Feb. 27, 2011
 
Huskers can't stop Sam Houston in the 9th.
 
Huntsville, Texas — Nebraska (5-3) overcame a two-run deficit in the ninth and nearly forced extra innings before Daniel Nottebart's walk-off single in the bottom half gave Sam Houston State (5-2) a 10-9 win over the Huskers on the final day of the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas.

With two outs and Braedon Riley on second, Nottebart sent what looked like a fly ball to left field. NU's Kash Kalkowski battled the sun and was unable to track the ball as it fell for the game-winning hit.

Trailing 9-7 after eight, the Huskers put together a late rally beginning when Kalkowski scored on a Bryan Peters RBI single through the right side, cutting the lead to 9-8. Cody Asche followed with a single to move Peters to third with two outs before Scheffert's ground ball went through the legs of shortstop Braedon Riley and allowed Peters to score the game-tying run.

Peters was 3-for-4 with three RBIs on the day, while Kalkowski also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Sam Houston State was anchored by first baseman Chris Andreas, who had a pair of homers, including a sixth inning grand slam, as the Bearkats outhit the Huskers, 15-13.

The Huskers led 5-2 after 4 � innings before SHSU scored seven in the fifth and sixth innings, including Andreas' grand slam, to overcome the deficit. Andreas also had a solo shot in the third that put SHSU ahead 2-0 before the Huskers' responded with a five-run inning in the fifth.

The fifth inning outburst was in the form of a huge two-out rally with six straight hits, including three consecutive doubles, to take the 5-2 lead. Peters had the biggest shot, as his 2-RBI double off the top of the left field wall brought home Kiser and Kalkowski. Asche then doubled to right to score Peters for the fifth run. Farmer and Tolentino started the rally with singles and scored on Kalkowski's single and Kiser's double.

The Bearkats responded with two hits off NU starter Tyler Niederklein to lead off the fifth. That ended Neiderklein's day and NU brought in lefty Tyler King. The freshman got Andreas to fly out as Riley tagged up to score. The Huskers then brought in lefty Dylan Vogt. The Omaha native gave up an RBI single to Hudson but then retired Olson and Plumlee to get out of the inning with a 5-4 NU lead.

Nebraska came right back to regain its three-run lead in the sixth inning as Kalkowski continued his hot streak with a clutch 2-out, 2-RBI single up the middle to score Chad Christensen and Patric Tolentino. It would be a short-lived lead, however, as Andreas hit the grand slam as part of a five-run outing in the bottom half of the sixth.

Sam Houston State notched three straight singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Niederklein then got Plumlee to pop out and struck out Bunch to end the inning. Niederklein had a solid second inning as he retired three Bearkats on only eight pitches after throwing 38 in the first.

Brandon Pierce (0-1) took a tough loss for Nebraska despite giving up only two hits in 1 2/3 while striking out a pair. Michael Burchett (1-0) was credited with the win, as he threw the final three innings and gave up two runs on three hits.

Nebraska will look to rebound from its 2-2 weekend when it opens the homestand this Wednesday against Nebraska-Kearney. First pitch from Hawks Field is set for 1:35 p.m.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.