The Nebraska baseball team improved to 2-0 during its trip to U.S. Bank Stadium with a 4-0 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday morning. Chance Hroch tossed 6.0 shutout innings and Spencer Schwellenbach earned his first career save, as he left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth with a game-ending strikeout.
LINCOLN, Neb. (Husker Athletics) — The Nebraska baseball team improved to 2-0 during its trip to U.S. Bank Stadium with a 4-0 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday morning. Chance Hroch tossed 6.0 shutout innings and Spencer Schwellenbach earned his first career save, as he left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth with a game-ending strikeout.
Hroch made his second start as a Husker on Saturday and improved to 2-0. The veteran right hander tossed 6.0 innings, allowing five hits and one walk, while striking out seven.
Iowa starter Drew Irvine spoiled his own solid start, as a sixth-inning throwing error allowed three unearned runs to score. Irvine struck out eight over 5.2 innings and allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk.
Freshman Max Anderson, Jack Steil and Brice Matthews accounted for six of NU’s eight hits, including three from Steil. Anderson added to his team-high hit total with his 10th and 11th of the season, while Matthews hit his first home run as a Husker.
Hroch retired six straight to start the game before Ben Norman led off the third with a double. Dylan Nedved later added a one-out single and the Hawkeyes had runners on the corners, but Hroch responded with a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat. Iowa started a two-out rally in the fourth with consecutive singles, but Hroch responded again with a strikeout to end the frame, his fifth of the game.
Irvine shutout the Huskers through the first four innings, but that quickly ended in the bottom of the fifth when Matthews led off and put the second pitch of the frame into the right field seats for his first home run as a Husker. Irvine bounced right back and retired three straight Huskers to keep the game at 1-0.
The Hawkeyes put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the sixth when Zeb Adreon drove a two-out single to center and Tyler Snep drew a walk. Hroch again worked out of the jam with an strikeout, his seventh of the game.
Nebraska’s offense took advantage of a Hawkeye error in the sixth and turned the mistake into three runs. Anderson reached on a one-out single and then Efry Cervantes attempted a sacrifice bunt, but Irvine tried to get Anderson at second base and instead threw the ball into center field. Steil followed with a single to load the bases and Irvine followed with a strikeout. With two outs and the bases full the Hawkeyes went to reliever Trace Hoffman, who promptly walked Matthews on four pitches to plate a run. Joe Acker then delivered the biggest hit of the inning with a two-RBI single to right field, pushing Nebraska’s lead to 4-0.
Sayer Diederich continued the shutout in the seventh and Max Schreiber followed in the eighth. Cam Wynne took the mound in the ninth and walked the leadoff batter before bouncing back with a fly out. Wynne then walked Norman before striking out Brayden Frazier. Wynn walked his third batter of the inning to bring the tying run to the plate. NU went to Schwellenbach and after he started pinch-hitter Peyton Williams with three straight balls, the junior right hander responded with three straight swinging strikes to secure the win.
The Huskers wrap up their trip to U.S. Bank Stadium tomorrow with a pair of games. NU meets Ohio State at 10 AM and Iowa at 2 PM. Both games will be video streamed on BTN+, while fans can listen across the Husker Sports Network.