No. 24 Huskers Reach 40-Win Mark with Six-Run Ninth

No. 24 Nebraska rallied for six runs in the ninth inning to overcome a five-run deficit and defeat Minnesota 7-6 on Friday evening, reaching 40 wins in the regular season for the 12th time in program history and first time since 2005.

Nebraska (40-14, 22-7 Big Ten) scored seven runs on seven hits, while Minnesota (30-22, 11-18 Big Ten) recorded six runs on nine hits.

With 22 Big Ten victories, the Huskers have totaled their most conference wins in a season in program history, excluding the 2021 campaign that only featured Big Ten contests.

Jeter Worthley led the Big Red offense, going 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Dylan Carey went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Case Sanderson, Joshua Overbeek and Jett Buck recorded one hit each.

Ty Horn started and worked seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Grant Cleavinger was tagged for two runs without recording an out in the eighth before Braxton Stewart and Ryan Harrahill combined to record the three outs in the bottom of the eighth. Harrahill earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the season.

J’Shawn Unger closed things out in the ninth, working around a single to pick up his 10th save of the season.

The Gophers broke the scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer to grab a 2-0 lead.

Minnesota added to its lead in the fifth with a ground-rule RBI double and scored another run in the sixth behind three hits in the frame to hold a 4-0 lead through six innings.

The Huskers broke through in the eighth when Je. Worthley blasted a 411-foot solo homer to left field.

The Gophers answered right back with a two-RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to send a 6-1 Minnesota lead into the ninth inning.

The Huskers mounted a stunning rally in the ninth, with Sanderson singling and Grego reaching on a hit by pitch to set the table. Overbeek singled to loaded the bases with one out, while Buck’s RBI single to center plated one to begin the scoring in the inning.

A bases-loaded balk brought the Big Red within three, and Je. Worthley’s two-RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded made it a 6-5 game with two outs. Carey followed with an RBI single to lock the game at six, and Je. Worthley raced home from third on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to give Nebraska its first lead of the night at 7-6.

Unger worked around a two-out single to keep the Gophers off the board and preserve Nebraska’s series-clinching 7-6 win on Friday night.

No. 24 Nebraska and Minnesota conclude the series tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. on B1G+.