MINNEAPOLIS -- The first leg of Nick Suriano’s revenge weekend was a success.

And only leg, it turns out.

The Rutgers hammer, ranked fourth nationally at 133 pounds, avenged one of his three regular-season losses on Saturday night with a 6-3 win over Iowa’s No. 3 Austin DeSanto in a physical and controversial battle in a semifinal of the Big Ten Championships at Williams Arena.

But he won’t get a chance to reverse a second loss. Michigan’s No. 1-ranked Stevan Micic unexpectedly medically forfeited his semifinal round bout to Ohio State’s No. 7 Luke Pletcher. Suriano has not wrestled Pletcher this season.

Suriano controlled DeSanto throughout the bout, scoring a late takedown to seal the win after a stall call had tied it. (Suriano had a riding point at that time, though.) The wrestlers scrapped after the final whistle, then shouted at each other as wrestlers joined in from their benches.

Suriano’s brow was cut by an apparent headbutt -- apparently when he connected on his last shot.

DeSanto and Suriano eventually shook hands, but until after a prolonged cooling-down period as officials tried to restore order, figure out the score and any team points that had to be deducted. Rutgers lost two.

Micic beat Suriano, 3-2, in a one-takedown bout on Feb. 17. Suriano pushed the pace on Micic and had more shots on offense. The wrestling world must wait for the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, March 21-23, for a possible rematch.

The effort against Micic was the opposite of how Suriano looked against DeSanto on Jan. 18, when they met during a dual meet in Iowa City. Suriano took a 3-1 lead into the third period after an escape and a takedown, but a double-stall call in the first period came back to haunt him. Suriano was banged for stalling twice in the third period while riding, allowing DeSanto to tie the bout at 3 before he escaped himself.

Suriano cut him with 1:20 left to give DeSanto a 4-3 lead, but he had a riding time point in hand. It couldn’t get him to sudden victory, though, as DeSanto notched the winning takedown with seconds to go for the win. Almost two months later, Suriano got his victory back.

Suriano, who is seeking his first conference title, started Saturday with a quick first period pin of Maryland’s Orion Anderson in the first round. He then rolled past Minnesota’s No. 8 Ethan Lizak in the quarterfinal round, 9-2. Lizak only scored on two near-fall points off a tilt late in the third with the bout already in hand for Suriano.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.