Baseball
Huskers Use Homers to
Move Into Big 12 Lead
April 7, 2001
Lincoln -- John
Cole’s three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted
fifth-ranked Nebraska to a doubleheader sweep of Texas Saturday, 10-8
in 10 innings and 5-4 in front of a Buck Beltzer record crowd of 3,621
Saturday. The overflow crowd of 3,621 broke the facility record of
3,387 also set against Texas on March 28, 1999.
With the wins, the Huskers,
who have won eight straight, improve to 25-7 overall and move into
first place in the Big 12 standings with a 10-2 record. Texas, which
had entered the day in a three-way tie for first with the Huskers
and Baylor, falls to 25-14 overall and 12-5 in the league. NU sweep
also end Texas’ 10-game winning streak which was the second longest
in the nation.
Cole, who had not homered
since Feb. 18, belted a pair of homers in the doubleheader, including
a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth in the opener, tying the score
at 8-all and setting the stage for Adam Stern’s walk-off homer
in the bottom of the 10th. Cole, a junior from Ottawa, Ontario, went
4-for-6 with four runs scored and four RBI.
In the nightcap, the Huskers
trailed 4-1 before scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth off
Texas starter and loser Albert Montes. Jeff Leise led off the inning
with a double and scored on Adam Stern’s RBI single, cutting
the UT lead to 4-2. With one out, Justin Seely singled, putting runners
at the corners before Cole gave the Huskers the lead for good with
a three-run homer to left center, his fourth of the season.
Derrick Conte (1-0) picked
up the win in relief, while Thom Ott pitched a scoreless ninth for
his fourth save of the year. Montes took the loss, allowing all five
runs on 10 hits in dipping to 6-2 on the season.
After Texas took a 1-0
lead on Ben King’s third homer of the season, the Longhorns extended
the lead to 4-0, scoring three runs off NU starter Jamie Rodrigue
in the fifth. Chase Lambin’s RBI single gave UT a 3-0 lead before
Sam Anderson greeted Husker reliever Steve Hale with a two-run double
to the wall in right center.
After getting just three
hits off Montes in the first six innings, the Huskers closed to within
4-1 in the seventh, as Jed Morris doubled with one out and eventually
scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Eymann.
In game one, Stern's 10th
inning two-run homer off Kevin Frizzell capped a wild contest, as
high winds that sometimes reached close to 40 miles per hour turned
an expected match-up between Husker All-American Shane Komine and
Texas' Gerritt Simpson into a slugfest. The two teams combined for
18 runs and 28 hits, as NU became only the second team to score 10
or more runs on Texas in a game this season.
On the strength of a pair
of Dan Johnson homers, Nebraska took a 7-5 lead into the eighth, only
to see Texas score a run in the eighth and pair of runs in the ninth
to take an 8-7 lead off NU closer Thom Ott. In the eighth, singles
by Matt Rosenberg and Chase Lambin put runners on first and third
with no outs before Rosenberg scored on Sam Anderson's grounder.
In the ninth with two outs
and runners on first and second, pinch hitter Kalani Napolean doubled
to left off Ott, tying the score at seven. Ryan Brooks then reached
on an error by Huskers shortstop Brandon Eymann, allowing Rosenberg,
who walked earlier in the inning, to cross the plate, giving UT a
one-run lead. Ott picked up the win in relief, improving to 2-0 on
the season.
Cole then proceeded to
knot the game for the third time, sending UT reliever Brantley Jordan's
first pitch over the wall in right to send the game into extra innings
before Stern's fourth homer of the season with one out in the 10th
ended the Longhorn win streak. Frizell took the loss, allowing two
runs in 1.1 innings of relief.
Komine pitched into the
eighth, allowing six runs on 10 hits, and left with a 7-5 lead, but
did not factor into the decision. The Honolulu, Hawaii native struck
out 11, his fourth double figure strikeout performance of the season
and didn't allow a walk, but hit a pair of batters, including one
with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Johnson continued his offensive
barrage, going 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, a two-run shot in the
first and a solo blast in the seventh, and now has 13 on the season,
including four in the past three games. Johnson's two-run shot game
NU a 2-0 lead, only to see Texas come back with four in the second,
highlighted by RBI doubles by Jeff Ontiveros and Ryan Hubele.
NU tallied single runs
in the second and third before regaining the lead at 5-4 in the fifth
on an RBI double by Jed Morris. UT tied the score at five in the top
of the seventh before Johnson's second round tripper of the day gave
the Huskers a 6-5 lead. NU tacked on another run, loading the bases
on consecutive singles by Morris, Cole and pinch hitter Willie Jones
before Eymann's sacrifice fly to center plated Morris.
The Huskers conclude the
three-game series on Sunday at noon.
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