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Eighth-inning collapse costs Nebraska baseball in loss to Iowa

Joseph Maierby:Joseph Maier•about 21 hours•

JosephMaier29

Nebraska baseball vs. Rutgers
Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska baseball (15-20, 4-10) collapsed late in a 6-11 loss to Iowa (23-10, 14-3) on Saturday, dropping its fourth Big Ten series of the year. The Huskers led for most of the afternoon thanks to three home runs, but a ferocious eighth-inning rally lifted their rivals to a comeback victory.

Ty Horn (7.25 ERA) pitched 4.1 solid frames in his start, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out seven. The right-hander came up clutch in multiple spots but is still in search of his first win of the season.

The Husker pitching staff held Iowa at bay for most of the afternoon, striking out 12 batters with runners on base and stranding 10, but four Hawkeye home runs and a monster eighth inning made the difference.

Here is a recap of the loss:

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Home run barrage

After a second-inning blast was the only run scored on Friday, Saturday’s game was a home run fest. Seven combined long balls accounted for 13 of the 17 total runs.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Nebraska responded in the second. Cael Frost earned a four-pitch walk and Will Jesske made right-hander Aaron Savary pay with a 338-foot home run that snuck over the left-field wall. The two-run shot gave the Huskers their first lead of the weekend.

Iowa tied the game on a 386-foot solo shot in the third frame. Gable Mitchell won an 11-pitch at-bat, fouling off six pitches in a row.

In the top of the fourth, Tyler Stone singled to lead off the inning before Dylan Carey was hit by a pitch. With two on and nobody out, Frost smacked a three-run home run over the left-field fence, giving Nebraska a 5-2 lead.

Miles Risley joined the fun in the bottom of the fifth. With one man on base, he hit a two-run shot that narrowly stayed inside the left-field foul pole, bringing Iowa within one, 5-4.

Joshua Overbeek hit a solo shot in the top of the seventh, his first of the year and Nebraska’s third of the day. However, the insurance run was not nearly enough to overcome a late pitching collapse.

Clutch pitching early

Nebraska robbed Iowa of multiple runs on Saturday. The Hawkeyes stranded 10 runners on base and hit 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position through the first seven frames.

The Husker pitching staff came up clutch on multiple occasions. They struck out 12 Hawkeyes with runners on base, seven of which came with runners in scoring position. The first seven innings concluded with an Iowa swinging strikeout and three frames ended with back-to-back strikeouts.

Horn allowed four runs on the day but had his fair share of heroics. He gave up three singles in the first frame, handing the Hawkeyes an early 1-0 lead, but avoided any further damage with a full-count strikeout to strand two.

In the bottom of the fourth, Caleb Wulf singled before Horn walked the next batter. He escaped yet another jam by striking out two straight Hawkeyes. The right-hander finished the day with seven strikeouts and six hits allowed.

Nebraska’s bullpen kept the momentum rolling. Grant Cleavinger earned a huge punch out in the fifth, stranding runners at second and third. Luke Broderick one-upped him in the seventh, striking out consecutive hitters with two runners in scoring position.

It all went downhill from there.

Monster inning dooms Nebraska

The Hawkeyes finally broke through in the eighth.

After a flashy start to his relief appearance, Broderick quickly collapsed. He gave up a leadoff home run to Ben Wilmes, tying the game 6-6, before throwing six straight balls and being pulled.

Rob Childress turned to Drew Christo — who threw 18 pitches on Friday night — in relief of Broderick. Christo walked the first batter he faced before a perfectly executed bunt loaded the bases with no outs.

A sacrifice fly gave Iowa its first lead since the opening frame before an RBI single teed up a 3-run home run from Hawkeye pinch hitter Andy Nelson, blowing the game open.

Broderick and Christo combined to allow six earned runs on four hits in just 1.2 innings of work.

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