Iowa City, Iowa – With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th and the bases loaded with two outs, Jimmy Frankos had a full count against Garett King. The Hawkeye catcher hit a low line drive to left and Christian Cox nearly made a diving catch to send the game to the 11th inning, but the ball bounced out of his glove and the Hawkeyes walked off the Huskers to take the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday at Duane Banks Field.
The Huskers jumped out a 2-0 lead after the top of the third, but then were held scoreless the rest of the game on three hits.
For the sixth straight starter Kyle Kubat was unable to pick up his 20th career win, as he didn’t factor into the decision. Kubat went 7.1 innings for the Huskers, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks.
The Huskers took their first lead of the series in the second when Blake Headley led off the inning and cruised into second base on an by John Barrett in left field. Tanner Lubach then moved Headley to third base with a sacrifice bunt and the moved paid off when Austin Darby followed with a deep sacrifice fly to right field that took Joel Booker to the warning track.
Nebraska extended its lead to 2-0 in the second, with the run again scoring on a sacrifice fly. Ben Miller notched his 33rd RBI of the season with a fly ball to left field that easily scored Wes Edrington from third base, who walked to start the inning.
Kubat kept the Hawkeyes scoreless through the first five innings, but couldn’t hang a zero in the sixth. Facing the top of UI’s lineup, Eric Toole started the frame with a single and then scored on a triple to left center off the bat of Jake Mangler. Following a groundout to Kubat for the first out of the inning that kept Mangler at third, the Hawkeyes had runners on the corners when Kris Goodman walked. Kubat’s defense stepped and turned an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Dan Potempa to keep the Huskers in front, 2-1.
Kubat then sat the Hawkeyes down in order in the seventh, but Kubat was quickly in trouble in the eighth when No. 9 hitter Joel Booker led off the frame with a triple. Four pitches later Eric Toole lifted a sacrifice fly to left field that was deep enough to score the tying run. With one down, the Huskers brought in reliever Jeff Chesnut and Mangler welcomed him with a double. Chesnut got Grant Klenovich to foul out for the second out of the inning, but he then loaded the bases with back-to-back walks. Without nowhere to put Nick Roscetti, Chesnut got the UI shortstop to ground out 6-3 to end the inning, but not before Iowa tied the game, 2-2.
After the Huskers stranded a two-out single in the ninth, the Hawkeyes had a chance to win the game. Chesnut retired the first two batters he faced, but then Booker and Toole delivered singles that put Booker in scoring position at second base. Mangler came through with UI’s third straight single, but on the play Darby threw out Booker at the plate to send the game to extra innings.
Reliever Nick Hibbing sat down the Huskers down in order in the top of the 10th, setting the stage for the Hawkeyes to win the game in extras.
Game two of today’s doubleheader is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.