NebraskaColumbia, MO - The #5 Huskers (39-10-1) couldn’t get much going against future top draft pick Aaron Crow. Still, thanks to another fantastic start by Husker Ace Johnny Dorn, they were up 1-0 going into the bottom of the 7th.

In that inning, Mizzou scored one run on a sacrifice fly just after Dorn left the game. Unfortunately for Dorn, that’s a difficult trend. Dorn has started 13 games this year and ironically enough, his only two bad starts he won. He lost one game in Stillwater 1-0 in one of his best performances.

Reliever Dan Jennings has been solid for the Big Red all season long, however last night he only retired one out and gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the eight, the first of a 7 run barrage. When the Huskers were finally out of the inning they were down 8-1 with just 3 at bats left.

The Huskers made a little noise in the top of he ninth, but couldn’t push a run across as Craig Corriston struck out with 2 runners on to end the game.

The only scoring for the Huskers camwith the 2nd at bat of the game when Jake Mort launched his first homer of the seaosn of Mizzou ace Aaron Crow.

The two team square off again this afternoon for the second game of the series. Thanks to a Texas A&M loss to Texas, the Huskers are still mathematically able to win the Big XII ouright, but they would have to win the next two and Texas A&M would have to lose the next two. Conversly, if NU loses 1 and OSU wins, the Huskers will drop to 3rd place.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - Game 1 - The game was over.  The Huskers (38-9-1, 17-6-1) were down 8-4, they hadn’t had a hit in 4 innings, they were playing the league leading Texas A&M Aggies (42-10, 19-5) who had won 16 consecutive Big XII games, the bottom half of the lineup was due up.  The Aggies were going to clinch a share of the Big XII title, Nebraska would likely fall behind Oklahoma State for 2nd in the conference, and Nebraska’s national seed changes we’re all but gone.

Someone forgot to tell the Huskers it was over.  In the bottom of the ninth, the Huskers provided the most dramitic come from behind win of the season.  It started off with Nick Sullivan leading off with a ground ball single to right.  Then, on a sure double play ball from Tyler Farst, Texas A&M 2nd baseman Blake Stouffer let the ball run through his legs putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no out.  You could hear the crowd start to get excited, but it was way too early to celebrate yet.

Next up, DJ Belfonte, walk.  David Stewart, who had already belted a 2 run ‘mega bomb’ into right and singled home 2 more runs a few innings later, grounded to the first baseman, scoring Nick Sullivan.  The crowd was really getting excited now as the 3 run deficit meant the winning run is at the plate.

Coach Anderson then decides to pinch hit with Cody Neer, the transfer from Florida, who delivers a two run single to left center making it a 1 run game.  Bryce Nimmo then grounds into a fielder’s choice as Texas A&M elects to try for the double play and he beats the throw at first, scoring Farst, TIE GAME!

The next batter, Jake Mort, struck out and it looked like we had another extra inning affair on our hands.  Jake Opitz coaxed the two out walk that moved the speedy Nimmo to 2nd and Mitch Abeita, who hadn’t had much success against Texas A&M pitching to that point, delivered the run scoring single to finish the Aggies in dramatic fashion 9-8.

On the mound, you have to credit reliever Dan Jennings, who came in for a struggling Thad Weber and closed the door over the final 3.1 innings to hold the Aggies to just 8.

Game 2 - In the nightcap, the Huskers found themselves down, but not out again.  After 5 1/2 innings, the Huskers trailed the Aggies 9-4 and it was looking like the Husker might be in it too deep.

However, David Stewart again delivered for the Huskers with a double to open the bottom of the 6th.  After an error allowed Andy Cotton to reach, Senior Bryce Nimmo delivered a 2 run triple that brought the Huskers within 3.  Jake Mort followed that up with an RBI groundout to bring the Huskers within just 2 runs 9-7.

The Aggies followed up with another run in the 7th to make it 10-7 and it looked like they were going to pile on more, but Mike Nesseth came in to relieve Zach Herr and struckout Kyle Colligan and Blake Stouffer to end the threat.

The Huskers would fight right back loading the bases with a pair of hit batters and a walk before David Stewart would knock in a run with a groundout to cut the lead to 2.  The Huskers evened the score at 10-10 when the Aggies uncorked a wild pitch and a passed ball.

With Nesseth dealing on the mound, the Huskers would put away the Aggies for good in the 8th when a single from DJ Belfonte rolled past the glove of Kyle Colligan allowing Farst to score from first.  David Stewart followed it up with an RBI single, his 7th of the day when he had just 4 all season.  Bryce Nimmo would then knock in his 4th and final RBI of the game knocking in Stewart to give the Huskers their final 13-10 lead.

All in all it was a very hardfought series where both teams could have very easily swept the series.  Had Mitch Abeita not missed a pop-foul in the 16th inning of the first game, they may still be playing and who knows, NU may have won.  On the other hand, had Blake Stouffer completed the sure double play in the bottom of the ninth of the first game, the momentum would have been entirely on the side of the Aggies and they might have swept NU.

It was one of the best, most hardfought series of 2 top 10 of the season and maybe ever at Haymarket.  Both teams have a knack for never quite being ‘out’ of a game which made it an amazing series to watch.   Next up for the Huskers they play the Creighton Bluejays at Rosenblatt Stadium on Tuesday May 13th.  First pitch is set for 7:00pm.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - Both the #9 Aggies and the #5 Huskers (36-9-1, 15-6-1) came into tonight’s game undefeated in extra inning games.  Texas A&M has had a magical run of 15 straight conference wins, 9 of which were come from behind including a 6-run comeback in the bottom of the 9th a few weeks ago.  Both teams have had that special something that allows them to find a way to win, so it’s not suprising both teams remained deadlocked for so long.  The Aggies used a double in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded on 3 infield singles to take the final 6-3 lead.

The Huskers used some real magic to push the game into the extra frames.  Trailing 2-1 since the 2nd inning, Jake Mort laced a triple to left in the 7th to open the inning.  It looked grim, however, when 2 outs were recorded and Jake was still sitting at third.  Mort would finally tie up the game on a wild pitch with Craig Corriston at the plate.

Even though Texas A&M struck right back with a run of their own, the Huskers wouldn’t go quietly.  In bottom of the 9th inning with 1 out, it was Jake Mort again who tied it up for the Huskers when he scored on a Craig Corriston groundout to short. 

The pitching for the Huskers was again, spectacular.  Dorn pitched a solid 8 innings, giving up just 2 earned runs (and 1 unearned) while scattering 5 hits and striking out 6. Mike Nesseth came in and pitched a hitless 9th, but the performance of the night went to Zach Herr.  Herr came in for the 10th and pitched 4 solid innings, didn’t allow a single baserunner and struck out 6.

Dan Jennings was saddled with the loss, although he pitched very well even though his stat line doesn’t show it.  In the fateful 16th, he allowed 3 infield singles, two of which probably could have been outs.  Then, with the bases loaded and 1 out, he got a strikeout and Big XII leading hitter Dan Carter to popout behind the catcher, but Abeita didn’t play it well and it fell harmlessly to the turf.  And, as often happens in baseball, Carter exploits that second chance with a bases-clearing double to right center to give the Aggies their final lead.

At the plate, few Huskers had a great night, although Mort had 2 hits and scored all 3 runs for the Huskers.  The biggest issue was the Huskers inability to drive runs in.  They left over 15 runners on the basepaths (sorry I lost count, I think it’s closer to 18).  

The two teams will try to squeeze in a game Saturday between the bouts of rain at 2:05pm.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - The Huskers (36-8-1, 15-5-1) took two games from Louisiana-Lafayette winning 4-3 in both games.  The wins mark the 4th consecutive victory for the Huskers and is the 250th victory for Head Coach Mike Anderson. 

Game 1 - The first game was a continuation of a unfortunate pattern, Johnny Dorn pitches a great game yet doesn’t walk away with a victory.  Johnny pitched for 7.2 innings, scattered 5 hits, struck out 11 and gave up 3 earned runs.   However, when he left the game, the scored was knotted at 3. 

Dorn ran into a little trouble with 2 outs in the 7th when Zach Herr came in and struckout the last batter to end the inning.  In the bottom of the frame, Cody Neer knocked in the go ahead run to put Herr in position to earn the win.  Herr came out for the ninth and after a leadoff popout, he struck out the final two batters to seal the win.  With the win, Herr moved to 3-0 on the year.

Cody Neer powered the Husker offense in game one with a 2 for 4 day and 2 RBIs.  Ben Kline, Mitch Abeita, and Nick Sullivan also added 2 hits apiece to help lead the charge.

Game 2 - The nightcap was a 14 inning thriller that ended with Mitch Abeita hitting an RBI grounder up the middle to score Jake Mort from 2nd in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 14th.

The MVP of the game might be Mike Nesseth though.  Mike came in to relieve Dan Jennings in the 9th and threw 3 innings, not allowing a single hit and striking out 6.  He helped keep the Rajin Cajuns at bay until the Huskers could put up a run and walk away with a victory.  Erik Bird came in to relieve Nesseth and pitched two scoreless innings to earn his 3rd win.

Aaron Pribanic got the start ahead of Thad Weber who couldn’t be with the team so he could be present for the birth of his first child.  Pribanic went 6 innings and gave up just 2 earned runs in a nice bounce back from a few rough starts in recent weeks.

Dan Johnston, Jake Opitz, Mitch Abeita and Bryce Nimmo all chipped in 2 hits apiece.   Mort drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 14th and stole 2nd before Abeita drilled the ball up the middle to score Mort for the game winner. 

The Huskers used a dramatic 2-run 9th inning to tie it and send it into extra innings.  They scored both runs with 2 outs, including the 2nd on an error by the 3rd baseman to tie it up.

The Huskers take the week off for finals week before Texas A&M Aggies come to town in what is turning out to be the showdown for the Big XII title.  The Aggies enter the series having won 15 straight Big XII games, a league record.  They lead the league in about every offensive category and are just behind the Huskers in pitching.  It will be the 2nd time this year that Haymarket has played host to two Top 10 nationally ranked teams.  The first time was when Nebraska played Wichita State, who was then #5 in the country.

The Aggies are ranked as high as #6 (and as low as #10) coming into this week.  The first pitch is set for 6:35 pm on Friday night with Johnny Dorn getting the start.  Hopefully, we can see Johnny pitch well AND pickup a win in one game.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - The Huskers (34-8-1, 15-5-1) took both games of a midweek series with the Western Illinois Leathernecks 6-4 and 6-1.  The first win gave the Huskers 1 more win than last year’s season mark of 32, with 10 regular season games, a Big XII tourney and NCAA tourney left, the Huskers look set to win 40 games for the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons.

In the 1st game, the young guys really stepped up in a big way.  Freshman shortstop Ben Kline from Omaha Central hit a bases-loaded single in the 6th to give the Huskers the lead they would not relent.  Freshman pitcher Casey Hauptman from Millard South pitched a career high 4 innings and gave up just 2 hits to get his first career win.  Freshman reliever Mike Nesseth pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 4th save of the year.

In the 2nd game, Husker pitcher Erik Bird got the start and pitched 5 scoreless innings to notch his 4th win of the year.  Freshman 1st baseman Tyler Farst got things going for the offense in the 3rd when he drilled a 2-RBI double off the base of the wall with the bases loaded and just 1 out. After DJ Belfonte was hit by a pitch, Nick Sullivan was hit by a pitch to score another run.

Weekend starter Aaron Pribanic came in for 2 innings of perfect relief, perhaps a sign that Mike Anderson might be considering using lefty Dan Jennings for the Sunday start this weekend since Pribanic has struggled as of late.

The Huskers take on Louisiana-Lafayette for a three game series this weekend starting Friday at 6:35 followed up by a double-header on Saturday at 12:05pm and 6:35pm.


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Husker BaseballWaco, TX - The Huskers (32-7-1, 15-4-1)  pounded the Baylor Bears in the nightcap of Saturday’s double header 14-1.  The win clinched the series win for the Huskers, their first ever series win in Waco since the inception of the Big XII.  In fact, going into today, they had only won 1 game in Waco in 13 attempts.

Thad Weber pitched a great game for the Huskers, keeping the Bears at bay while the offense had their way.  He threw a complete game in the 10-run rule shortened game, a rule for the Big XII reserved for the 2nd game of a double header and Sunday ‘getaway’ games.  He scattered 4 hits over 7 innings and struck out 4.  He allowed just 1 hit over the final 5 innings and struck out the side for the final inning.

The Huskers would give him all the padding he needed when they bolted out to a 7-run first inning.  Started off with a Jake Opitz double that scored Nimmo and Mort.

Opitz led the way for the Husker offense scoring 3 times and knocking in 4 RBIs, including a 2-run bomb in the top of the 5th over the right field wall.  DJ Belfonte continued to battle back since being dropped in the lineup in favor of Bryce Nimmo.  He chipped in a 2 for 2 day with 3 RBIs and scored a run. 

The Huskers will go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:00pm with Junior Aaron Pribanic on the Hill.  The win allows the Huskers to stay just 1 1/2 games behind Big XII leading Texas A&M who has won 14 straight Big XII games.


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Husker BaseballWaco, TX - The Huskers (31-7-1, 14-4-1) haven’t had very much luck in Waco for a long time.  Before today the Huskers were an abysmal 1-12 in Waco, easily their worst record at any Big XII destination.  The first game threatened to continue that aweful trend, when Baylor hit a dramatic 2-run home run of reliever Dan Jennings to tie the game with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th.  However, DJ Belfonte knocked in 2 go ahead runs for the 2nd time late in the game for the 6-4 win in the first half of the double header.

In an all to common trend, Johnny Dorn was excellent, but still failed to get the decision.  He pitched 7 innings, gave up just 4 hits and walked 3 while striking out 7.  He allowed 2 runs to score, both in the Baylor 5th, the only inning where he seem to face any trouble.  Dorn was in position to earn the win, when DJ Belfonte knocked in two runs in the 8th just before Dorn was lifted.

The Huskers took the early lead in the 2nd inning when Craig Corriston launched a 3-1 pitch over the left field wall.  After the Bears took the 2-1 lead in the 5th, Corriston singled home a run to tie it up again.

After the dramatic comeback in the 9th by the Bears, DJ Belfonte did it again, grounding a single up the middle in the 10th scoring Jake Opitz and Nick Sullivan for the final advantage.

Mike Nesseth earned the win, who came in to relieve Dan Jennings in the 9th and Zach Herr earned his 4th save allowing just 1 hit in the 10th.

The Huskers and Bears finish up the double header in the nightcap as the Huskers try to get their first ever series win in Waco.


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Husker BaseballWaco, TX - The opening game of the Nebraska vs Baylor series was postponed due to rain Friday until Saturday at 2:00 pm.  The Huskers will still start Johnny dorn, as they look to improve their 1-12 record in Waco since the formation of the Big XII.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - The Huskers (29-7-1, 13-4-1) couldn’t get much going against Creighton starter Greg Hellhake.  They managed just 4 hits and 0 runs in his 5 innings.  When Creighton went to the bullpen in the 6th, the Huskers took advantage and scored all their runs in a 4-3 victory in that frame.

Jake Mort opened the frame with a base hit up the middle and moved up to 2nd on a wild pitch.  Two batters later, Senior Catcher Mitch Abeita singled to left, scoring Mort to tie up the game at 1 apiece.  Even though Nick Sullivan popped out on the next play, the Huskers weren’t done.  After and Abeita steal, Creighton intentionally walked Craig Corriston to setup the force out.   Unfortunately, Creighton’s Jeremy Hauer couldn’t find his control, walking DJ Belfonte. 

Creighton brought in T.J. Roemmich who plunked Freshman left fielder Dan Johnston to give the Huskers their first and final lead.  After another pitching change, freshman Ben Kline singled home Belfonte and Corriston to extend the lead to 4-1.

It was a good thing for the Huskers too, because the next inning, Junior Nick Nordgren parked a 1-0 Erik Anderson pitch in the left-center berms to trim the lead to one.

On the mound, the Huskers got yet another excellent outing from Junior Dan Jennings.  Although his 30-inning scoreless streak ended in the 4th, he pitched 6 solid innings, walked 1, and gave up just 3 hits while striking out 5.  Zach Herr and Mike Nesseth combined to closeout the game with Nesseth earning his 4th save of the year.

The Huskers and Bluejays both make the 50-mile trek up I-80 for tomorrow night’s game as the two teams make up for the weather postponed contest on April 1st.  First pitch is set for 6:35pm and the Huskers send Erik Bird to the mound, fresh off his brilliant performance against top 10 Wichita State Shockers last week.


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Husker BaseballLincoln, NE - The Husker baseball team (28-7-1, 13-4-1) fell short 6-3 on Sunday as they tried to complete the sweep against the Kansas Jayhawks.  The Husker  bats were silenced all day long by Omaha Skutt graduate TJ Walz.  Walz, perhaps a little upset he wasn’t able to play for Nebraska, proved that at least on this day, he’s a legitimate Big XII pitcher.

 On the day, he allowed just 3 runs and the Huskers couldn’t even manage a hit until Mitch Abeita caught a ball up in the wind that fell short of the right fielder for a strange double with 2 outs in the 4th. 

Aaron Pribanic started the day and for the most part pitched very well.  He ended up with 5 earned runs, but two were after he left and he struck out 8.

The Huskers seemed like they had something going in the bottom of the 9th with runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out.  David Stewart, representing the tying run, grounded into a double play to dash the Husker hopes.

The Huskers face in-state rival Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday in Lincoln before turning around and heading right back up to Omaha the next day to play at Rosenblatt stadium.  Since Dan Jennings was not used today or yesterday, it’s likely he’ll get the start on Tuesday with Erik Bird going on Wednesday.


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