A two-run single by Bennett Markinson led Northwestern to a 9-7 win over Nebraska Friday at Hawks Field in Lincoln. The single capped a slugfest in which the Cornhuskers and Wildcats combined for 16 runs, 21 hits and nine home runs.
Northwestern (17-18, 8-8 B1G) scored a run in the first, only to allow back-to-back home runs by Ben Buettenback and Tyler Stone to give Nebraska (17-21, 5-11 B1G) a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats answered with back-to-back home runs in the second, as Jackson Freeman hit a two-run homer immediately followed by a solo shot by Ryan Kucherak, giving Northwestern a 4-2 lead. A Joshua Overbeek sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning pulled Nebraska to within one, 4-3. But in the top of the third, Owen McElfatrick clubbed a two-run homer to push the lead to 6-3. Tyler Stone’s RBI double in the bottom of the third cut the deficit to two for Nebraska, but a second home run by Kucherak in the top of the fourth built Northwestern’s lead to 7-3
Overbeek sliced into that deficit with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the Wildcats’ edge to 7-6. The game sat there until the bottom of the eighth, when Overbeek left the yard again to tie the game at seven. But in the top of the ninth, Jacob Hand led off the inning with a walk. After a sacrifice bunt, Hand moved to third on a wild pitch as Preston Knott drew a walk. Trent Liolios was intentionally walked to load the bases ahead of Markinson, who came through with the go-ahead hit.
Crawford Wade (3-3) earned the win in relief for Northwestern, allowing one earned run in three innings. Casey Daiss (1-1) took the loss, allowing an earned run, but no hits, in 2.1 innings pitched. Stone and Overbeek led the Nebraska offense. Stone was 3-for-5 with two RBI, a home run and two doubles, while Overbeek was 2-for-3 with four RBI and two home runs.
The Huskers and Wildcats will conclude their conference series Saturday with a doubleheader at Hawks Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m., with pregame coverage at 12:30 p.m. on KLIN.