Nebraska scores six unanswered, takes series opener 7-4 over Iowa

Brett Sears didn’t have his A-game for the first time in 2024. But on Friday night, Nebraska baseball found a way to win anyway over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Huskers claimed the series opener by way of a six-run rally over the game’s final five innings. Sears finished with four runs allowed on eight hits, his highest totals of the season, and lasted a season-low five innings. Nebraska’s bullpen filled the void and the team’s top bats met the moment with clutch hits in the late innings despite some early missed opportunities.

Will Bolt’s Huskers have their first win over Iowa in a series opener since 2013.

“I told the team, ‘This kind of win though, when you flip the script and you do what it takes in the back half of the game, that’s what can galvanize the team and get that belief going again,'” Bolt said postgame.

Here’s more on Nebraska’s comeback and the key players on the mound and at the dish.

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Iowa jumped all over Sears in the first. The Huskers’ ace coughed up three runs on four hits including a well-executed hit-and-run RBI triple, as well as a singe and a double that plated runs. Nebraska quickly found itself chasing a multi-run, 3-0 deficit.

“Brett didn’t really let it get crazy sideways when it could have,” Bolt said. “That was the difference in that game. It was the crooked number in the first and he stranded some runners and got us into the middle innings.”

Singles from Dylan Carey and Josh Overbeek opened the Husker third and NU soon loaded the bases with one away. Ben Columbus got Nebraska on the board with a RBI walk but a pair of strikeouts ended the Husker threat there.

It didn’t take long for the Hawkeyes to recoup the run. Iowa tallied three singles in the first four at-bats of the fourth and took a 4-1 lead on a RBI knock from Sam Peterson.

Tyler Stone delivered a haymaker one inning later. With two on and two out, the lefty pounced on a 1-1 pitch and deposited a ball just over the wall in right in the Hawkeye bullpen. The blast tied the game at 4-4 and extended Stone’s home-run streak to three games.

“We’ve been looking for that big swing,” Bolt said. “It felt like we gave them all the momentum back in the third inning where we scored one, but loaded the bases and we let them score right behind that.”

Riley Silva stood at second as he watched the ball leave the yard.

“I take my shuffles out and I see this beatiful launch-angle, back-spun baseball,” Silva said. “There’s nothing more you can wish for when you see a ball like that hit off his bat. It sounds great and looks great going over the fence.”

With one out in the seventh, Josh Caron reached second base on a dropped fly out in center field and Nebraska capitalized. Cole Evans doubled to center and put the Huskers in front 5-4.

Then after scoreless innings from Kyle Froehlich and Jalen Worthley, Nebraska found some insurance in the eighth off the back of Silva. He doubled in a run with two strikes and later came home by beating a throw from shortstop after Gabe Swansen stole second.

A 7-4 advantage was enough for Worthley. He collected his fourth save of the year and worked around a two-out single in the ninth to seal the win.

“I think we just stayed in the whole fight as a team,” Froehlich said. “You felt it in the dugout. There was no quit. We knew we were right there the whole time and that we were going to battle back eventually. We got a couple big swings there from the guys and we came through.”

Froehlich, Worthley pick up Sears

Froehlich and Worthley are Friday’s unsung heroes. The two combined to hang four zeros while allowing just one base runner and striking out four in the late innings. Froehlich has not allowed an earned run in his last three appearances (3 1/3 innings) after allowing five earned runs in his previous three outings (2 2/3 innings).

“Obviously we swung the bats (well) in the back half, but they allowed us to do that, to have those big moments offensively,” Bolt said. “They were just pounding the zone with great stuff.”

The duo stepped up for Sears.

“He’s been amazing for us all year,” Frohlich said. “So then to be able to show we have his back today, it feels really good to do it for him.”

Silva deserves a good amount of credit, too.

He recorded five put outs on the night. None was more important than his diving one-out snag in the fifth that likely saved extra bases and a run. Silva finished 2-for-3 at the dish with an RBI double and a pair of runs scored. He had a heavy hand in some critical insurance in the eighth.

“So huge,” Silva said. “I’ve got amazing confidence in Jalen, he’s been so great for us all year. But obviously if you have more insurance runs you feel way better. The guy got the base hit with two outs and I was like, ‘Yeah, Jalen is going to shove right here,’ so I wasn’t too worried about it.”

Worthley slammed the door. He has quickly become one of the Huskers’ most dependable bullpen arms and has not surrendered a run in his last three appearances.

What’s next for Nebraska baseball?

Nebraska continues its series Saturday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. CT. The television broadcast of the game will follow the Huskers’ spring game on the Big Ten Network. Mason McConnaughey (3.41 ERA) will start for Nebraska against Iowa lefty Cade Obermueller (3.75 ERA).

The final game of the weekend is slated for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Sunday. Fans can stream the series finale on Big Ten Plus.