Buckeyes Rally Past Huskers, 9-7

Columbus, Ohio – Nebraska was unable to continue the momentum from Friday's suspended game, as Ohio State rallied for a 9-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Bill Davis Stadium.

Nebraska brought a 5-3 lead into Saturday's action, but the Buckeyes (17-24, 5-8 Big Ten) struck for six runs in the fifth against Husker reliever Matt Waldron, who suffered the loss. OSU strung together four straight two-out hits in the frame, the biggest being a three-run double by Dominic Canzone that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good.

Canzone drove in four runs while Brady Cherry drove in three runs, as the third and fourth spots in the OSU order combined for seven RBIs. That was enough for Connor Curlis, who held the Huskers to one hit in four innings of relief to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Nebraska (24-16-1, 7-5-1 Big Ten) had a chance in the top of the ninth against Seth Kinker, pushing across one run and getting the tying run on base against the Buckeye closer. NU opened the ninth with a double by Angelo Altavilla and a single by Scott Schreiber, putting runners on the corners. Ben Miller made it 9-7, as he reached on an error that allowed Altavilla to score. Kinker then settled down and retired the next three Huskers for his fifth save of the season.

The Buckeyes, who were held hitless through the first 4.1 frames dating back to last night, broke through in the fifth, as they sent 10 men to the plate to regain the lead. With two outs and runners on the corners, Waldron walked Tre' Gantt to load the bases before the Buckeyes strung together four straight run-scoring base hits. Jalen Washington's RBI single pulled the Buckeyes to within 5-3 before Canzone cleared the bases with a double to right center. An RBI double by Cherry and a run-scoring hit from Bo Coolen capped the six run uprising against Waldron (2-5), who allowed seven runs on 10 hits over 5.0 innings of relief.

Schreiber led NU's 11-hit attack by going 3-of-5 with two RBIs, while Jake Meyers and Zac Repinski added two hits piece for the Huskers, who scored five runs on Friday before the rain came.

Nebraska pushed across runs in three of the first four frames while Husker starter Jake Hohensee settled down after a rocky start to retire the final nine Buckeyes he faced. The right-hander allowed two runs – one earned - and fanned four over three no-hit innings, but did not factor into the decision.

Nebraska struck quickly against OSU right-hander Yianni Pavlopoulos, racing out to a 1-0 lead three batters into the contest.  Meyers opened the game by ripping a double down the right field line, moved to third on Altavilla's sacrifice bunt and came home as Schreiber lined a sharp single to center.

In the bottom of the frame, the Buckeyes took advantage of a leadoff walk and a Husker error to plate a pair of runs off Hohensee. A walk and an error gave the Buckeyes runners on second and third with no outs before sacrifice flies from Canzone and Cherry put the hosts ahead 2-1.

Nebraska regained the lead in the top of the second, pushing across three runs in the second to take a 4-2 lead and getting to the Buckeyes' bullpen. Luke Roskam opened the second with a double and moved to third on a Pavlopoulous' wild pitch, a pitch that ended the OSU starter's evening, as he left the game with a leg injury.  Two batters later, Repinski blooped an RBI single to center to even the score with his first RBI of the season. After an infield single by Jesse Wilkening put runners on the corners, Jake Schleppenbach laced a double off the wall in right to score Repinski. NU eventually loaded the bases against reliever Ryan Feltner before the OSU right-hander hit Altavilla to push across another run.

Nebraska manufactured a run in the top of the fourth to extend the margin to 5-2. Meyers opened the frame with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored on Schreiber's grounder to short before the inclement weather ended Friday's action.