Max Buettenback went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI, as Nebraska defeated No. 22 Kansas 7-5 at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.
Nebraska (15-18) scored seven runs on eight hits, while Kansas (27-7) recorded five runs, five hits and two errors.
Buettenback led the Big Red at the plate with the three-hit effort, followed by Cayden Brumbaugh going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Will Jesske recorded his second homer of the season with a solo shot, while Cael Frost and Case Sanderson tallied one hit apiece.
Ryan Harrahill made his second career start and allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work. TJ Coats and Blake Encarnacion worked scoreless innings in the third and fourth frames.
Jalen Worthley surrendered three runs on two hits while recording one out. Casey Daiss, Carson Jasa and Grant Cleavinger combined to shut out the Jayhawks over the next 1.2 innings. Pryce Bender picked up his first career win after tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
Drew Christo hurled a clean frame in the eighth, while Luke Broderick recorded his sixth save of the season after allowing one run on a hit in the ninth inning.
Nebraska took advantage of a leadoff baserunner and manufactured its first run of the night without a hit in the top for the first. Sanderson began the game plunked on an 0-1 pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Riley Silva. A wild pitch moved the sophomore to third, before Brumbaugh’s RBI groundout to shortstop broke the scoreless tie.
Kansas evened the game at one in the bottom of the first behind a pair of hits. A one-out single to left field set the table for a two-out RBI double down the left-field line, where the Jayhawks tied the game at one in a play at the plate.
The Huskers responded with a pair of runs on two hits and an error to take the lead back at 3-1 in the second. Dylan Carey reached on a leadoff error and scored all the way from first on Buettenback’s RBI double down the right-field line. Jesske sent the first pitch over the right-field wall for a 392-foot solo homer to give the Big Red a 3-1 lead through two innings.
The NU offense tacked on a run in the fourth after a scoreless third inning to grow the lead to 4-1. Carey worked a full-count walk with one out, before Buettenback drilled his second RBI double of the night down the right-field line to score Carey from first and give the Big Red a three-run advantage.
The Jayhawks plated three runs on two hits in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at four. An RBI double to the left-field wall after a one-out walk brought Kansas within 4-2, while a first-pitch two-run homer over the batter’s eye in center field made it a 4-4 game through five innings.
Nebraska and Kansas exchanged scoreless sixth and seventh innings, before the Big Red rallied for two eighth-inning runs to grab a late 6-4 lead. Silva led off with a walk, and Brumbaugh singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with no outs.
The Big Red were down to their final out in the eighth when Buettenback’s RBI single to shortstop brought home Silva. Frost followed Buettenback’s infield single with an RBI single up the middle to plate Brumbaugh and give the Huskers a 6-4 lead.
Nebraska added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning to expand the lead to 7-4. A single up the middle from Sanderson, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Silva, had a runner on second with two outs. Brumbaugh came through for the NU offense with a first-pitch RBI single up the middle to bring home Sanderson.
The Jayhawks took advantage of a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth with an RBI single to right field to trim the NU lead to 7-5. With two outs and the tying run at the plate, Broderick recorded a strikeout on full count to preserve the Big Red’s 7-5 win on Tuesday night.
Nebraska steps back into Big Ten action with a road series at Iowa this weekend. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is set for 6 p.m. at Duane Bank Field on B1G+.
Huskers.com
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