Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
No. 24 Nebraska baseball rallied for seven runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh to erase a three-run deficit and defeat Minnesota 12-7 Thursday in Minneapolis, Minn. The Cornhuskers (39-14, 21-7 Big Ten) opened their regular-season ending series with a victory over the Golden Gophers (30-21, 11-17 Big Ten).
After an RBI double by Mac Moyer in the third to get Nebraska on the board, Minnesota scored two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead. But then the Huskers exploded in the sixth. Dylan Carey ripped an RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-2. After a Case Sanderson RBI single, a Joshua Overbeek RBI single tied the game at four. A bases-loaded hit by pitch by Moyer gave NU a 5-4 lead. Jeter Worthley capped the rally with a two-run single to left, building the Huskers’ lead to 8-4.
The Gophers chipped away with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but then Nebraska rebuilt the lead in the seventh. Drew Grego hit an RBI double to left-center. A two-run double to left by Overbeek pushed the Huskers’ lead to 11-6. Rhett Stokes drove in a run with a single through the left side to push the lead to 12-6. Minnesota scored one in the bottom of the seventh, but drew no closer.
Tucker Timmerman turned in three good innings from the Nebraska bullpen, allowing just one earned run as the Huskers’ offense took over. Pryce Bender closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Grego paced the Nebraska offense, hitting 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Overbeek was 2-for-5 with three RBI and a double. Moyer, Sanderson and Trey Fikes all had two hits each.