Huskers lose third straight in blowout defeat to San Diego

Nebraska hoped to use this weekend's Tony Gwynn Classic as a way of cleansing the bad taste from a pair of blowout losses to close out the team's opening weekend.

But Friday's matchup with San Diego proved to be yet another bitter flavor. Colton Howell got just one out - the third straight NU started to be chased before the end of the second frame - and Nebraska's offense was nearly nonexistent in the 17-5 loss.

After going 1-2 on opening weekend, Nebraska fell to 1-3 on the season.

"It starts and ends on the mound," Darin Erstad said in his postgame appearance on the Husker Sports Network. "When you're pitching up in the zone and walking guys, you're going to be in trouble. That was the same thing that happened the last couple of games and we're going to have to get that fixed in a hurry."

Things started positively as Howell, who pitched five scoreless innings in his starting debut last weekend, began the game with a ground out to second. But it was all downhill from there, as the next 10 Toreros reached base. The first nine of those were charged to Howell, who gave up eight runs on seven hits and two walks, and Nebraska trailed 8-0 after the opening frame.

Nebraska has now been outscored 20-0 in the first inning of its past three games.

Reece Eddins settled things down, though. Though he allowed one inherited runner to score in the first, Eddins kept things steady for the next three innings. The sophomore allowed just one unearned run in a career-high 3.2 innings.

But San Diego found its stroke again in the fifth, ripping Ethan Frazier for four runs to open up a 13-0 advantage and rendering the rest of the game a matter of formality.

The offense did start to show some signs late. The Huskers plated a pair in the sixth, then added two more on solo homers by Ryan Boldt and Ben Miller in the seventh.

NU had 15 hits, its third effort of 10 or more hits in four games.

But any good feelings generated by the brief surge were erased by an ugly eighth inning that saw San Diego score four runs to turn the game into a laugher.

"We got picked off twice off second base in a ten-run game," Erstad said with disdain. "That's on me. Those are things that just can't happen. I know it's early, but those things are unacceptable.

"You're going to get your tail whipped every once in a while, but we have to flush this one down and get ready for tomorrow."

Nebraska will take on Arizona (3-2) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

***Boldt had just one hit in 13 at-bats last weekend but had three hits, including a home run, Friday night.

***Jake Meyers continued his hot start to the season with four hits, including a pair of doubles. The sophomore is now 8-for-19 (.421) on the season.

***True freshman Cole Klemke made his first career start. The San Diego native played left field and went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs at the plate.

***Scott Schreiber's nine-game hitting streak was snapped with an 0-for-5 performance.