Kubat Silences Scarlet Knights in 3-1 Win

Omaha, Neb. – Sophomore Kyle Kubat picked up his third win in 13 days and the Nebraska baseball team (20-23, 11-4 Big Ten) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win on Sunday over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (20-22) at TD Ameritrade Park.

Kubat went a career-high 8.0 innings to improve to 3-0 on the year, giving up one run on four hits. The Creighton Prep product faced more than four batter in an inning just once on the day and retired the Scarlet Knights in order four times.

Dylan Vogt closed out the game in the ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season and secured Nebraska’s 20th win of the year.

The bottom of Nebraska’s order did the most damage on the day, as the 6-7-8-9 hitters produced five of NU’s eight hits, including a pair of hits and an RBI each from sophomores Blake Headley and Austin Darby. No. 9 hitter Tanner Lubach also added an RBI in the win.

Nebraska struck first in the bottom of the second, starting with Kash Kalkowski’s 18th HBP of the season. With Kalkowski running on the pitch, Headley blasted his fifth double of the season into the left-center field gap, with Kalkowski coming all the way around to score to the game’s first run. Darby then worked a full count and on the sixth pitch of the at bat he lined a single to right field that scored Headley. Darby moved into scoring position on a groundout by Bryan Peters and put the Huskers ahead 3-0 when he scored on a two-out single off the bat of Lubach.

It would be the only runs Nebraska would need on the day, as Kubat retired nine straight until Nick Favatella worked a one-out walk in the fourth.

Rutgers was able to plate a run in the top of the fifth, starting with a leadoff double from Jeff Melillo. Kubat got consecutive groundouts and was in position to strand Melillo at second, but Bill Hoermann came through with a two-out RBI single, cutting Nebraska’s lead to two runs, 3-1.

Kubat allowed just one base runner over the next three innings, a one-out single by Pat Sweeney in the eighth, before Vogt took over in the ninth.

Vogt gave up a leadoff single to Vinny Zarrillo, but then got three-straight groundouts to secure the win.

With no midweek games this week due final exams, the Huskers return to the field next weekend for a three-game Big Ten series with the Indiana Hoosiers. The Huskers and Hoosiers open the series on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in front of a national-television audience on the Big Ten Network. The series continues on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. and Monday at 12:05 p.m.