Nebraska wins thriller against Iowa 10-8

After leading by seven, then having that lead cut to just one, the Nebraska baseball (6-4) team came out on top over Iowa (4-6) in a 10-8 thriller.

Chance Hroch started this one and kept the Hawkeyes scoreless through the first two innings. Following that, the Husker offense stepped up in the top of the third getting the first three batters on base. With the bases loaded, Cam Chick stepped up to the plate and sent one straight over the center field wall for a grand slam. Max Anderson followed that up with a solo shot to extend the Big Red lead to five. After a walk, Jack Steil also went yard and scored two more runs for NU and that concluded a huge seven-run inning.

Hroch finished the third inning out by giving up just one hit and then retiring the side. A solo home run in the fourth inning from Iowa made the lead just six, but Nebraska brought it back to seven in the top of the fifth.

The bottom of the fifth inning looked nervy for the Huskers when the leadoff batter hit a solo home run, followed by a double and a triple to start what seemed like a comeback. A couple more Hawkeye hits brought the score back to 8-7 with the bases loaded, but Braxton Bragg came in to relieve Hroch and struck out two, getting the Big Red out of a jam.

NU went on to make the lead 10-7 in the top of the sixth with another Cam Chick home run. Iowa got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Jake Bunz came in to relieve for Bragg. Nebraska was able to close the game out with Spencer Schwellenbach who allowed just one hit in his 1.2 innings pitched.

Coming into this game, Nebraska had scored just five runs in their previous three games, losing all three. It slow again from the start when the Huskers had just one hit in the first two innings. The coaching staff felt that it would just take one big inning to break the scoring drought, and a huge third inning did just that for NU. Two base hits and a throwing error loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. Cam Chick took advantage of great leadoff hitting and sent one deep over the center field wall for a grand slam. Max Anderson followed up with a solo home run and Jack Steil also had a piece of the action with a two-run homer later in the inning. This inning helped get the Big Red out of a rut and got the bats hot.

Just when Nebraska thought they had a comfortable seven-run lead, Iowa came in big, scoring four runs in the bottom of fifth with just one out. Braxton Bragg came to the mound after Hroch struggled to keep the Hawkeyes under control, and Bragg gave up just one hit that scored two more, then struck out two batters to get the Huskers out of a sticky situation. While this was a lapse for NU, they did just enough to keep the lead and that proved to be crucial in this one.

The Huskers will close out the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Following this series, the Big Red will finally head back home and play a four-game series against Minnesota at Haymarket Park.

Each game will be available to stream on BTN+ and can be heard on Husker Sports Network