Kansas saw its nine-game winning streak come to a close Tuesday night against Nebraska, with the Cornhuskers launching a late rally to knock off the Jayhawks 7-5 at Hoglund Ballpark. Nebraska scored two runs with two outs in the eighth to take a deciding lead.

Alex Breckheimer entered the game in the eighth. Nebraska got two runners on with nobody out before Breckheimer retired the next two. Max Buettenback hit a jam-shot infield single out of the reach of Sawyer Smith to put Nebraska ahead before Cael Frost extended the lead with an RBI single up the middle.

“Two-out RBIs are always up the middle. They had a couple late there where they literally just moved the ball to the middle of the field,” Dan Fitzgerald said after the game. “Great approach by them. Unfortunately, sometimes you lose in this game, and they did a nice job of staying in the middle of the field.”

Kansas’ bats were quieted for much of the game, with the four-run output being the lowest since a 9-2 loss to Arizona State on March 21. The Jayhawks had their chances but couldn’t convert with the bases loaded in the third or sixth innings.

“We just didn’t have the big hit that puts it away,” Fitzgerald said. “Brady [Ballinger] came up there with the bases loaded and had the check swing… He gaps the double right there, and we clear it and go up three runs, it’s probably a different outcome.”

On the other hand, Nebraska did a good job cashing in runs when it got opportunities. The Cornhuskers scored the first run of the game without tallying a hit and were 6/15 with runners on compared to Kansas’ 4/15.

“They made pitches. I thought our approach was great,” Fitzgerald said. “We competed, and I told them after the game, it’s the process and the how you compete, and it’s how you go about it.”

The Jayhawks answered Nebraska’s first inning run with one of its own, as Michael Brooks doubled down the left-field line to score Brady Ballinger from first.

Nebraska got to Patrick Steitz in the second, with Buettenback doubling down the right field line to score a run. Derek Cerda erased a baserunner with an outfield assist, but Will Jesske followed with a solo shot to make it 3-1.

The Cornhuskers looked in firm control, extending their lead to 4-1 as Buettenback once again notched an RBI double down the right field line.

However, the Jayhawks finally found their answer to tie the game in the fifth. Ballinger started things with an RBI double, splitting the left-center field gap, before Jackson Hauge tied the game at 4-4 with a 2-run homer over the center field monster, his 15th of the season.

“We’ve done it all year,” Hauge said of Kansas’ ability to score in bunches. “Sometimes it’s dragging on, dragging on and then all of a sudden you get to the seventh and it’s bang, bang, bang, and you look up and it’s a completely different ball game.”

Kansas failed to completely flip the momentum and take the lead in the sixth. Nebraska reliever Carson Jasa loaded the bases with two outs, hitting mid-90s with his fastball easily but struggling to locate it. The Cornhuskers went to Lawrence native Grant Cleavinger for a lefty-lefty matchup against Ballinger, where Ballinger was rung up on a check swing in a full count.

The Jayhawks’ bullpen tossed zeros over the middle innings, but Nebraska awoke in the eighth and ninth to take control of the game. The Cornhuskers did their best work with two outs, scoring two in the eighth and adding another in the ninth on a Cayden Brumbaugh single.

Luke Broderick entered the game for Nebraska in the ninth. Kansas was able to scratch a run across with a Hauge RBI single but couldn’t manage further late-game heroics. The Jayhawks’ record sits at 27-7 and will head on the road to face TCU in a weekend series.