Three runs in the bottom of the ninth pushed Nebraska to a 6-5 win over Maine Friday at Hawks Field.
Trailing 5-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Case Sanderson led off for NU (12-5) with a hit by pitch. Jett Buck singled to right, putting two on with none out. Cole Kitchens singled to right, moving Sanderson to third and Buck to second. Devin Nunez singled to right, scoring Sanderson and Buck to tie the game. Nunez stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Drew Grego drove in Nunez and won the game for the Cornhuskers with a single to left.
The three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth came after a bumpy start to the series. After a Sanderson RBI single in the bottom of the first gave Nebraska a 1-0 lead, a two-run home run by Quinn Murphy in the third put the Black Bears (2-14) ahead, 2-1. Mac Moyer tied the game with an RBI groundout in the sixth to tie the game at two. But then Maine retook the lead in the seventh as Murphy drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop, making it 3-2, Bears. Jeter Worthley tied the game at three in the bottom of the eighth with a fielder’s choice grounder to drive in a run.
But then in the top of the ninth, Maine retook the lead. With the bases loaded and no one out, J’Shawn Unger walked Juju Stevens to give the lead back to Maine. Then a wild pitch scored Brody Rasmus to push the Black Bears lead to 5-3 before NU scored three in the bottom of the ninth to win.
Grego paced the Nebraska offense, hitting 3-for-5 with an RBI and a triple. Moyer was 2-for-5 with an RBI while Sanderson was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Murphy led Maine at the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with three RBI with a home run. The win is the Cornhuskers’ seventh in a row.
Nebraska and Black Bears will wrap up their series Saturday with a doubleheader at Hawks Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m., with pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on KLIN.