Nebraska baseball (28-9) secured the 2026 I-80 showdown series over in-state rival Creighton (18-16) with its 5-4 victory on Tuesday in front of 6,148 fans to mark its first win in Lincoln since 2017.

On a warm, windy night that helped propel the baseball, the Huskers tossed five different arms, including usual Friday starter Ty Horn (4.37 ERA) in middle relief. Horn delivered three shutout frames, while closer J’Shawn Unger (SV: 8) recorded the final six outs.

Head coach Will Bolt confirmed postgame that Horn will move to the bullpen going forward.

“That’s the plan. He’s going to pitch out of the bullpen,” Bolt said. “I just think he’s eager to take the ball multiple times a week, and we’re looking for another arm that’s going to be able to do that.”

Bolt added, “He wasn’t falling behind counts and chasing, and some of those things. He was fired up to take the ball tonight, and that was the difference in the game for us.”

Trailing 4-0 after just two frames, the Big Red scored five unanswered runs with two in the second and three in the third. However, the offense went ice cold from there.

True freshman Drew Grego led the way, going 2-for-4 for three RBI, highlighted by his two-run homer in the bottom of the second.

Here is an instant recap from Game 2 of the I-80 series…

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Timmerman, Clark stabilize Bender’s blowup

Starter Pryce Bender (6.27 ERA) struggled with the 20+ mph wind gusts out of the west and with it 80 degrees at first pitch.

The sophomore righty allowed three runs in the first inning alone, including a two-run homer by CU’s Nate McHugh after allowing four hits in just one inning of work.

In the second, Nebraska pitching coach Rob Childress turned to Tucker Timmerman for a fresh slate on the mound. However, the Bluejays penciled in another with the wind support off Nick Venteicher’s solo-shot to left field to lead 4-0.

In the third, Timmerman worked a scoreless frame that was nearly 1-2-3 after Mac Moyer’s head-first dive in center field. Despite the initial fair ruling, the call was overturned after review. Still, Timmerman forced a groundout to strand the runner in scoring position.

The Beatrice native posted those two innings off 36 pitches (24 strikes) to retire six of the nine Bluejays faced. Lefty Caleb Clark took the fourth and dominated a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts.

Bottom of the order carries NU

Entering the bottom of the second with a four-run deficit, Drew Grego blasted a 97 mph two-run homer for NU’s first hit of the game and cut the deficit in half. It marked the right fielder’s fifth dinger of his true freshman campaign.

After drawing another two walks in the third, Grego came back up to the plate with two down. And the rookie from Papillion drove in Nebraska’s third run to make it 4-3.

Moments later, third baseman Joshua Overbeek evened it up with his RBI single to right. Second baseman Rhett Stokes then handed the Big Red a 5-4 lead with his RBI single — all three hits came with two outs.

While the hitting was clutch, the Huskers left nine baserunners on base through five innings. It’s also noteworthy that NU’s top of the order, which consists of Moyer, Jeter Worthley, Case Sanderson and Dylan Carey, were 0-for-11 after six frames.

“We had to grind through it offensively. Not a great night,” Bolt said. “But we had a freshman spark us and play incredibly well in Grego, who had a really tough week last week. Awesome to see a kid like that respond in the way that he did for his team.”

Nebraska Spring Lookback: Defensive edge

Horn comes in and deals

Horn, who had been NU’s ace to date, took the ball in the fifth to mark his first relief appearance of the season. The junior righty retired nine of the 11 Bluejays faced off 33 pitches (24 strikes) in three frames, including 1-2-3 sixth and seventh innings.

“It’s a lot more jittery and blood is flowing after when you come out of the pen,” Horn said.

In his last two starts, he surrendered nine runs in just seven innings. The Big Red arm who dons No. 2 came to the mound with extra juice after his recent struggles.

“You’ve seen the last couple of outings. It has not gone the way I wanted to,” he said. “Just having in my mind like ‘I just go out there and eff people up’ if that makes sense.”

Unger, the closer, entered in the eighth. After yielding a lead-off single, the righty from Blair, Nebraska, forced a 6-4-3 double play and cruised through the final four outs to seal the win.

Nebraska returns to the ball diamond on Friday at 6 CT for its most pivotal series of the season against No. 12 USC. Watch on the B1G+ or listen on the Huskers Radio Network.

The Huskers will meet the Bluejays for the series finale on Tuesday, May 12, at 6 CT in Omaha. Watch on Nebraska Public Media.

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