MINNEAPOLIS — Vanderbilt fell 5-3 to Nebraska Friday in the opening game of the 2023 Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Commodores led 3-1 in the sixth but Nebraska rallied to tie the game and then took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Vandy starting pitcher Carter Holton held the Cornhuskers to two runs through 5.0 innings while striking out seven. It was his second consecutive start with seven strikeouts.
Nebraska hit two doubles, a single and drew a walk in the bottom of the second but Holton limited the damage with the Huskers plating just one run.
Holton again worked out of a jam in the third using back-to-back strikeouts to strand a pair of Huskers on base.
The Commodores used the long ball to pull even and then go in front.
RJ Schreck hit his first home run as a Commodore in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Two batters later Parker Noland launched his first home run on the season to put Vanderbilt in front 2-1.
In his next at-bat, Schreck went deep again to make it 3-1 with a towering shot down the right-field line. Schreck is the second Commodore to homer twice in a game this season after Alan Espinal did it against UAB on February 22. He’s the first Commodore to homer in consecutive at-bats since Carter Young did it in 2021.
Nebraska tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Huskers then took the lead with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth and made it 5-3 on an RBI double.
The Commodores (6-4) will face No. 18 Maryland at 11 a.m. CT Saturday as the Cambria College Classic continues with action streaming on B1G+.