Manhattan, Kan. – Tanner Lubach went 5-for-5 on Tuesday night at Tointon Stadium and drove in the eventual game-winning run with his fifth hit of the night in the 10th inning, as the No. 23 Nebraska baseball team (24-10, 3-3 Big Ten) posted a 5-4 win over the Kansas State Wildcats (13-17, 2-7 Big 12) in 10 innings. Lubach notched five of NU’s 12 hits and drove in a pair of runs, as the Huskers won the 277th all-time meeting between the two teams.
Josh Roeder came in for the 10th and picked up his 10th save of the season with a pair of strikeouts. Roeder is now four saves away from breaking Brett Jensen’s school record of 31 career saves.
In front of 3,081 fans, the largest crowd at Tointon Stadium this season, Lubach came to the plate with two outs in the top of the 10th and delivered a RBI single to left field that put the Huskers on top 5-4. The senior catch, who had three career three-hit games entering the night, notched three singles and two doubles on the night. Lubach is the first Husker to produce five hits in a game since Michael Pritchard last season, when he produced five hits in a 14-5 win over Kansas State in Lincoln on April 15.
Lubach’s two-out RBI single was possible after Jake Schleppenbach and Ben Miller also singled in the top of the 10th. Schleppenbach reached on a one-out single and moved to second when Miller came through with a two-out infield single. Lubach capped his heroic night with a single on a 1-1 offering from reliever Bryce Ward and on the play Schleppenbach scored from second base to put the Huskers on top 5-4.
Extra innings was needed after the Huskers squandered away a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth when the Wildcats scored four runs to even the game. The two teams then went scoreless over the next three innings before Lubach untied the game in the 10th.
Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision after the Wildcats tied the game. NU freshman Garett King went 5.2 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. King had his streak of batters faced without a walk snapped at 36 over 17.0 innings in the third when he gave up a one-out walk. King’s last walk came in the Indiana State game on March 17 and he hadn’t allowed a walk in each of his last two starts.
KSU’s Kyle Halbohn lasted just 2.1 innings in his fourth start of the season. The junior allowed four runs, all earned, on five hits. Jordan Floyd and Jackson Douglas kept the Wildcats in the game with a combined 5.2 innings of scoreless four-hit relief behind Halbohn.
After going down in order in the first, the Huskers offense picked up steam in the second with three runs on four hits, including a RBI triple by Lubach. Miller got the inning started with an infield single and then scored on Lubach’s triple. Scott Schreiber later added a one-out RBI single and then put himself in scoring position with his third stolen base of the year. After Halbohn got the second out of the inning, Jake Placzek delivered a two-out single that scored Schreiber and gave the Huskers a 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats, who also were retired in order in the first, responded with a run in the bottom of the second on three hits. Nebraska got the run back in the third though on a deep blast by Blake Headley that cleared the scoreboard in right field. It was Headley’s first homer of the season and the fourth of his career.
King hung zeroes in the fourth and the fifth, but was unable to make it through the sixth. The Wildcats started the frame with consecutive singles to put runners on the corners. King then got a fly ball out before Steve Serratore delivered a RBI ground out that cut NU’s lead to 4-2. With two outs, the Huskers turned the ball to Jeff Chesnut, who promptly gave up a RBI double and a RBI single that tied the game, 4-4. Following a stolen base the Wildcats had the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Chesnut ended the inning with a 6-3 groundout.
The Huskers had the go-ahead run in scoring position in the eighth when Lubach blasted a double off the right field wall. Douglas kept the game tied with a strikeout of Austin Darby to end the frame.
KSU then had the go-ahead run on base in the bottom of the eighth with a one out walk, but Chesnut got consecutive pop outs to second base and the game went to the ninth, tied 4-4.
After the Huskers went down in order in the top of the ninth, the Wildcats has the winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth after Taylor Anderson led off with a single and he was quickly in scoring position following a sacrifice bunt. The Husker then intentionally walked pinch-hitter Alex Bee to setup the double play. With the top of KSU’s order coming to the plate, sophomore Jake Hohensee got a shallow fly out and a ground ball to escape the jam and send the game to extra innings, where Lubach put on a stamp on a career night.
The Huskers will be back in action at Hawks Field on Friday night when they open a three-game series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. and the game will be carried nationally on the Big Ten Network.