seven first-half rebounds, including a pair on the offensive end that she turned into second-chance points.

Ladine answered with 16 first-half points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a pair of threes. As a team, the Huskies hit 5-of-14 first-half threes, while holding NU to 3-of-9 threes to account for the halftime scoring advantage. Nebraska won the first-half rebounding battle, 18-11, but Washington answered with an 8-1 edge in turnovers in the half, outscoring the Huskers 11-3 in points off those turnovers.

The Huskers trailed 45-42 after a Rimdal bucket with 6:45 left in the third quarter, before Ladine and Daniels fueled a 15-0 Washington run to close the quarter and take a 60-42 edge to the final period.

Washington won going away in the second half for the 21-point win, hitting 35-of-60 shots (.547) on the day, including 8-of-24 three-pointers. Nebraska hit 40.4 percent (23-57) of its shots, including 8-of-21 threes (.381), while-outrebounding UW, 33-31. But the Huskies dominated the turnover game, 15-5, and outscored Nebraska 23-6 in points off those turnovers.

Nebraska played its second straight game without starting point guard Britt Prince due to a lower leg injury suffered late in last Sunday's loss at Illinois (Feb. 16).

Nebraska will enjoy the midweek off before completing its Big Ten regular-season by traveling to Northwestern next Sunday. Tip-off between the Huskers and Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., is set for 2 p.m. (CT) with a live video stream provided for B1G+ subscribers. Nebraska's regular-season finale with Northwestern can also be heard live across the Huskers Radio Network and on Huskers.com.

Husker Offense Excels Against Utes

Nebraska’s bats shined as the No. 16 Husker softball team downed the Utah Utes in five innings by a score of 10-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.

The Big Red moved to 12-4 on the season, while the Utes fell to 4-12. 

NU out-hit Utah 10-3 and the Huskers were 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Abbie Squier led the offense, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs. Today’s game was the fourth multi-homer game of her career. Kacie Hoffmann added two hits and Hoffmann and Ava Bredwell also homered for NU.

Jordyn Bahl (5-2) pitched all 5.0 innings for the Big Red and allowed two runs while striking out five batters and walking one en route to the win. Brooklyn Carreon (1-3) took the loss for the Utes. 

Utah posted an RBI single and an RBI double in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead.

The Huskers fought back, registering a four-run second inning. Bredwell opened the inning with a homer. Olivia DiNardo was hit by a pitch and Kennadi Williams pinch ran for DiNardo before a Hoffmann two-run homer made the score 3-2. Squier wrapped up the inning with her second home run of the weekend to make the Nebraska lead 4-2.

NU continued to extend its lead in the top of the fourth. Hannah Camenzind singled to reach base and Squier knocked her second home run of the game to make the score 6-2. Ava Kuszak walked and Bahl reached first on an error, and both scored on a Lauren Camenzind single to right field. The score stood at 8-2 going into the fifth inning.

DiNardo singled to left center to kick off the fifth inning, and Nessa McMillen came in to pinch run. Hoffmann doubled to advance McMillen to third, and Katelyn Caneda came in to pinch run for Hoffmann. Squier singled to score McMillen and Kuszak doubled to score Caneda, and the Big Red locked up the 10-2 run-rule victory. 

NU will compete in the Wichita State Tournament from Feb. 28-March 2. The Huskers will open competition at 10 a.m. (CT) on Friday, Feb. 28 in Wichita, Kan. The game is free to listen to on the Huskers Radio Network.

Postgame Notes

• Today’s second inning marked the second time of the weekend that NU posted three or more home runs in the same inning. 
• Abbie Squier logged two home runs for her fourth career multi-homer game. It also tied her career high fo rhome runs in a game.
• Nebraska posted its 10th run-rule victory in the season’s first 16 games.
• The Huskers have outscored their opponents 134-21 in their 11 victories this season, including a 123-19 margin in their 10 run-rule wins.
• Nebraska scored 10 runs, which marked the ninth time in 16 games the Huskers have scored 10 or more runs.
• Nebraska successfully secured a 4-2 record this weekend, marking the first time the team has had a winning record at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic since 2011 (4-1).