Nebraska baseball eliminated from NCAA Regional by Arizona State
Nebraska’s impressive baseball season came to a heartbreaking end on Sunday afternoon as the Cornhuskers were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament following an 11-8 loss to Arizona State at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
The Sun Devils set the tone early in the afternoon when Nu'u Contrades launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to claim a quick 1-0 lead. Nebraska fired back in the top of the third when Joshua Overbeek crushed a solo blast of his own to knot the score at 1-1, News.Az reports, citing KETV.
However, the momentum shifted entirely to Arizona State in the bottom half of the third frame. Capitalizing on four hits and a costly Nebraska throwing error on a double-play attempt, the Sun Devils exploded for four unearned runs, capped off by a towering two-run home run from Dominic Longo to stretch the lead to 5-1.
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Arizona State continued its offensive onslaught behind the bat of Dominic Smaldino, who hit a solo shot in the fifth inning before blowing the game wide open with a spectacular sixth-inning grand slam. The deep ball pushed the Sun Devils' lead to a commanding 11-1.
Despite facing a 10-run deficit, the Huskers refused to go quietly in front of their home crowd. Nebraska roared back with a massive five-run seventh inning, powered by key RBI contributions from Rhett Stokes and Mac Moyer to cut the deficit to 11-6.
The Big Red continued to chip away in the final frame, stringing together a gritty ninth-inning rally that brought two more runs across the plate to pull within three. Arizona State's bullpen finally managed to slam the door on the comeback attempt, securing the 11-8 victory.
With the loss, Nebraska closes out the 2026 campaign with a stellar 43-17 overall record. The defeat marks the end of a milestone season for the program, which saw the Huskers host an NCAA Regional tournament in Lincoln for the first time since 2008.
By Aysel Mammadzada
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