LINCOLN, Neb. (Interstat) — Case Sanderson launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday, lifting Nebraska to a 5-4 victory over Michigan State in a Big Ten Conference opener marked by a weather delay, strong pitching and a dramatic ninth-inning rally.

The game at Haymarket Park, which began after a brief delay and first pitch at 4:03 p.m., was a pitcher’s duel for much of the afternoon and evening. Nebraska starter Ty Horn delivered a dominant performance, allowing one earned run on five hits over seven innings while striking out two. His effort was matched for six innings by Michigan State’s Aidan Donovan, who held the Cornhuskers hitless but was charged with two runs, one earned, on a combination of walks, an error and a solo home run.

Nebraska scratched across its first run in the second inning without a hit. Jett Buck walked, stole second and scored on a single by Dylan Nunez. Buck then gave the Cornhuskers a 2-1 lead in the sixth with a solo homer to right field.

Michigan State’s lone run against Horn came in the fifth when Sam Seymour singled home Ryan Thomas. The Spartans struggled to capitalize on opportunities, grounding into two double plays and having a runner picked off.

The game turned in the late innings. Nebraska added an unearned run in the seventh on an RBI single by Mason Moyer to take a 3-1 lead. In the top of the ninth, facing reliever Kyle Mannell, the Spartans staged a stunning comeback. With two on and two out, right fielder Issac Sturgess crushed a three-run homer to right field, putting Michigan State ahead 4-3.

Nebraska answered immediately in the bottom of the eighth. Sanderson led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a tying single by pinch-hitter Rhett Stokes.

After a scoreless top of the 10th by Nebraska reliever J’Shawn Unger, Sanderson stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom half. On a 1-1 pitch from Spartans reliever JD Greeley, Sanderson drove the ball down the right-field line for the game-winning homer, his third hit of the day.

The victory improved Nebraska to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan State fell to 3-9 and 0-1 in conference play. Unger earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, while Greeley took the loss.

Sturgess finished 2 for 4 with the three-run homer to lead Michigan State’s 10-hit attack. Nebraska collected 13 hits, with Sanderson going 3 for 5 with the decisive homer and catcher Jeter Worthley adding three singles.

The most important sequence of the game was the back-and-forth in the eighth and ninth innings, culminating in Sanderson’s 10th-inning heroics. Michigan State’s three-run homer in the ninth appeared to steal the victory, but Nebraska’s immediate response in the eighth to tie and Sanderson’s final swing secured the win, validating pregame projections that favored the Cornhuskers.

The teams continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon.