HUSKER BASEBALL: Nebraska Wins Series vs. Iowa But Couldn’t Complete Sweep
LINCOLN–(NU Athletics Apr. 28)–Nebraska won the weekend series but couldn’t complete the sweep, as the Huskers fell 4-1 in the series finale against Iowa on Sunday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
Nebraska (27-14, 10-5 Big Ten) scored a run on two hits and an error, while Iowa (24-17, 10-8 Big Ten) recorded four runs on eight hits. Tyler Stone doubled and drew a walk, while Case Sanderson had a hit and a walk. Josh Caron drove in the Huskers’ lone run of the game.
Will Walsh dropped to 4-3 on the season, allowing three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings of action. Casey Daiss pitched one inning, giving up one run on a hit. Grant Cleavinger, Evan Borst, Rans Sanders, Kyle Perry and Kyle Froehlich combined to blank the Hawkeyes over the final 3.1 innings, holding Iowa to just two hits.
Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame after a two-out walk, followed by an RBI double to left field. A two-out solo homer to the left-field berm doubled the lead for the Hawkeyes in the second inning.
The Huskers plated their lone run of the game behind a pair of hits in the fourth inning. Riley Silva reached on a fielder’s choice, before Stone’s double to right-center had runners on second and third with one out for the Big Red. Caron lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Silva and trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The Hawkeyes got the run back in the next half inning with a two-out solo homer into the Iowa bullpen in the top of the fifth.
Cole Evans opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk and later stole second, before moving to third on a wild pitch. The NU offense couldn’t get a timely two-out hit to bring home Evans and cut into the deficit.
Iowa had a runner on third with one out in the sixth after a leadoff double and a groundout to second. A wild pitch allowed the runner on third to jog on home to give the Hawkeyes a 4-1 advantage.
The Huskers were retired in order over the final three innings to preserve the three-run victory for the Hawkeyes in the series finale.
Nebraska returns to action with a midweek matchup at Creighton on Tuesday, April 30 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.