Dores Fall to Huskers

PHOENIX — No. 16 Vanderbilt fell to 1-1 on the season Saturday with a 6-4 loss to No. 24 Nebraska at Salt River Fields in the second of three games at the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Cornhuskers struck for three runs in the top of the first and held off multiple Vanderbilt comeback efforts as both teams moved to 1-1 on the season.

Vanderbilt quickly responded to Nebraska’s early offense as RJ Austin opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run that traveled 434 feet into the desert night.

RJ gets us going!@RjAustin14 | @MLBNetwork pic.twitter.com/xFzBKbHDW8

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 16, 2025

Riley Nelson followed with a double and, with two outs, Colin Barczi laced a double of his own to score Nelson and cut Nebraska’s lead to 3-2.

The Cornhuskers went ahead 4-2 with a run in the third.

Barczi picked up his second RBI of the evening with another two-out knock, this one an infield single with the bases loaded that allowed Nelson to score for the second time.

A two-run homer in the top of the seventh pushed Nebraska’s lead back to three at 6-3.

The Dores threatened again in the bottom of the eighth as JD Rogers ripped a double off the wall in right-center. Rustan Rigdon knocked Rogers in with a single up the middle to cut Nebraska’s lead to 6-4, but the Cornhuskers would close the door in the ninth to grab the win.

Four Vanderbilt arms combined to strikeout 15 batters with starting pitcher Ethan McElvain leading the way with seven strikeouts over 2.2 innings. Alex Kranzler threw 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, and Brennan Seiber totaled four strikeouts over 2.0 frames.

Jacob Schulz made his collegiate debut in the eighth inning and held Nebraska hitless over the final two innings, finishing with three strikeouts.

The Commodores wrap up their trip to the desert at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday against UC Irvine. The game will stream on MLB.com.