Always-fiery Oregon baseball starter Collin Clarke found another gear as he cruised through No. 19 Nebraska’s lineup in the first three innings, drawing the attention of the umpire crew multiple times with his celebrations.

In the fourth inning, Nebraska (27-8, 12-2 Big Ten) responded with its bats, scoring six runs on eight hits, allowing the Cornhuskers to outpace a red-hot Oregon (25-10, 9-5 Big Ten) lineup to a 10-8 win. Ryan Cooney (3-3, 4 RBI, 2 BB) came through with two-run doubles in each of his first two at-bats to power the Ducks’ early 5-0 lead, while Naulivou Lauaki Jr. (3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI) powered a comeback bid, but Oregon’s failure capitalize on the run production sets up a crucial deciding game for the Ducks’ resume tomorrow.

“I mean, shoot credit to those guys, right? I mean, who’s been able to do that to Collin Clark this year? Nobody. And so, you know, you have to give credit where credit is due,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said.

It took just eight pitches for Nebraska starter Carson Jasa to bring out head coach Will Bolt for a mound visit. Jasa had missed the strike zone with all but one of those eight pitches, and Oregon catcher Brayden Jaksa grounded it down the third base line for a single that advanced Jax Gimenez into scoring position. Two pitches later, Cooney took Jasa’s second strike of the game to right-center field for a two-run double.

Oregon returned to the top of its order with two outs in the second inning, and Jasa did no better. Gimenez reached on a hit-by-pitch, Jaksa grounded a single through the left side and Cooney put the Ducks ahead 4-0 with a double into the left-field corner.

“(Cooney) had five quality at-bats out of five tries today, so he was the best player on the baseball field today, in my opinion, and even though he played for the team that didn’t win, he was an outstanding player today, and he gave us a ton of grit, a ton of toughness, and I loved what I saw from him in the third spot,” Wasikowski said.

Clarke was in full form in the early innings, garnering his second umpire warning just eight outs into the game. Clarke first brought the umpire crew together after the first out he recorded by conversing with Nebraska leadoff hitter Mac Moyer as he returned to the dugout following a groundout. The umpires brought Wasikowski into the conversation in the third inning after the second hard comebacker Clarke fielded increased his intensity to a level they deemed unsustainable.

“Sometimes things get chippy. Sometimes things get tough, and it happens in football, it happens in all athletics, and it’s part of sports — that’s why we play — and I like that part of sports,” Wasikowski said. “To take that part of sports away from him, or to try to minimize it, I think, is something I hope, at some point in time, they look at it a little bit more closely and try to address that in a different manner.”

Moyer raised concerns about Clarke’s composure after the conversation by tripling down the first-base line, bringing out Oregon pitching coach Matt Florer. The reassurance dialed Clarke in, as he worked ahead of the next batter 0-2 and drew a flyout to clear the first three innings with no score and three strikeouts.

Angel Laya led off the bottom of the inning with a double off the deep straightaway center field wall, and just before Jasa could clear the inning, Lauaki jumped on a high offspeed pitch to give Oregon a 5-0 lead with a single.

Nebraska first baseman Case Sanderson brought Clarke’s scoreless outing to a sudden and emphatic end in the fourth inning by crushing a 1-2 fastball off the light tower in right-center field. Shortstop Dylan Carey made it back-to-back home runs for the Cornhuskers by clearing the deepest part of PK Park in center field to cut the Ducks’ lead to 5-2.

The Cornhuskers turned into a murderer’s row their second time seeing Clarke, as third baseman Joshua Overbeek hit Nebraska’s third home run of the inning onto the roof of the Player Development Area in right field, bringing the Cornhuskers within one.

One out later, the spiral resumed, with four straight Nebraska singles putting it ahead 6-5. Clarke finally escaped the eight-hit fourth inning by fielding a comebacker and tossing it to first base, but the energy from his two similar plays earlier in the outing was long gone.

The Ducks gradually loaded the bases through two walks and a hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the inning, but Nebraska reliever Caleb Clark drew a weak groundout from Laya to protect the lead. The Cornhuskers’ emergence in the fourth inning not only picked up Jasa, but put him in line for the win after he battled control issues throughout the start. 

After Clarke hit the leadoff batter, his effort to stop a Cornhuskers bunt sailed down the first base line, allowing a run to score and placing a runner on third base for reliever Michael Meckna. Meckna started with a groundout, but first baseman Max Buttenback came through with a sacrifice fly before he could escape the inning, giving Nebraska an 8-5 lead.

One strike away from posting a zero in the bottom of the fifth inning, Clark’s full-count fastball to Lauaki caught too much of the zone, and the redshirt freshman sent his second career home run over the batter’s eye in center field and several rows into the parking lot to cut Nebraska’s lead to 8-6.

The Ducks’ lineup couldn’t add to Lauaki’s response the next time through the order, but he once again worked a two-out full count in the seventh inning. This time, Lauaki saw a slider but the result was the same: a towering home run to straightaway center field, bringing Oregon within one run.

Oregon reliever Toby Twist returned to the mound after a clean seventh inning, but the top of Nebraska’s order bounced back. After catcher Jeter Worthley walked on four pitches, Sanderson took two pitches outside the zone before connecting for his second home run of the game, extending Nebraska’s lead to 10-7. 

Luke Morgan closed the inning out and preserved the Ducks’ three-run deficit in the ninth, but Nebraska closer J’Shawn Unger bounced back from an RBI double by Burke-Lee Mabeus to end the game with back-to-back strikeouts. While the fourth inning was the key to Nebraska’s win, the two extra runs allowed by Twist were the dagger, leaving Oregon’s bullpen depth with a precarious track record well into conference play.

First pitch for the crucial rubber match is scheduled for 12:05 p.m.