Rhett Stokes drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a single to left field to send No. 16 Nebraska to a 7-6, come-from-behind win over K-State Tuesday at Hawks Field. The Cornhuskers erased a 6-4 deficit with two in the seventh and a run in the ninth.
With Nebraska trailing by two in the bottom of the seventh, Mac Moyer drove in a run with a single up the middle, cutting the Wildcats’ lead in half. Jeter Worthley followed with a game-tying triple to center field to score Moyer. Then in the ninth, Joshua Overbeek led off the inning with a double to left field. Two batters later, a single by Stokes won the game for the Huskers.
Nebraska jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on two run-scoring wild pitches and a K-State error. After the Wildcats scored in the top of the third, a Dylan Carey sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third answered the KSU run and rebuilt NU’s lead to three.
But then K-State’s power hitting took over. A two-run home run by Ty Smolinski pulled the Wildcats to within one in the fourth. Nick English hammered a two-run home run to pull K-State ahead, 5-4. Bear Madliak homered in the sixth to push the Wildcats’ lead to 6-4 before Nebraska’s comeback.
Worthley finished the night 5-for-5 at the plate with a triple and an RBI. J’Shawn Unger (6-1) threw two innings of one-hit, shutout ball to earn the win.
Winners of seven of their last nine games, the Huskers hit the road in Big Ten play for their next action Friday at Ohio State. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m., with pregame coverage at 4:30 p.m. on KLIN.