Illinois St. Series

[Eric the Red]

Buckman Powers Huskers Past Redbirds

Lincoln – Behind two homers from Brandon Buckman, the third-ranked Nebraska baseball team increased its win streak to eight games with a 10-7 victory over Illinois State Tuesday afternoon at Hawks Field.

Buckman picked up his second multi-homer game of the season, leading the Huskers (12-2) from a 6-4 deficit, as the Husker first baseman went 3-for-4 and matched his career high with four RBIs. His first homer, a fifth-inning blast off of the video board in right, pulled NU within a run before his second blast of the day, a solo shot in the seventh, gave the Huskers a 7-6 lead.

For Buckman, who has five homers, it was his second two-homer day in five games, as he also hit two against Minnesota on March 5.

Shortstop Ryan Wehrle also had two hits, including a game-tying homer in the sixth, and scored twice, while Andy Gerch went 2-for-4 with two doubles and scored three times in helping the Huskers pound out 12 hits and win their 15th straight at home dating back to last season.

The Huskers needed the offensive outburst, as the pitching staff, which had been magnificent during the last seven games, struggled with control. NU pitchers walked five and hit four more, helping Illinois State (2-10) overcome a 4-0 first-inning deficit.

"It was pretty sloppy all the way around," Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "Some of our new guys need to understand when they get opportunities they need to make the most of it."

The Huskers raced out to a 4-0 lead on Illinois State starter Dan Fraga in the bottom of the first. With two outs and runners on the corners, Buckman delivered a two-run single to put NU on the board. The Huskers added to the lead three batters later on an infield RBI single by Jeff Lanning, while a throwing error on the play allowed another run to score.

The Redbirds chipped away at NU’s lead, scoring twice in the second without a hit, as NU starter Matt Foust walked three and hit another before Zach Herr walked the fourth Illinois State player of the inning to account for ISU’s second run. The visitors added another unearned run in the third to pull within 4-3, as Jay Molina scored on Wehrle’s throwing error.

Illinois State would take its first lead in the top of the fifth, scoring three times off Herr and Luke Wertz on a two-run single by Jesse Griswold, who went 2-for-4 and scored twice, and an RBI double by Kevin Dubler to take a 6-4 lead.

Wertz (1-0) would then stem the tide, as he allowed one run on three hits over 2.2 innings to earn the win in relief, as ISU didn’t score again until the ninth

The Huskers would use the long ball to get back in the game, as Buckman’s first homer of the day in the bottom of the inning made it 6-5 before Wehrle tied the score one inning later with a solo homer to left off Dan Frega, who allowed six runs over the first six innings.

Nebraska would get to the Redbird bullpen in the seventh, scoring three times off Dan Sorce, who took the loss to drop to 0-2 on the season. Buckman greeting the ISU reliever, as he opened the seventh with a towering homer to right to give NU a 7-6 lead. The Huskers continued to rally, putting runners on second and third with one out before RBI singles by Bryce Nimmo and pinch hitter Nick Jaros gave NU a 9-6 cushion.

In the eighth, the Huskers tacked on another run on Jeff Christy’s sacrifice fly to center, scoring Gerch, who opened the inning with his second double of the afternoon.

"I’m proud of the kids for fighting through it and putting some runs across late, and thankfully we got the win," Anderson said. "They had the rhythm of the game, and we had to take it back, and that is what we did with some late hits and put some runs on the board. Overall, we need to get much shaper."

The Redbirds closed to within 10-7 in the ninth on Chris Frank’s sacrifice bunt that plated a run, and ISU had the tying run at the plate with two outs, but Brett Jensen got Mike Stalowy to fly out to center, as Nimmo made a game-ending diving catch to preserve the Husker lead.

The two teams will conclude the series on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m., as redshirt freshman Tim Radmacher will make his first career start. ISU has not announced its Wednesday starter.

Nebraska Baseball

Illinois State at #3 Nebraska

Mar 14, 2006 at Lincoln, NE (Hawks Field)

Illinois State 7 (2-10)

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

------------------------------------------------------------

BOLT, Matt rf............ 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .200

STALOWY, Mike 3b......... 4 0 1 1 1 1 0 3 2 .238

ANETSBERGER, Ryan ss..... 5 1 0 0 0 2 1 3 3 .286

MOLINA, Jay dh........... 5 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 .300

O'BRIEN, Kyle 1b......... 2 1 0 0 1 1 6 0 0 .324

DeMARCO, Gabe ph/1b..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 .269

GRISWOLD, Jesse 2b....... 4 2 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 .342

DUBLER, Kevin c.......... 4 0 2 1 1 0 5 0 0 .222

TOKARSKI, Mike cf........ 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 .000

CRIST, Nick ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200

DAVIS, Brian cf......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .133

KONSLER, Kevin ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .182

JENKINS, Kris lf......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 .125

FRANK, Chris ph/lf...... 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333

FREGA, Dan p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

SORCE, Dan p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

BERGER, Ian p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Totals................... 35 7 10 5 5 8 24 9 13

Nebraska 10 (12-2)

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

------------------------------------------------------------

Nimmo, Bryce cf.......... 6 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 2 .360

Edlefsen, Steve 3b....... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .154

Jaros, Nick ph/rf....... 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .354

Wehrle, Ryan ss.......... 4 2 2 1 1 0 2 3 0 .385

Gorsett, Luke dh......... 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 5 .368

Buckman, Brandon 1b...... 4 3 3 4 1 0 12 1 0 .315

Gerch, Andy lf........... 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .325

Opitz, Jake 2b........... 2 1 1 0 3 0 0 3 0 .283

Lanning, Jeff c.......... 2 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 2 .400

Mort, Jake ph/3b........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280

Sullivan, Nick rf........ 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .300

Brown, Andrew ph........ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .280

Christy, Jeff c......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 .188

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

Herr, Zach p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Wertz, Luke p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 -

Cranston, Jared p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Jensen, Brett p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Totals................... 34 10 12 9 6 4 27 12 12

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

Illinois State...... 021 030 001 - 7 10 1

Nebraska............ 400 011 31X - 10 12 2

-------------------------------------------

E - ANETSBERGER(4); Wehrle, R.(3); Sullivan, N.(1). LOB - Redbirds 13;

Huskers 12. 2B - BOLT(2); MOLINA(3); GRISWOLD(2); DUBLER(1); Gerch, A. 2(4).

HR - Wehrle, R.(2); Buckman, B. 2(5). HBP - BOLT 3; GRISWOLD; Gerch, A.;

Lanning, J.; Mort, J.; Sullivan, N.. SH - STALOWY(1); O'BRIEN(1); FRANK(1);

Mort, J.(2). SF - Christy, J.(1). SB - DUBLER(2); Nimmo, B.(4); Wehrle,

R.(1); Gorsett, L.(3).

Illinois State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA

--------------------------------------------------------

FREGA, Dan.......... 6.0 6 6 5 4 3 24 31 123 8.82

SORCE, Dan.......... 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 2 4 15 11.93

BERGER, Ian......... 1.2 4 1 1 1 1 8 11 33 6.62

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA

--------------------------------------------------------

Foust, Matt......... 1.2 1 2 2 3 2 6 10 34 3.86

Herr, Zach.......... 2.2 2 3 1 1 1 10 13 49 2.08

Wertz, Luke......... 2.2 3 1 1 0 2 10 12 39 3.68

Cranston, Jared..... 1.2 4 1 0 1 3 8 11 49 2.25

Jensen, Brett....... 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 1.80

Win - Wertz, L. (1-0). Loss - SORCE (0-2). Save - Jensen, B. (3).

WP - Foust, M. 2(3). HBP - by FREGA (Gerch, A.); by Foust, M. (BOLT); by Herr,

Z. (GRISWOLD); by FREGA (Sullivan, N.); by FREGA (Lanning, J.); by Wertz, L.

(BOLT); by BERGER (Mort, J.); by Cranston, J. (BOLT). BK - Foust, M.(1). PB -

DUBLER(5); Christy, J.(5). Inherited runners/scored: BERGER 2/2; Herr, Z. 3/1;

Wertz, L. 2/2; Jensen, B. 2/0. Pitches/strikes: FREGA 123/67; SORCE 15/7; BERGER

33/21; Foust, M. 34/15; Herr, Z. 49/30; Wertz, L. 39/22; Cranston, J. 49/30;

Jensen, B. 5/3.

Umpires - HP: Rick Denny 1B: Bill McGuire 3B: Patrick Spieler

Start: 1:08p.m. Time: 3:19 Attendance: 1738

Game: NU14

 

[Eric the Red]

Huskers Look for Ninth Straight Win

Today’s Preview: Nebraska bids for its ninth straight win, as it takes on the Redbirds of Illinois State this afternoon at Hawks Field. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. and fans can follow the action on selected Pinnacle Sports Network affiliates (contact your local Pinnacle Sports Network affiliate for broadcast availability). The Huskers (12-2) won the first meeting of the two-game set, 10-7, and will be looking for their 16th straight home win dating back to last season. Nebraska used three homers, including two by first baseman Brandon Buckman, to overcome a 6-4 deficit. With Tuesday’s win, Nebraska has won both of the all-time series wins.

Tuesday Recap: Behind two homers from Brandon Buckman, No. 3 Nebraska increased its win streak to eight games with a 10-7 victory over Illinois State Tuesday afternoon. Buckman picked up his second multi-homer game of the season, leading the Huskers (12-2) from a 6-4 deficit, as the Husker first baseman went 3-for-4 and matched his career high with four RBIs. Shortstop Ryan Wehrle also had two hits, including a game-tying homer in the sixth, and scored twice, while Andy Gerch went 2-for-4 with two doubles and scored three times in helping the Huskers pound out 12 hits and win their 15th straight at home dating back to last season. Luke Wertz earned the win in relief, allowing one run on three hits over 2.2 innings.

Today’s Starter: Redshirt freshman Tim Radmacher (pronounced Rod-mock-er) makes his Husker debut this afternoon against Western Illinois. He redshirted in 2005, but spent the summer pitching for the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods League, going 5-0 with a 2.79 ERA in 48.1 innings of work. The 6-foot, 185-pound right-hander struck out 34 and walked nine while limiting opponents to a .218 average. In 2004, Radmacher was the Minnesota state player of the year, going 10-2 with a 0.98 ERA and 107 strikeouts.

Dorn Earns Big 12 Honor: Husker right-hander Johnny Dorn was honored Tuesday afternoon as he was chosen as the Big 12’s Co-Pitcher of the Week for March 7-13. Dorn was tabbed for the honor following his complete-game victory against Alabama on March 11. The right-hander from Grand Island allowed one unearned run on four hits, while fanning a season-high eight Crimson Tide hitters. It was Dorn’s first complete game of the season and first since last season’s Big 12 Tournament. Dorn shared the weekly pitching honor with Texas right-hander Kenn Kasparek, who went 2-0 with victories over No. 3 Rice and No. 19 Long Beach State.

Schedule Change for This Weekend: Because of a strong chance of inclement weather on the weekend, Nebraska Baseball Coach Mike Anderson announced time changes to this weekend’s series with South Dakota State. The series between the third-ranked Huskers and Jackrabbits will now begin with a doubleheader this Friday, March 17, beginning at 12:05 p.m. The teams will now play single games on both Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s ticket will admit fans to both games of the doubleheader. General Admission tickets for all three days are available by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or on the Internet at Huskers.com.

Weekend Schedule

Friday, March 17 vs. South Dakota State (Doubleheader) 12:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 18 vs. South Dakota State 12:05 p.m.

Sunday, March 19 vs. South Dakota State 1:05 p.m.

Tickets for Nebraska-Creighton Games Go on Sale on Saturday

Tickets for Nebraska’s two games against Creighton at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium go on sale this Saturday, March 18. Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com, 402-422-1212), at Creighton’s Michael Morrison Stadium (19th and California), or at any Omaha area Baker’s or Younkers store. In Lincoln, tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster (402-475-1212), at the Nebraska Student Union (14th and R), Younkers (Gateway Mall), Pershing Auditorium or at Russ’s Market stores.

Fun With Numbers

• Jeff Lanning’s start behind the plate on Tuesday ended a streak of 30 consecutive starts behind the plate for senior Jeff Christy dating back to last May, In fact, Christy had started 48 of Nebraska’s last 50 games behind the plate dating back to last season. Lanning was one of five Huskers who made their first starts of the year at respective positions: Luke Gorsett (DH); Nick Sullivan (RF); Andy Gerch (LF) and Matt Foust (P).

• Nebraska brings several impressive streaks into Wednesday’s game, as it brings a 15-game home winning streak into the contest. The home winning streak is the third-longest active streak in the country. NU has also won 30 straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2004 season.

No. School Home Winning Streak

1 Florida State 27

2 Oral Roberts 18

3 Nebraska 15

• Matt Foust’s 1.2 inning start on Tuesday was not only NU’s shortest start of the year, but only the second time in 14 games in which a Husker starter didn’t reach the fifth inning. The last time a Husker starter didn’t get out of the second inning was last April 20, when Phil Shirek faced only four batters against Northern Iowa.

• Nebraska has hit 10 homers in seven games this month, and all 10 round trippers have been of the solo variety.

• With Brandon Buckman’s second two-homer game of the year, each of the last four multi-homer games have been by Husker first basemen (two by Curtis Ledbetter).

 

[Eric the Red]

Gorsett Blast Helps Huskers Past Redbirds

Lincoln – Luke Gorsett and Jake Mort both drove in two runs in a five-run fifth inning, as No. 3 Nebraska posted its ninth straight win with a 12-6 victory over Illinois State Wednesday afternoon.

The Huskers (13-3) used the long ball, as Gorsett, Andrew Brown and Nick Jaros all homered in an 11-hit attack while NU scored eight unanswered runs to break the game open. Gorsett went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Mort, Jake Opitz and Ryan Wehrle all had two hits apiece in the win.

Trailing 5-4, Nebraska struck for five runs in the fifth off of ISU reliever Jim Sajewich to take a 9-5 lead. After a leadoff single by Wehrle, Gorsett gave the Huskers the lead for good with a two-run homer to left, his Big 12-leading eighth round tripper of the season. NU continued to apply pressure, loading the bases with one out before Mort ripped a two-run double past third to make it 8-5. Moments later, Bryce Nimmo’s sacrifice fly to center off of Mike Hlavacek provided NU with a 9-5 advantage.

The Huskers, who have won their last 16 games at Hawks Field and 31 straight at home against non-conference foes, added an RBI single by Jake Opitz in the sixth and two more runs in the eighth on Wehrle’s run-scoring single and Gorsett’s sacrifice fly to take a 12-5 lead.

The run support was more than enough for the Huskers pitchers, who struggled early but got better as the game progressed. Jon Klausing picked up his first win since May of 2004, as he fanned two on 2.1 innings of relief for the win, while Mike Harmelink, Dan Jennings and Erik Bird combined to hold the Redbirds to one run on four hits over the final four frames. Harmelink, making his 2006 debut, shined in relief, tossing two innings of one-hit ball.

Sajewich (0-1) took the loss for Illinois State, allowing eight runs on six hits over 2.1 innings, as four ISU pitchers combined to issue 11 walks.

After Nebraska plated an unearned run in the bottom of the first, ISU tallied single runs in the second and third off of NU starter Tim Radmacher to take a 2-1 lead, as the Husker starter didn’t get out of the third.

Jaros opened the bottom of the third with a solo homer, his second of the year, to tie the score at two before NU struck for a pair of two-out runs, both coming on Brown’s second round tripper of the year, a two-run blast to left that gave NU a 4-2 advantage.

The Husker lead would be short-lived as Illinois State plated three runs off of Klausing in the fourth, using an RBI single by Nick Crist and taking advantage of a Husker error that led to two runs, giving the visitors a 5-4 lead.

Crist had two of ISU’s nine hits, while Jay Molina drove in a pair of runs in a losing effort.

The Huskers continue their 16-game homestand this weekend, as they begin a four-game series with South Dakota State. The series opens Friday afternoon with a doubleheader scheduled for 12:05 p.m. (central).

- Huskers -

 

[Eric the Red]

In case people haven't noticed Nebraska has the leagues home run leader right now....it's newcomer Luke Gorsett with 8 dingers.