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March 9, 2007

 

NU Sports Information

 

Talk about it in Red Sea Scrolls

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Miers Quigley fired seven shutout innings, while No. 22 Alabama took advantage of a rare off night by Husker starter Tony Watson en route to posting an 8-0 victory over the No. 22 Huskers Friday night.

 

 

Freshman DJ Belfonte had two of Nebraska's four hits.

Quigley (3-0), who upped his record to 3-0, worked in and out of trouble most of the evening, allowing three hits and four walks, as NU had at least one base runner on in each frame, but could not plate a run against the left-hander. Quigley, who threw 118 pitches, struck out four and was backed by an Alabama defense that turned a pair of double plays in helping him to lower his season ERA to 1.15.

 

"You have to give Quigley a lot of credit," Anderson said. He did a great job, and they were great behind him defensively."

 

UA closer Josh Copeland fired two shutout innings, completing the first shutout against Nebraska in 201 games dating back to the 2003 NCAA Regional title game against Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) and the first time NU had been shutout on the road since the 1998 campaign.

 

The Huskers had ample opportunities to plate runs against the Alabama staff, leaving runners stranded in scoring position five times. NU (6-5) had their best opportunity in the sixth, as a leadoff double by DJ Belfonte and a walk to Craig Corriston put runners on first and second with no outs with the middle of the order up. As he did all night, Quigley pitched out of the jam, getting Ryan Wehrle and Andrew Brown to fly out to right before Jake Opitz ended the threat with a ground out to second.

 

Belfonte was the lone Husker to have success against Quigley, finishing the night 2-for-4 and reaching safely in three of his four plate appearances. NU finished with just four hits, as Andy Gerch and Jeff Tezak each added singles in the losing effort.

 

Watson, who entered Friday's game ranked seventh in the Big 12 in ERA, was tagged for eight runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings to take the loss and fall to 1-1 on the year. It was highest total of runs and hits that the junior All-American has allowed in 43 career appearances and 23 starts as a Husker.

 

The Crimson Tide, who improved to 13-4 on the season and snapped a two-game losing streak, struck early with an RBI double from Jake Smith to batters into the contest before breaking the game open with four runs the following inning, highlighted by Alex Avila's three-run triple.

 

In that frame, Alabama capitalized on a costly error by Jeff Lanning that led to three unearned runs, as the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 5-0. With one out, Brandon May drove a triple to right just past the diving attempt of Steve Edlefsen and came home one batter later on Jared Acvhen's run-scoring single. Greg Paimi then laid down a sacrifice bunt in front of the plate that Lanning was unable to field, putting runners on first and second. That miscue came back to haunt NU two batters later, as Alex Avila cleared the bases with triple to the gap in left center, giving Alabama all the runs they would need.

 

"They jumped on us early," Anderson said. "After the first inning, we had a chance to get out of the second with only one run if we make the plays defensively, but we didn't execute."

 

Ryan Rhoden gave Alabama a 6-0 lead with a one-out solo homer to right for his first round tripper of the season and chased Watson with a pair of runs in the sixth, including a solo homer from Salem, who finished 2-for-4 and scored three times.

 

The two teams will continue the series Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. and the game will be carried live on the Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com. Charlie Shirek (1-2, 5.93 ERA) takes the hill for the Huskers and will be opposed by Alabama right-hander Casey Kebodeaux (2-1, 1.42 ERA).

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Huskers Stem Tide, 4-3

 

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Jeff Tezak had five hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth inning, as No. 17 Nebraska evened its series with No. 22 Alabama with a 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon.

 

Tezak broke a 3-3 deadlock with an RBI single to left off reliever Austin Hyatt, scoring pinch runner Luke Wertz with the go-ahead run, capping a 5-for-5 effort for the Husker third baseman. A junior from Poway, Calif., Tezak tied the game earlier with his seventh inning homer off Alabama starter Tommy Hunter after the Crimson Tide took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth.

 

"Jeff had a good two-strikeout approach on the last at-bat and did a good job of taking the pitch and going the other way with it," Anderson said. "(Craig) Corriston and (Jake) Mort are both pretty good defensive players, but I thought that we needed to get some offense in there today against Hunter."

 

Tezak’s heroics made a winner of Zach Herr, who was superb in relief as the Huskers improved to 7-5 on the season. The sophomore lefty picked up his first career win, allowing one hit and totaling a career-high five strikeouts over 3.1 innings – the longest outing of his career.

 

Alabama had a chance to win it in the ninth against Herr, as a two-out infield single from Greg Paiml and a walk to leadoff hitter Emeel Salem put the tying runner in scoring position. Steve Edlefsen then came in and got Jake Smith to hit a soft liner to Ryan Wehrle to end the game.

 

Nebraska took the lead for good in the top of the inning, as Mitch Abeita opened the frame with a single, one of two hits for the junior. Edlefsen fell behind 1-2, but was still able to lay down a sacrifice bunt in front of the mound which catcher Ryan Rhoden fired wide of first, putting two one with no outs. Two batters later, Tezak’s heroics gave the Huskers a hard-fought win.

 

Tezak, Abeita and senior Andrew Brown combined for nine of the Huskers’ 11 hits, as Brown went 2-for-4 with a homer and scored twice, while Abeita went 2-for-4, including his first two hits of the year. Hyatt (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing the go-ahead run on two hits after Hunter went the first eight innings, but did not factor in the decision.

 

The Huskers snapped a 10-inning scoreless in the top of the second, as Brown gave the Huskers a 1-0 lead with his second homer of the season. Brown launched Hunter’s first offering of the frame over the fence in left, plating NU’s first run of the weekend.

 

Brown was again the Huskers’ catalyst in the top of the fourth, as Nebraska took advantage of an Alabama error to increase its margin to 2-0. The Husker first baseman opened the inning with a double to left and was at third with one out before the Huskers got a break. Nick Sullivan struck out, but Hunter’s pitch was in the dirt and Tide catcher Jared Avchen’s throw was off the mark, allowing Sullivan to reach safely and Brown to score from third on the play.

 

Alabama had a golden opportunity in the fifth, but an alert defensive play by Abeita prevented the Crimson Tide from getting on the scoreboard. Brandon May opened the infield with a slow roller that stayed fair along the third base line for an infield single and eventually got to third with two outs. Salem coaxed a walk from Shirek, whose pitch bounced off Abeita’s glove and caromed near the Husker dugout, but the NU catcher retrieved the ball and fired a strike to Shirek, who applied the tag on May to end the inning.

 

Shirek took a shutout into the sixth before running into trouble, as the Crimson Tide scored three runs to take their first lead of the afternoon. With one out, Alabama, which was held to two hits over the first five frames, struck for three straight singles to load the bases and end the Husker starter’s afternoon. Matt Foust came in out of the bullpen, but could not stop the rally, as a passed ball plated one run before a walk reloaded the bases. Foust then uncorked a wild pitch to score the tying runner before Elvin Vargas’ sacrifice fly off Herr gave Alabama a 3-2 advantage.

 

Shirek allowed three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings, but did not factor in the decision, as the Huskers knotted the score in the next half inning on Tezak’s fourth hit of the afternoon – a one-out solo homer to right. The comeback marked the first time since the 2005 season that Nebraska had trailed after six innings, but came back to win – a span of 18 games.

 

Hunter, a preseason All-American who was making his first start since Feb. 23, went eight innings for Alabama in a no-decision, allowing three runs on nine hits and fanned a career-high nine hitters without a walk.

 

The two teams will conclude the three-game series Sunday morning with an 11 a.m. start. The game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com. In addition, the game will be video-streamed live on HuskersNside.

 

17 Nebraska at #22 Alabama

 

March 10, 2007 at Tuscaloosa, AL (Sewell-Thomas Stadium)

 

 

 

Nebraska 4 (7-5)

 

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.

 

Belfonte, DJ cf.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .290

 

Tezak, Jeff 3b........... 5 1 5 2 0 0 1 1 0 .522

 

Wehrle, Ryan ss.......... 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 1 .250

 

Opitz, Jake 2b........... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 2 .310

 

Brown, Andrew 1b......... 4 2 2 1 0 2 15 0 2 .290

 

Gerch, Andy lf........... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .277

 

Sullivan, Nick dh/rf..... 4 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 .250

 

Abeita, Mitch c.......... 4 0 2 0 0 0 6 1 0 .200

 

Wertz, Luke pr.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

 

Lanning, Jeff c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250

 

Edlefsen, Steve rf/p..... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143

 

Shirek, Charlie p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 -

 

Foust, Matt p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

 

Herr, Zach p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

 

Totals................... 37 4 11 3 0 9 27 15 8

 

 

 

Alabama 3 (13-5)

 

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.

 

Emeel Salem cf........... 2 0 0 0 2 1 4 0 0 -

 

Jake Smith 3b............ 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 -

 

Alex Avila dh............ 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 -

 

Kent Matthes rf.......... 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 -

 

Matt Bentley 1b.......... 4 1 1 0 0 0 11 0 0 -

 

Ryan Rhoden lf/c......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 1 -

 

Brandon May 2b........... 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 -

 

Brandon Belcher ph/lf... 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 -

 

Jared Avchen c........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 -

 

Elvin Vargas ph......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -

 

Jeff Texada 2b.......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 -

 

Greg Paiml ss............ 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 2 -

 

Tommy Hunter p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 -

 

Austin Hyatt p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

 

Totals................... 30 3 6 1 4 7 27 11 8

 

 

 

Score by Innings R H E

 

Nebraska............ 010 100 101 - 4 11 0

 

Alabama............. 000 003 000 - 3 6 2

 

 

 

E - Rhoden; Avchen. DP - Crimson Tide 1. LOB - Huskers 8; Crimson Tide 8. 2B

 

- Brown, A.(4); Matthes. HR - Tezak, J.(1); Brown, A.(2). HBP - Salem;

 

Paiml. SH - Belfonte, D.(4); Edlefsen, S.(1); Avchen. SF - Vargas. SB -

 

Tezak, J.(1); Sullivan, N.(3).

 

 

 

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF ERA

 

Shirek, Charlie..... 5.1 5 3 3 1 2 19 23 5.68

 

Foust, Matt......... 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2.00

 

Herr, Zach.......... 3.1 1 0 0 1 5 10 12 3.68

 

Edlefsen, Steve..... 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3.00

 

 

 

Alabama IP H R ER BB SO AB BF ERA

 

Tommy Hunter........ 8.0 9 3 2 0 9 34 34 -

 

Austin Hyatt........ 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 3 5 -

 

 

 

Win - Herr, Z. (1-1). Loss - Hyatt (2-1). Save - Edlefsen, S. (1).

 

WP - Shirek, C.(2); Foust, M.(3). HBP - by Shirek, C. (Paiml); by Shirek, C.

 

(Salem). PB - Abeita, M.(3). Inherited runners/scored: Foust, M. 3/2; Herr, Z.

 

3/1; Edlefsen, S. 2/0.

 

Umpires - HP: Ricky Powell 1B: Rickey Armstrong 3B: Michael Lenz

 

Start: 4:05p.m. Time: 2:55 Attendance: 4936

 

Foust, M. faced 2 batters in the 6th.

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NU Sports Information

 

Talk about it in Red Sea Scrolls

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jeff Tezak had five hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth inning, as No. 17 Nebraska evened its series with No. 22 Alabama with a 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon.

 

 

Junior third baseman Jeff Tezak had five hits and drove in the go-ahead run.

Tezak broke a 3-3 deadlock with an RBI single to left off reliever Austin Hyatt, scoring pinch runner Luke Wertz with the go-ahead run, capping a 5-for-5 effort for the Husker third baseman. A junior from Poway, Calif., Tezak tied the game earlier with his seventh inning homer off Alabama starter Tommy Hunter after the Crimson Tide took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth.

 

"Jeff had a good two-strike approach on the last at-bat and did a good job of taking the pitch and going the other way with it," Anderson said. "(Craig) Corriston and (Jake) Mort are both pretty good defensive players, but I thought that we needed to get some offense in there today against Hunter."

 

Tezak's heroics made a winner of Zach Herr, who was superb in relief as the Huskers improved to 7-5 on the season. The sophomore lefty picked up his first career win, allowing one hit and totaling a career-high five strikeouts over 3.1 innings – the longest outing of his career.

 

Alabama had a chance to win it in the ninth against Herr, as a two-out infield single from Greg Paiml and a walk to leadoff hitter Emeel Salem put the tying runner in scoring position. Steve Edlefsen then came in and got Jake Smith to hit a soft liner to Ryan Wehrle to end the game.

 

Nebraska took the lead for good in the top of the inning, as Mitch Abeita opened the frame with a single, one of two hits for the junior. Edlefsen fell behind 1-2, but was still able to lay down a sacrifice bunt in front of the mound which catcher Ryan Rhoden fired wide of first, putting two one with no outs. Two batters later, Tezak's heroics gave the Huskers a hard-fought win.

 

Tezak, Abeita and senior Andrew Brown combined for nine of the Huskers' 11 hits, as Brown went 2-for-4 with a homer and scored twice, while Abeita went 2-for-4, including his first two hits of the year. Hyatt (2-1) suffered the loss, allowing the go-ahead run on two hits after Hunter went the first eight innings, but did not factor in the decision.

 

The Huskers snapped a 10-inning scoreless in the top of the second, as Brown gave the Huskers a 1-0 lead with his second homer of the season. Brown launched Hunter's first offering of the frame over the fence in left, plating NU's first run of the weekend.

 

Brown was again the Huskers' catalyst in the top of the fourth, as Nebraska took advantage of an Alabama error to increase its margin to 2-0. The Husker first baseman opened the inning with a double to left and was at third with one out before the Huskers got a break. Nick Sullivan struck out, but Hunter's pitch was in the dirt and Tide catcher Jared Avchen's throw was off the mark, allowing Sullivan to reach safely and Brown to score from third on the play.

 

Alabama had a golden opportunity in the fifth, but an alert defensive play by Abeita prevented the Crimson Tide from getting on the scoreboard. Brandon May opened the infield with a slow roller that stayed fair along the third base line for an infield single and eventually got to third with two outs. Salem coaxed a walk from Shirek, whose pitch bounced off Abeita's glove and caromed near the Husker dugout, but the NU catcher retrieved the ball and fired a strike to Shirek, who applied the tag on May to end the inning.

 

Shirek took a shutout into the sixth before running into trouble, as the Crimson Tide scored three runs to take their first lead of the afternoon. With one out, Alabama, which was held to two hits over the first five frames, struck for three straight singles to load the bases and end the Husker starter's afternoon. Matt Foust came in out of the bullpen, but could not stop the rally, as a passed ball plated one run before a walk reloaded the bases. Foust then uncorked a wild pitch to score the tying runner before Elvin Vargas' sacrifice fly off Herr gave Alabama a 3-2 advantage.

 

Shirek allowed three runs on five hits over 5.1 innings, but did not factor in the decision, as the Huskers knotted the score in the next half inning on Tezak's fourth hit of the afternoon – a one-out solo homer to right. The comeback marked the first time since the 2005 season that Nebraska had trailed after six innings, but came back to win – a span of 18 games.

 

Hunter, a preseason All-American who was making his first start since Feb. 23, went eight innings for Alabama in a no-decision, allowing three runs on nine hits and fanned a career-high nine hitters without a walk.

 

The two teams will conclude the three-game series Sunday morning with an 11 a.m. start. The game will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com. In addition, the game will be video-streamed live on HuskersNside.

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