College Station, Texas – Luke Anders’ two-out RBI single in the bottom of ninth scored Darby Brown with the winning run, as No. 14 Texas A&M took the rubber game of the three-game series over Nebraska  with an 8-7 victory Sunday afternoon.

Anders, who went 2-for-4 with four RBIs slapped a Zach Herr pitch into right field, scoring Brown from second as the throw home from right was wide, capping a see-saw battle between the two clubs and giving the Aggies (25-6, 5-4 Big 12) a hard-fought series win.

The setback overshadowed a pair of strong performances by the Huskers, who dipped to 16-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play. Mitch Abeita matched his career high with three RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 afternoon, while Jeff Tezak had three hits and scored twice

Kyle Nicholson earned the win in relief for Texas A&M, tossing three innings of shutout ball to improve to 7-1 on the season, while Herr took the loss and fell to 3-2.

Texas A&M got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third against Nebraska starter Johnny Dorn on Brandon Hicks’ sixth homer of the season, a solo shot to left.

Nebraska struck against Aggie starter Scott Migl in the fourth, stringing together three hits and took advantage of a Texas A&M miscue to put three runs on the board. Tezak opened the inning with a single and eventually moved around to score on Abeita’s two-out single to left. DJ Belfonte then doubled into left to put runners on second and third. Ryan Wehrle then hit a grounder that was booted by third baseman Blake Stouffer, allowing both runners to score.

The Aggies used the long ball in the fourth inning to regain the lead, as Brown and Craig Stinson had consecutive one-out singles before Anders’ three-run homer to right center gave Texas A&M a 4-3 lead.  Texas A&M pushed across another run in the fifth, as Ben Feltner coaxed a one-out walk, stole second and third and scored on Colligan’s sacrifice fly to left to take a 5-3 lead.

Dorn allowed five runs over 4.2 innings, but did not factor into the decision, as neither starter got back the fifth.

In the sixth, Nebraska fought back against reliever Jason Meyer, who came for Migl one inning earlier, with two runs to tie the game. Andy Gerch opened the frame with his second homer of the season, a solo shot to left. Bryce Nimmo was then hit by a pitch and moved to second on an Abeita sacrifice before eventually scoring on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Werhrle, knotting the game at five.

Texas A&M regained the lead at 6-5 in the sixth on Hicks’ two-out RBI single that scored Parker Dalton, who coaxed a two-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. 

NU clawed back ahead in the top of the seventh, getting a two-run single from Abeita off Aggie closer Kyle Nicholson, to take a 7-6 lead. Consecutive singles from Craig Corriston and Tezak against Kirkland Rivers started the rally, and the Huskers eventually loaded the bases before Abeita bounded single up the middle to plate two runs.
 
Nebraska’s lead would be short-lived, as Colligan tied the score at 7-all with a one-out solo homer off of Luke Wertz, the third homer hit by A&M this afternoon, setting up a dramatic ninth inning.

The Huskers travel to Omaha on Tuesday night, as they take on the Creighton Bluejays at Rosenblatt Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. and the game will be carried across the state on the Husker Sports Radio Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com.