LINCOLN, Neb. (Interstat) — Taylor Rabe pitched Mississippi to a 6-3 victory over Nebraska on Saturday night at Haymarket Park, a game that saw the Rebels’ offense break open a tight contest in the middle innings and hold off a late Cornhuskers rally.

Mississippi improved to 38-21 with the win, while Nebraska fell to 43-16. The Rebels outhit the Cornhuskers 9-8.

The game remained scoreless through three innings as Rabe and Nebraska starter Ty Horn traded zeros. Mississippi scratched out a couple of singles but could not advance a runner past first base, while Nebraska stranded a walk and a single in the early frames.

The Cornhuskers struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning when Josh Buck homered to right field, giving Nebraska a 1-0 lead. That margin held until the top of the sixth, when Mississippi’s offense erupted.

With one out, Will Furniss singled to right center. After a strikeout, Hudson Federico singled to center field, moving Furniss to third. Shortstop Owen Paino then doubled to right center, driving in both runners and putting Mississippi ahead 2-1. Paino advanced to third on a wild pitch, and after a walk to A.J. Fawley, Nebraska replaced Horn with T. Timmerman. Brayden Randle greeted the new pitcher with a single to right field, scoring Paino and stretching the lead to 3-1.

Mississippi added three more runs in the top of the seventh inning, capitalizing on walks and timely hitting. D. Decker walked, stole second and advanced to third on a base hit. After a pair of outs, Federico walked to load the bases. Paino then walked to force in a run, and after another pitching change, Fawley walked to force in another. Randle grounded out to end the inning, but the Rebels held a 6-1 advantage.

Rabe left after six innings, having allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. JP Robertson took over and pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four.

Nebraska mounted a comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Jalen Worthley singled to third base, and after a flyout and a strikeout, Max Buettenback pinch hit and launched a two-run homer to left field, cutting Mississippi’s lead to 6-3. But Robertson got Buck to strike out swinging to end the inning.

The game featured a weather delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes in the top of the ninth inning, halting play at 10:20 p.m. and resuming at 11:57 p.m. After the delay, Nebraska brought in Ja. Worthley to pitch. Paino walked, but the Rebels could not add to their lead, as Fawley struck out and pinch hitter C. Reuter and B. Moseley both struck out swinging.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mississippi turned to Landon Waters, who allowed back-to-back singles before giving way to Hudson Calhoun. Calhoun induced a ground-ball double play that erased the lead runner, then hit M. Moyer with a pitch. J. Worthley grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

The most important part of the game was Mississippi’s three-run sixth inning, which turned a one-run deficit into a two-run lead. Paino’s two-run double was the decisive blow, and the Rebels added insurance in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Nebraska 7, Mississippi 5, and Interstatl’s ELO system gave Mississippi a 52.90 percent probability to win. Mississippi was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5.