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LINCOLN, Neb. — The University of Iowa baseball team split a doubleheader at Nebraska on Friday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park. The Hawkeyes posted a 7-1 victory in game one before the Cornhuskers evened the series with a 10-4 win in game two.
The doubleheader split sees Iowa sit at 21-11 overall and 6-4 in Big Ten play. The rubber game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) Sunday — weather permitting — and it will be televised on ESPNU.
Game 1 | IOWA 7, Nebraska 1
Junior Nick Allgeyer went seven strong inning, allowing one unearned run and fanning four to lead the Hawkeyes to a 7-1 victory in the opening game of Friday’s doubleheader.
After allowing one unearned run on two hits in the first, Allgeyer (4-3) surrendered just three hits over the next six innings to record his fourth victory of the season.
Iowa’s offense finished with 10 hits in the contest and scored the game’s final seven runs. Sophomore Justin Jenkins drew a two-out walk in the second before sophomore Ben Norman followed with a single to right field. Jenkins tied the game, scoring off a wild pitch.
Jenkins was in the middle of another Iowa rally in the fourth when he followed up a Kyle Crowl hit by pitch with a double to left field. After Nebraska went to Jake McSteen in relief, junior Mitchell Boe welcomed the reliever with a two-run double to left field, giving the Hawkeyes a 3-1 lead.
Iowa put the game away with a three-run eighth before adding a single run in the ninth. The Hawkeyes had four straight two-out hits in the eighth, beginning with a Norman double down the right field line. Boe followed with an RBI single before juniors Chris Whelan and Robert Neustrom followed with back-to-back RBI doubles.
Jenkins collected his second hit in the ninth, hitting a two-out double to center field to plate Crowl, making the score 7-1.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes made up for a three-error game by matching a season-high with four double plays, which all seemed to come at key junctures in the contest.
QUOTING COACH HELLER: GAME 1
“Nick Allgeyer did an awesome job and gave us a quality start. He held the bats in check all day long. Nick Nelsen was laboring a little, but battled through it, and Zach Daniels was good out of the bullpen. The bottom part of our order did a nice job. It was a little bit of a sloppy game on both sides. We were able to work out of a jam and turn double plays and it was a good way to start the series off.”
GAME 1 NOTES
- The bottom four batters in Iowa’s order — Crowl, Jenkins, Norman, and Boe — finished with six hits, six runs, and four RBIs. Jenkins (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI), Norman (2-for-5, R), and Boe (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) all had two-hit games. Boe tied a career-high with three RBIs. Whelan also had a two-hit game — his seventh multi-hit contest.
- Iowa has two games with four double plays this season and the Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten with 33 double plays.
- Allgeyer notched his eighth straight quality starts. The only time he hasn’t given the Hawkeyes a quality start was in the season opener when he was on a limited pitch count.
- The Hawkeyes had six doubles in the game, one shy of tying a season-high.
GAME 2 | Nebraska 10, Iowa 3
Nebraska’s offense awoke to the tune of 10 runs on 10 hits and three Husker pitchers limited Iowa to five hits in game two — a 10-3 Husker victory.
Iowa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when junior Robert Neustrom hit a one-out home run to right center field — his sixth home run of the season. Nebraska answered with a pair of two-run home runs from Jesse Wilkening and Angelo Altavilla in the third to knock Iowa starter Brady Schanuel from the game.
After Iowa closed the gap to 4-3 on a two-run home run from Tyler Cropley in the fourth, it was all Nebraska. The Huskers scored one in the fifth, four in the seventh, and one in the eighth, roughing up the Hawkeye bullpen.
Iowa’s final run came in the ninth when sophomore Kyle Crowl hit a solo home run to right field against Nebraska reliever Mike Waldron. It was Crowl’s fifth blast of the season.
Shanuel (5-4) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on five hits over three innings. He had five strikeouts, but issued three walks. Iowa used six relievers in the game.
Nebraska starter Matt Waldron (3-2) allowed three runs on three hits over seven innings to earn his third win.
COACH HELLER ON GAME 2
“The biggest story for Nebraska was Waldron. He pitched a great game and it seemed like we weren’t as dialed in offensively. Robert gave us the lead in the first, but unfortunately, in the third, they touched us up for two, two-out, two-run home runs. The long ball killed us today. The wind shifted directions and they were able to take advantage of it.”
GAME TWO NOTES
- Iowa finished with five hits, tying its lowest hit output since March 10.
- Neustrom finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for his 12th multi-hit game of the season.
- The Hawkeyes issued 10 walks in the game, which were tied for a season-high.
- Heller was ejected for the second time this season (and second time in his Iowa tenure) in the eighth after arguing balls and strikes.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes (21-11, 6-4) will play a rubber match on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT).
FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
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