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Huskers lose pitchers' duel to OSU
 Kubat |  Placzek |
OSU sophomore Travis Lakins tossed all 10 innings for the Buckeyes to improve to 2-2 on the season. Lakins limited Nebraska to only two hits and two walks while striking out seven. After giving up a home run to Jake Placzek in the bottom of the third, Lakins retired 21 straight Huskers before Ben Miller worked a one-out walk in the 10th, Lakins first walk of the game.
Nebraska's Kyle Kubat was nearly as good on the mound but took the loss. After failing to get out of the fifth inning in each of his last two starts, Kubat went a career-high 9.0 innings and took the mound in the 10th, but exited after giving up a leadoff single to Ryan Leffel. The senior lefty was tagged with both of OSU's runs on seven hits and no walks. Kubat sat down the Buckeyes in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but NU's offense could not get a run off of Lakins.
The Huskers (29-12, 6-5 Big Ten) and Buckeyes (25-10, 8-3) will wrap up their series Sunday at Hawks Field, with first pitched scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The game will be streamed on HuskersNSide.
With the game tied 1-1 after nine, Leffel lead off the 10th with a single to give OSU its first baserunner since the sixth inning. Nebraska went to senior Josh Roeder out of the pen and Ronnie Dawson laid down a sacrifice bunt to put pinch-runner Jake Brobst in scoring position. Roeder then struck out Nick Sergakis and had Tre' Gantt in a 0-2 hole, but the Buckeye DH was able to line a RBI single up the middle just past the out-stretched glove of second baseman Jake Schleppenbach to give OSU a 2-1 lead. Roeder ended the inning with a strikeout of Craig Nennig.
Lakins toed the rubber in the 10th and started the frame with a flyball off the bat of Blake Headley for the first out. Miller then worked the first walk by either team all game and the Huskers put in pinch-runner Elijah Dilday. The NU freshman swiped second base on the very next pitch of the game and the Huskers soon had the tying and winning runs on base when Tanner Lubach worked a walk. The Buckeyes stuck with Lakins and it paid off, as he struck out Austin Darby and Austin Christensen in order to end the game.
The Huskers were 4-0 in extra-inning games this season prior to Saturday and had won six straight over the Buckeyes, with the last loss coming in the second round of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament on May 23.
For the second straight day the Huskers took the game's first lead with a run in the bottom of the third. After Lakins retired Christian Cox to start the frame, Placzek launched the first pitch he saw into the left-field berm for his first home run as a Husker. It marked the second straight game where the Huskers' No. 9 hitter record a home run after Wes Edrington hit his first career home run in Friday's win.
Kubat kept the Buckeyes scoreless through four inning on 34 pitches, but couldn't keep the shutout alive through the fifth. Dawson led off the frame with a double to center field for OSU's first extra-base hit of the series. Kubat then got back-to-back groundball outs, but Dawson advanced on both, including a RBI groundout by Gantt.
The Buckeyes nearly led off the fifth with a double to right field, but Darby threw a rope to Placzek at second base to cut down L Grant Davis.
Neither team had a baserunner in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning.
R H E ------------------------------------------- Ohio State........ 000 010 000 1 - 2 8 0 Nebraska.......... 001 000 000 0 - 1 2 0 -------------------------------------------