The Nebraska baseball (7-4) team took down Iowa (4-7) 13-8 in another high scoring matchup. This win gave the Huskers the three-game series win and put the season series at 3-2 in favor of the Big Red.
Shay Schanaman started for NU and got off to a rough start giving up a three-run homerun in the first inning that gave Iowa an early 3-1 lead. Schanaman’s day was short lived and after a hitless second inning, he walked three in a row in the third and was relieved by Tyler Martin.
On the other side of the ball, the defense was getting a lot of help from the Nebraska bats. After scoring one run off of no hits in the first inning, the Huskers had back-to-back triples in the second inning from Mojo Hagge and Jack Steil. Following that, Luke Roskam hit a double that scored another run and tied the game 3-3. The hits kept coming for the Big Red and after Iowa walked in a run, Max Anderson hit a single with the bases loaded and scored two more. A balk scored a sixth run that inning and gave NU a 7-3 lead.
The second inning wasn’t the only productive inning for Nebraska’s offense. An error from Iowa in the fourth inning brought in one run. In the sixth inning Max Anderson sent one over the center field wall for a three-run home run. In the seventh inning Luke Roskam led off with a solo home run and Cam Chick hit for his eighth RBI of weekend.
Tyler Martin did his job out of the bullpen and gave up no runs and just one hit in the 1.1 innings he pitched. Following him up was Koty Frank who pitched two full innings giving up two runs on two hits and striking out three Hawkeyes. Emmett Olson made another trip to the mound and pitched one full inning giving up two hits and two runs. In to close was Max Schreiber. The senior pitched the final two innings giving up just one hit and no runs.
The Huskers got off to a great start in the first inning when they couldn’t get a hit, they still managed to score one. After Iowa put three on the board in the bottom of the first, NU responded well by rallying together two triples, a double and two base hits for six runs. This quick start from the offense is something that wasn’t seen in any of the losses last weekend or on Friday. The seven runs in the first two innings gave the Big Red a lead that they didn’t let slip as they added another run in the fourth, three more in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
The Nebraska bullpen proved to be significantly better than Iowa’s in this game and that made the difference. Both teams had to pull their starters in the first three innings, and Husker relievers gave up six hits and four runs, while Iowa’s bullpen gave up eight runs on seven hits. In a game with 377 total pitches were thrown, the bullpens made a huge impact, and the Big Red came out on top.
Nebraska will finally head home to Haymarket Park for a four-game series against Minnesota. The first game will take place on Friday at 2:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon and will finish with another noon start time on Sunday.
All four games can be streamed on BTN+ and heard on Husker Sports Network