After a heartbreaker Friday night, Nebraska was back at it for Game 2 with the Hawkeyes. Unfortunately, the Huskers were unable to bounce back from Friday’s loss, losing 17-9 to Iowa on Saturday.
Lefty Nate Fisher got the start on the mound for the Huskers and started strong. Through three innings it looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel with the score tied at zero. Then the floodgates opened and Iowa went on to score 16 runs in three innings.
Fisher went 4.2 innings, giving up five hits and seven runs with four earned. Nebraska has been very good when the weekend starters can go six or seven innings, but run into trouble when having to go to the bullpen early.
The Huskers used six pitchers on the day and gave up 17 total hits. Early in the season, Nebraska struggled with giving up big innings and it came back to bite the Huskers again against Iowa. The Huskers had 12 hits of their own, but still came up very short.
Offensively, there were some highlights for Nebraska. Spencer Schwellenbach recorded his second home run in three games, going three-for-four on the day with two RBIs. Angelo Altavilla added a two-run homer in the ninth. Gunner Hellstrom, Aaron Palensky and Mojo Hagge each added two hits for the Husker offense.
This was one of the only times that the Nebraska offense outperformed a weekend pitcher. Scoring nine runs will win you a lot of games, but not when you give up 17.
The Huskers came into the weekend in first place in the Big Ten but after dropping two in a row they have fallen to third. Iowa takes the series with the win. This was Nebraska’s first conference loss that didn't come in walk-off fashion.
The Huskers will regroup to take on Iowa one more time for an Easter Sunday matchup. Reece Eddins will start on the mound. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. CT.
