Hawkeyes Take Series from Huskers

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa baseball team (23-10, 14-3) rallied in the eighth inning to defeat Nebraska, 11-6, in front of an electric crowd at Duane Banks Field on Saturday afternoon.

The crowd of 2,654 was the largest crowd in head coach Rick Heller's tenure. 

"Hawk fans didn't disappoint," said Heller. "Had a great night last night, and an even better crowd today. They were into the game, and it really helps out when you have that kind of support." 

Aaron Savary started on the hill for Iowa. He gave up five runs on five hits and struck out four in five innings of work. Chas Wheatley entered and gave the Hawkeyes two solid innings of work, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one 

Brant Hogue threw the final two innings and earned the win striking out three and not allowing a hit.

The Hawkeyes took the lead in the first inning when Daniel Rogers hit a single up the middle to score Gable Mitchell. The Huskers answered with a two-run shot in the second inning to take the lead.

In the third, Mitchell knotted the game at two apiece, smacking the 11th pitch of his at-bat over the right field wall. Nebraska responded again, this time with a three-run bomb to jump ahead, 5-2. 

Miles Risley brought Iowa within one with a two-run dinger in the fifth and the Hawkeyes exploded for six runs in the eighth to take the lead and ultimately the win.

A leadoff homer from Ben Wilmes set the tone tying the game, and back-to-back walks and a bunt single for Miles Risley loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly from Rogers and Caleb Wulf single plated another two runs for Iowa. Andy Nelson put an exclamation point on the inning and gave the Hawkeyes some insurance with a three-run blast to left.

“Down 5-2, to come back and find a way to win, especially after we had squandered some opportunities and didn’t execute very well all day long, was impressive,” said Heller. “One of the big goals for us every game is to try to win the last three innings, we just kept telling them keep pushing.”

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes and Huskers (15-20, 4-10) will close out the series tomorrow at Duane Banks Field. First pitch is set for 1:02 p.m. (CDT). The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.