LINCOLN — Nebraska’s run in the 2026 season came to an end Sunday at Haymarket Park, where Arizona State held off the Cornhuskers 11-8 in the elimination game of the Lincoln Regional. The loss ended Nebraska’s year at 43-17 overall; Arizona State improved to 39-20. Nebraska finished the season with a 24-3 mark at home, with two of those defeats occurring over the weekend in Lincoln.
Arizona State players celebrate a home run against Nebraska at Haymarket Park during the Lincoln Regional — a key moment as the Sun Devils held off the Cornhuskers in Sunday's elimination game.
Arizona State drew first blood on a 2-1 breaking ball hit for a home run by second baseman Nu'u Contrades. Nebraska answered in the home half of the inning when Joshua Overbeek opened the frame with a solo homer to knot the game. The early exchange of long balls set the tone for a contest that would swing in momentum several times.
The Sun Devils pulled away in the third inning against Husker starter Gavin Blachowicz. After a single and a walk put runners at first and second with one out, a routine ground ball to Arizona State second baseman Rhett Stokes turned into trouble when his throw sailed into left field, allowing a run to score. A sacrifice fly followed to plate another and a subsequent two-run homer extended the lead to 5-1. Nebraska managed little offense over the next few innings while Arizona State grew its cushion.
Arizona State continued to add on, with Dominic Smaldino providing a solo home run in the fifth inning and then being a central figure in a five-run sixth that pushed the lead to 11-1. Down by ten runs, Nebraska began the comeback that had carried the team through long stretches of the season. Trey Fikes led off the seventh with a double down the right-field line, and after a walk to Overbeek and a fly out, Stokes reached on a single and advanced on a throwing error by the pitcher that allowed Fikes to score.
Nebraska’s rally gathered steam as Mac Moyer and Jeter Worthley ripped back-to-back doubles to produce three more runs, and Case Sanderson followed with a sacrifice fly that completed a five-run inning and closed the gap to 11-6. The Huskers had trimmed a commanding deficit to five runs in a frame that combined extra-base hits and an opponent miscue, giving Nebraska a path back into the game heading into the late innings.
Nebraska players console one another after the Cornhuskers' 11-8 elimination loss to Arizona State in the Lincoln Regional; No. 17 is visibly emotional as the season ends.
Neither team scored in the eighth, setting the stage for Nebraska’s final opportunity in the ninth. Moyer drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a single by Worthley; Moyer then came home on a Dylan Carey single to left to bring the Huskers within three at 11-8. Arizona State turned to Derek Schaefer in relief after starter Taylor Penn, and Schaefer hit Case Sanderson to load the bases with one out. A subsequent Jett Buck foul out to right produced one run when Worthley came home on the play, but Nebraska needed one more big hit to tie the game. Down to the final out and trailing by three with runners at the corners, Fikes lined out to right field, ending the game and Nebraska’s season.
Gavin Blachowicz took the loss, his record falling to 4-4 on the year. He worked three innings, allowing five runs — only one of them earned — on multiple baserunners while striking out two and walking one. Colby Guy earned the victory for Arizona State, throwing six innings and permitting one earned run on four hits; Guy struck out seven and did not issue a walk. Arizona State finished the contest with 13 hits to Nebraska’s 11, and the Huskers committed two errors to the Sun Devils’ one. Both teams left seven runners on base. Smaldino finished 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI, and Worthley paced Nebraska at the plate with a 3-for-5 outing that included two runs scored and one of the team’s three doubles.
With the win, Arizona State advanced to the regional final against Ole Miss Sunday evening. Ole Miss had beaten Arizona State in an earlier meeting but required 14 innings to do so in Friday’s matchup; should Ole Miss win the Sunday meeting outright they will advance to the super regionals, while an Arizona State victory would force a winner-take-all game Monday to decide the regional. The Lincoln Regional is paired with the Auburn Regional for super regional matchups. Weather delayed an Auburn-UCF contest in that bracket, and the outcome of that game will determine whether the winner must beat Milwaukee to force a decisive Game 7 on Monday. Meanwhile, Nebraska’s season is closed; the NCAA transfer portal opens June 1 and will remain open through June 30.
Nebraska closes the 2026 schedule at 43-17 overall with notable results across the year, including the regional win over South Dakota State on May 29 and a pair of losses in the Lincoln Regional — a 6-3 defeat to Ole Miss and the 11-8 elimination game against Arizona State. The Huskers’ final home record of 24-3 reflected a dominant run at Haymarket Park throughout the season, but the weekend’s pair of defeats ended their postseason run. The team now shifts into the offseason timeline as the transfer portal period opens.