April 12, 2006

Lincoln, NE (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Maybe Nebraska and Iowa should get together in Iowa City more often.

Maybe not.

Jake Opitz's two-run single in the top of the 13th inning capped a wild night of baseball that ended in a 16-14 Nebraska win in the teams' first meeting in Iowa City in 76 years.

The teams used 15 pitchers in a five-hour game that had more twists and turns than an Ozark highway.

``That was one of the most bizarre games I've ever played in,'' sophomore third baseman Steve Edlefsen said in a phone interview after the game. ``Things that usually don't happen to us happened. The best thing that happened is we found a way to win. That's what it all comes down to.''

A sampling from Tuesday's win at Duane Banks Field:

- Nebraska's pitchers walked 11 and hit five Hawkeye hitters.

- The Cornhuskers led 9-2 going into the bottom of the third inning.

- At one point in the game, Iowa had scored two runs on no hits.

- Iowa third baseman Travis Sweet hit a three-run homer off NU preseason All-American closer senior Brett Jensen with two outs in the ninth to tie the game at 14. Iowa had hit just three homers as a team coming into Tuesday's game.

- Edlefsen, who came into the game batting 6 for 37 with one extra-base hit on the year, finished the game 6 for 8 and became just the second Nebraska player since 1995 to hit for the cycle. His six hits tied him for the NU single-game hits record, tying him with the likes of Darin Erstad and John Cole and raising his batting average more than 100 points.

``I didn't even know I hit for (the cycle) until a fan in the stands yelled,'' Edlefsen said. ``I was just thinking about getting another run and getting out of there.''

Nebraska sophomore reliever Jon Klausing shut down the Iowa hitters over the final four innings to pick up the win. Klausing allowed just one hit.``I was just trying to throw strikes and let them get themselves out,'' Klausing said. ``Our guys were going to make the plays as long as I threw strikes.''

The Nebraska bats started early, with senior Brandon Buckman putting the Huskers ahead in the first inning with a three-run homer. Buckman finished the game 4 for 6 with three RBIs and reached base all eight times he came to the plate.

Nebraska freshman starter Tim Radmacher struggled to find the zone, walking four Iowa hitters and allowing two runs on no hits before being lifted after 1 1/3 innings of work.

NU stretched the lead even farther in the third as the Huskers sent 10 hitters to the plate and finished the frame with a 9-2 lead.

From there, the Hawkeyes continued chipping away at the Nebraska lead as the NU staff failed to find the strike zone with any consistency. Iowa took advantage in the fifth when L.J. Mims hit a three-run double.

The Huskers took a 14-11 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning with Jensen on the mound. He struck out the first two batters of the inning before allowing two Iowa runners to reach base on a walk and a hit by pitch. Sweet cranked the next pitch over the fence to tie the game at 14.

The teams traded baserunners before Opitz's single in the 13th finally put the Huskers up for good.

Nebraska finished it's eight-game road trip 7-1 with the win and returns home to take on Texas A&M in a three-game series starting Thursday.

But even after playing for nearly five hours, Nebraska's players and coaches were happy to leave Iowa City with the victory.

``I was happy we figured out a way to win,'' Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said. ``A lot of things happened that I really don't have explanations for. I'm just happy we won.''

(C) 2006 Daily Nebraskan via CSTV U-WIRE