Hawkeyes outlast Huskers in tense Friday night battle

In a classic Friday night series opener, Iowa Baseball needed one loud hit. That was it. A solo home run from Kooper Schulte held up, as Cade Obermueller tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, followed by 2.0 scoreless from Anthony Watts. The Hawkeyes defeated Nebraska 1-0 in front of 1,724 fans at Duane Banks Field.

“That was definitely an old school pitcher’s duel,” said head coach Rick Heller. “I’ve been hoping we would get a win in a game like that. I think this will carry us with a lot of confidence the rest of the way and I’m happy we were able to come out on top.”

With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 22-10 overall and 13-3 in Big Ten play. They have now won 19 of their last 23 games and 11 of their last 12 in conference play.

Players of the Game

• LHP Cade Obermueller: The lefty has now gone four consecutive starts without an earned run, tossing 7.0 scoreless, including 11 strikeouts.
• RHP Anthony Watts: Watts recorded the final six outs of the game, striking out three Huskers to close out the win.

Kooper Schulte’s solo shot puts Iowa in front in the second inning

The second inning did not look like it was going to end the with a run on the scoreboard for the Hawkeyes. Nebraska starter Will Walsh recorded consecutive strikeouts, setting down Blake Guerin and Daniel Rogers.

With two outs and no one on base, Kooper Schulte put a run on the board the quick way. He took the 2-1 offering from Walsh and hit a no-doubt, 424-foot solo home run over the scoreboard in left field. Over his last ten games, Schulte is batting .467, with six extra base hits, including three home runs.

“Koop’s been in a really good place, but he was in a dark place there for a little while,” said Heller. “At the time, Jaixen Frost was really swinging the bat well and Kooper had to wait his turn. The thing that is the most impressive is that he went to work on fixing things he needed to fix. He didn’t put, he didn’t complain, he just went to work.”

Long gone 🚀#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/6KGM8Q1P0u

— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) April 11, 2025

Cade Obermueller fights some control issues, throws 53 pitches through 3.0 innings

Over the last month, Cade Obermueller has been pitching as well as he has at any point in his collegiate career. However, he wasn’t quite as sharp early in his outing against the Huskers, giving up four free bases through the first three innings.

“Didn’t quite have the command he’s had, but when he did get some traffic, he buckled down and made pitches,” said Heller.

A hit by pitch and a walk gave Nebraska two on and one out in the second inning, but Cade bounced back. He struck out Will Jesske and then got Josh Overbeek to pop out, ending the threat.

Then in the third, an infield single from Riley Silva and a walk issued to Cayden Brumbaugh put two Huskers on with one out, once again. Again, Cade worked out of it. He got Tyler Stone to fly out and then struck out Dylan Carey to end the inning.

Through three innings, it didn’t appear as though Obermueller was going to get deep into the game. It took him 53 pitches to get nine outs, but he settled in from there and gave the Hawkeyes another lengthy start on Friday.

“I felt pretty good early on, but I had to fight through some things, do some things, and I figured myself out later in the outing,” said Obermueller. “I was trying to be too fancy (with the fastball). I was trying to spot it way too much, and I learned that I couldn’t do that out there today…I just started throwing it as hard as I could and then it started going where I wanted it to.”

Huskers get an impressive start out of veteran lefty Will Walsh

When veteran left-hander Will Walsh is on point, he is as good as any pitcher in the Big Ten. He notably threw a complete game in an elimination game at the Big Ten Tournament last season, and he gave it a good go against the Hawkeyes.

“Tip your hat, he pitched a great game,” said Heller. “He’s really tough when he’s like that because he just has no rhyme or reason to his mix and throws them all on the edges for strikes.”

Walsh doesn’t overpower opponents, with a fastball that’s right around 90, but he can throw multiple pitches for strikes and mixes as well as anyone in the Big Ten. He allowed just one run on two hits over 7.0 innings, including, at one point, retiring 12 in a row. Walsh threw 63 of his 91 (69.2%) pitches for strikes.

Obermueller settles in, gets through seven innings

A testament to his growth this season from a mental standpoint, Cade was able to settle in after throwing 53 pitches over three innings and got deep into the game for the Hawkeyes.

He allowed just three baserunners over his last four innings, including, at one point, retiring 11 consecutive Huskers hitters. After averaging 17.7 pitches for the first three innings, Cade averaged just 14.8 over his last four innings, finishing with a career-high 112 pitches thrown.

Obermueller tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, extending his scoreless streak to 26.0 innings dating back to his start against Ohio State, including 43 strikeouts. He allowed just two hits, striking out 11 and walking two. Cade threw 73 of his 112 (65.2%) pitches for strikes.

Although fans were in for a treat, watching Cade Obermueller and Will Walsh go back and forth, tallying zero after zero on the scoreboard, it was not on the mind of the Hawkeye starter.

“I’m really just focused on myself, so I’m not thinking about what he’s doing too much,” said Obermueller. “I just roll out there and try to get my three outs…I’ve made some adjustments, and I think I’m going to continue to look like this.”

Watts escapes 8th inning jam, records the final six outs

The native Iowan and former Creighton pitcher had to be excited for his rivalry appearance. He’s seen the Nebraska rivalry as a Blue Jay and as a Hawkeye. Rick Heller turned to Anthony Watts to record the final six outs, but it wasn’t without a bit of stress.

In the eighth, Cayden Brumbaugh got into scoring position with a one-out double, while he advanced to third on a pitch in the dirt. The Huskers had the tying run standing 90 feet from the plate, with just one out. When the situation called for a strikeout, with a ball in play likely tying the game, Anthony got Tyler Stone to strike out swinging for the second out. He followed it up with a strikeout of Dylan Carey to end the threat.

“That was quite possibly the game, and I told Sean (Kenny), he needs to punch this guy out. He did, and then he got out of it,” said Heller. “No wild pitch, no wacky stuff that’s happened in the past. Anthony was just really in control and really mature. He was channeling his energy in a positive way.”

In the ninth, Watts won both 3-2 counts he faced. After Max Buettenback grounded out, Anthony got Robby Bolin to groundout (4-3) with a full count and then struck out pinch-hitter Cael Frost in the same situation to end the game.

Watts strands the tying run at third 😤#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/2P5TO9tWUk

— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) April 12, 2025

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

The Hawkeyes will look to win the series on Saturday afternoon, with Aaron Savary on the mound going up against Ty Horn for Nebraska. First pitch is set for 2:02pm CT on BTN+.