Hawkeyes rally late, stun Huskers in 11-6 victory

The Hawkeyes felt like they were chasing all day, trailing for the majority of the game, but all it took was one big inning to turn the tides. Trailing 6-5, Iowa put up six runs in the eighth inning to pull off the stunning 11-6 win over Nebraska.

“The whole game we were confident in what we can do. We know we can put runs up on the board. We’ve been doing it all year and just stuck with it, stuck to our plan and showed some fight,” said outfielder Miles Risley.

With the win, the Hawkeyes move to 23-10 on the season and 14-3 in Big Ten play, which is still good for first place in the standings. They have now won 12 of their last 13 conference games.

Players of the Game

• P Chas Wheatley/Brant Hogue: The two Hawkeye relievers allowed one run on one hit over 4.0 innings, throwing 63.8% of their pitches for strikes. Wheatley tallied one strikeout, while Hogue recorded three strikeouts.
• OF Miles Risley: Risley finished with two hits, two RBI’s and three runs scored. He reached base three times and hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
• OF Ben Wilmes: Wilmes was just 2/5, but hit the game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth that started Iowa’s six run rally.

Huskers use the long ball to build a three-run lead after four innings

After just one run was scored in Friday night’s series opener, it was abundantly clear through the first few innings of the game that runs were going to be far more frequent in game two of the weekend.

In the top of the second, Nebraska jumped in front, answering after Iowa put up a run in the bottom of the first. Catcher Will Jesske sent a two-run home run to left-center field, breaking a 10.1 inning scoreless streak for the Huskers to begin the series. Gable Mitchell drove a solo shot out to right field in the bottom of the third inning to tie it, but it was a short-lived tie.

Tyler Stone singled to lead off the fourth inning, while Dylan Carey reached on a hit by pitch, giving Nebraska two runners on base and no outs. Iowa native Cael Frost delivered a three-run shot to left-center field and the Huskers were back in front with a 5-2 lead.

Aaron Savary battles, gets through the fifth inning

The final stat line for Aaron Savary doesn’t stand out: 5.0 INN, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 2 BB

However, trailing 5-2 with no outs in the top of the fourth inning, with Cael Frost rounding the bases on his three-run home run, Aaron had a choice to make. Let it all unravel and potentially exit before the inning was over, or find a way to record more outs, lessening the workload for the bullpen.

“It was pretty apparent that Savary wasn’t as sharp as he had been, and we were just hoping that he could get some innings for us and shorten the game as much as possible,” said head coach Rick Heller. “He did that. Disappointed that he wasn’t as sharp as has been, but he got us through five (innings) and gave us a chance.”

Although the box score doesn’t reflect it, Savary did a great job fighting and battling to earn six more outs after the Frost home run. He retired three in a row to end the fourth and then put up a zero in the fifth inning before turning things over to the bullpen.

Miles Risley cuts into the Huskers lead with a home run

The Hawkeyes put two runners on base with just one out in the fourth inning, but missed an opportunity to cut into the deficit. Nebraska starter Ty Horn recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat and shot some looks at the Iowa dugout as he did it.

The Hawkeyes really needed to cash in on an opportunity and they did off the bat of Miles Risley in the fifth inning. After a Gable Mitchell fly out, Reese Moore earned a walk, bringing Risley to the plate. He took the 2-2 offering from Horn and sent just inside the left field foul pole for a two-run home run.

“He was throwing heaters, and I knew he threw a heater high, and I was thinking he would go with the soft stuff,” said Risley. “He threw a slider in, and I took advantage of it.”

The home run knocked Horn out of the game and forced Nebraska to go to the bullpen two outs earlier than the Hawkeyes had to.

RIS BOMB 💣#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/FL9EREvAOn

— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) April 12, 2025

Chas Wheatley, Brant Hogue come up big out of the bullpen

Rick Heller turned to Chas Wheatley out of the bullpen in the sixth inning, needing some shutdown innings to give his offense a chance to find their breakthrough moment.

Wheatley retired six of the seven batters he faced over two innings, including a strikeout. Although Josh Overbeek took him to left field for a solo home run, Chas was on point, throwing 17 of his 22 (77.3%) pitches for strikes. One of the guys that the coaching staff would love to have as a trusted arm down the stretch, the outing could be a big confidence builder for Wheatley.

Heller made the move to go to Brant Hogue in the eighth inning and he was able to record the final six outs of the game. The Sioux City native, right on the border of Nebraska and Iowa, struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth, but ran into some trouble hitting consecutive batters. Brant was able to pick off Tyler Stone to end the inning and then retired three of four in the ninth, including a strikeout of Josh Overbeek to end the game.

Wheatley and Hogue combined to allow one run on one hit over 4.0 innings, including four strikeouts and a 63.8% strike thrown rate.

The biggest story of all was Wheatley and Hogue, both of them giving us two innings and only giving up one run,” said Heller. “Seeing how far Chas has come to look out here and see him in this game, with a packed house, throwing strikes and getting guys out was great to see. Then, Brant, he’s a captain, a leader and he needed to step up like a leader and finish that game off and he did.”

Hawkeyes stay patient at the plate, break through with a six-run eighth inning

Trailing by a run in the bottom of the eighth, the Hawkeyes had just six outs to find a way to tie or take the lead. It took just four pitches for the game to flip on its side. Facing a 1-2 count, Ben Wilmes launched a solo home run off of Luke Broderick to tie the game 6-6. All bets were off after that.

Broderick walked Gable Mitchell, which brought Will Bolt to the mound for a pitching change, but reliever Drew Christo was unable to channel the same stuff as he had on Friday night. Christo walked Reese Moore, while Miles Risley reached on a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out.

Daniel Rogers put Iowa in front with a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field, but Christo struck out Kooper Schulte for the second out of the inning. The Hawkeyes would take a lead into the ninth in whatever way they could, but a 7-6 lead, with the wind blowing out felt less than comfortable.

Caleb Wulf came up clutch, connecting with the first pitch he saw from Christo, sending an RBI single back up the middle to make it an 8-6 Iowa lead. In the ensuing at-bat, Andy Nelson, who subbed into right field in the top of the inning, drove a three-run home run over the wall in left field, sending the Duane Banks Field crowd into a frenzy.

“Do what you’ve got to do, do your one-ninth, get on base,” said Heller. “That was really the big message, just find ways to get on base and somebody’s going to step up and deliver the big blow. It took us a while today, but we finally got it done.”

Wilmes ties it up 😤#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/iusloUdVRL

— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) April 12, 2025

A Heller Era record 2,654 fans see Iowa secure the comeback win

There’s no doubt that the crowd had their effect on the game. Perfect weather day, Nebraska in town, Ben McCollum at the park, Hawkeye fans showed up and were engaged in the game from the first pitch to the final out. The final attendance number, 2,654, is the largest crowd of the Rick Heller Era and one of the largest crowds in program history.

“I had a good feeling that Hawk fans would come out and support us this weekend,” said Heller. “They didn’t disappoint. They were into the game, and it really helps when you have that kind of support.”

What’s next for Rick Heller and Co?

The Hawkeyes will attempt to go for their third sweep in Big Ten play on Sunday afternoon, with Reece Beuter on the mound, facing off against Nebraska left-hander Jackson Brockett. First pitch is set for 1:02pm CT on the Big Ten Network.