Baseball 2001
Komine Breaks Strikeout
Record; Huskers Split with Tigers
March 24, 2001
Lincoln -On an afternoon highlighted by a record-setting performance
from Nebraska All-American Shane Komine, the Huskers and Tigers split
a doubleheader at Buck Beltzer Stadium in front of a crowd of 1,687
Saturday afternoon. The Huskers, ranked fourth by Baseball America,
fifth by Collegiate Baseball and eighth by Baseball Weekly/ESPN, won
the opener, 14-4, in seven innings before the Tigers took advantage
of four Husker errors to win the nightcap, 6-2. With the split, NU
moves to 17-6 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12, while the Tigers improve
to 14-11-1 and 3-7 in conference play.
Komine, a right-hander from Honolulu, became the Huskers’ all-time
career strikeout leader with his five strikeouts in the opener, passing
Mike Zajeski’s mark of 289 set between 1988 and 1992. He struck
out Felipe Tetelboin to end the second inning, receiving a standing
ovation from the Beltzer Stadium crowd.
“It’s a good
feeling and it is something that is special to me,” Komine said.
“The records are there until someone else breaks them. I hadn’t
even thought of it much this week. I do know that I will remember
this for a long time.”
Komine, who also moved
into third place on NU’s career victory chart, allowed seven
hits and four runs to pick up his sixth straight win. He now has 293
strikeouts in his three-year career.
“He is a great pitcher
and for him to do what he has done here speaks for itself,” Van
Horn said. “It was just an average performance, primarily because
it was so cold, but he was getting stronger and his breaker was working
well late.
While Komine handled the
Tiger offense, the Huskers provided early support, scoring two runs
in each of the first four frames to take an 8-1 lead after four frames.
In the first, Dan Johnson
put the Huskers ahead with a two-run homer to right for his eighth
round tripper of the season. In the second, a Jeff Blevins single
and a walk to Jed Morris put runners at first and second before shortstop
Brandon Eymann sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Blevins
scored on a Will Bolt grounder before Morris came home on Jeff Leise’s
two-out single up the middle. In the third, Blevins, who went 2-for-3
in the opener, drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single, while NU
increased the lead to 8-1 in the fourth on a fielder’s choice
by Adam Stern and a bases loaded walk to John Cole.
After MU pulled to within
8-4 in the top of the seventh, the Huskers ended the contest with
a six spot in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Adam Stern’s
fourth homer of the season, a three-run shot to right. The junior
from London, Ontario, also extended his hit streak to 18 games after
today’s doubleheader. RBI singles by Josh Hesse and Morris added
to the final tally, as NU pounded out 12 hits, including two by Jeff
Leise, Matt Hopper and Blevins. In addition, Johnson went 1-for-1
and drew four walks in the victory.
Drew Endicott took the
loss for MU, allowing eight runs in three innings to fall to 2-4 on
the season.
In the nightcap, Missouri
took advantage of a pair of Husker fielding miscues, jumping to a
4-0 advantage after one and a half innings. In the first, NU starter
Jamie Rodrigue walked the first two hitters before Lee Laskowski’s
two-out RBI single gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. In the second, Wes
Fewell led off the frame with a double before Luke Cassis walked with
one out, putting runners on first and second. Jayce Tingler’s
RBI single pushed the margin
to 2-0. Cassis then stole third and scored on Tito Rivera’s throwing
error, while Tingler scored the Tigers’ fourth run on a throwing
error by NU second baseman Josh Hesse.
“They took it too
us early and we put ourselves in a hole by walking people and not
playing well defensively,” Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said.
“We never gave ourselves a chance and we didn’t do a good
job at the plate.”
Rodrigue (2-3) took the
loss, allowing four runs - three earned - in 1.1 innings, as the sophomore
from St. Clair, Mo., walked three and struck out three.
The Huskers cut the MU
lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the inning, as John Cole led off with
a single, stole second and scored on a two-out RBI single by Josh
Hesse. The Huskers would struggle offensively, managing only nine
hits, including a pair by Hesse, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and
by Matt Hopper, who also went 2-for-4, driving in NU’s second
run on a double in the eighth.
In the fifth, the Tigers
upped the lead to 5-1, as Nick Weiss walked and later scored on a
bases-loaded walk to Kurt Probst and tacked on a final unearned run
in the ninth, as Lee Lasowski, who went 4-for-5, singled and later
scored on a Fewell RBI single.
Mitch Kiler picked up the
win, allowing one run and scattering seven hits to improve to 1-1
on the season.
The Huskers and Tigers
conclude the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game
will be broadcast on the Pinnacle Sports Network.
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