Lincoln – A 10th-inning RBI single off the bat of Aaron Gretz broke a 2-all deadlock, as Ohio State took the rubber game of the three-game series with a 5-2 win Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field.
OSU (26-10, 9-3 B1G) was held in check by the Husker bullpen for most of the afternoon, as NU relievers Jake Meyers, Jeff Chesnut and Colton Howell combined for 6.2 shutout inning of relief until the Buckeyes struck in the top of the 10th.
One-out singles by Ronnie Dawson and Nick Sergakis set the stage for Gretz, who lined Howell’s 1-0 pitch to left, plating Dawson from second with the go-ahead run. OSU, which picked up its second-straight extra-inning win, tacked on two more runs later in the frame on Jake Placzek’s two-out throwing error, the Huskers only error in 29 innings on the weekend.
Nebraska (29-13, 6-6 B1G) got the leadoff runner on in the bottom of the 10th after a Tanner Lubach single, but could not sustain the threat, as Ben Miller grounded into a double play before Aaron Darby’s ground out ended the contest.
Trace Dempsey (8-1) earned the win with three shutout inning of relief, while Howell (1-3) took the loss.
The Huskers fell behind 2-0 early on as the Buckeyes pushed across runs in the first and third against NU starter Derek Burkamper, who was unable to get out of the third.
Trey Montgomery led off the game with a homer to right, sending Burkamper’s offering beyond the patio in right. In the third, OSU pushed the lead to 2-0 as Pat Porter singled with one out and moved to second on a walk before Sergakis’ single to left gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
OSU eventually loaded the bases in the third, but Meyers got Craig Nenning to ground out to end the theat. Meyers and bullpen kept Nebraska in the game, as only two Buckeye runners reached scoring position until the 10th inning.
Nebraska began to chip away in the bottom of the third, as singles by Luis Alvardao and Ryan Boldt put runners on the corners with one out against OSU starter Ryan Riga. Placzek then lofted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Alvarado to make it a one-run game.
The Huskers would get the equalizer in the bottom of the sixth, as Miller launched Riga’s 3-2 pitch over the fence in right for this first homer of the season.
Riga pitched well in the no-decision, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings of work, and the Huskers had chances in both the eighth and ninth against Dempsey.
In the eighth, NU had runners on the corners with two outs, but the Buckeye right-hander struck out pinch hitter Christian Cox to end the threat. Pinch hitter Jake Schleppenbach opened the ninth with a single, but Dempsey retired the next three hitters – the top three hitters of the Husker lineup – to get the game to extra innings.
The Huskers return to action Tuesday night, hosting Kansas State with a first pitch time set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be carried on select Husker Sports Network affiliates and also on Huskers.com.