WACO, Texas --
Center fielder
Jeff Leise (Omaha, Neb.) went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, while All-America
right-hander Shane Komine (Honolulu, Hawaii) struck out seven in seven innings,
as No. 8 Nebraska opened defense of its Big 12 regular-season title with
a 15-4 victory over No. 14 Baylor in front of 2,979 at the Baylor Ballpark
Friday night.
Leise, who leads the Huskers with four homers,
triggered the 19-hit Husker outburst, belting solo homers in the first
and six inning, as the Huskers, who have won five straight, improved to
8-3 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. It was his second career multi-homer
game of his career and first since March 17, 2001.
"Jeff has had a tremendous start, Nebraska
Coach Dave Van Horn said. "For him to hit a homer in the first jump-started
us a bit, especially with Shane on the mound."
"It was about this time last season that
we kicked it into gear," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I think this
year we are ahead of schedule. We got it going last weekend at Fresno
and it has carried over. They feel good about their approach at the plate
now."
The win by the Huskers was their fifth straight
over the Bears, dating back to the 2000 Big 12 Tournament Championship
game, and NU's first win in Waco since a 1-0 win on March 21, 1977, snapping
a six-game losing streak.
Drew Anderson (Kearney, Neb.), Jeff Blevins
(Sand Spring, Okla.) and Daniel Bruce (Omaha, Neb.) all drove in three
runs apiece, as the Huskers broke a 2-2 tie by scoring four in the fourth
and tacking on eight more in the sixth. Anderson tied a career high with
four hits and scored three times, as NU has scored 38 runs in two games
this week.
Komine, who improved to 3-0 with a 1.55
ERA in four starts, allowed three runs and scattered seven hits to pick
up his 13th consecutive regular-season Big 12 win.
"I wasn't sharp in the beginning and had
to make some adjustments," Komine said. "I settled down after the third
inning and started rolling."
NU struck first, scoring twice in the top
of the first off BU starter Justin Taylor. Leise led off the contest with
a solo homer to right, giving NU a 1-0 lead. Anderson singled and later
scored on Blevins' ground out to second.
The Bears tied the score at 2-2 in the second,
stringing together three consecutive hits off Komine. With one out, Michael
Griffin singled before Chris Durbin doubled to put runners on second and
third. Steve Dorneman laid down a bunt single between the pitchers' mound
and first to score BU's first run. The hosts then knotted the score, as
Durbin scored on Eric Errante's ground out to third.
In the fourth, the Huskers took advantage
of a costly Baylor error, turning it into a four-run inning. Ryan Bonesio
(Carrollton, Texas) walked, moved into scoring position on Will Bolt's
(Conroe, Texas) sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's
choice by Anderson to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage. With two outs
and runners on first and second, NU got a break as Matt Hopper's grounder
went through the hands of third baseman Micheal Griffin for an error,
allowing Anderson to score from second. The Huskers would take advantage
of the extended inning, as Blevins added an RBI double before Justin Seely
(Nacogdoches, Texas) capped the inning with an RBI single to extend the
Husker lead to 6-2.
"That error was a big play," Van Horn said.
"We had left runners on in both the second and third innings, but after
the error, we were able to get some hits and the four-run lead took pressure
off us."
The Huskers broke open the contest in the
sixth, batting around en route to putting up eight runs against a Bears
staff which entered the contest with a team ERA of 3.39. Leise led off
the sixth, taking Taylor's 1-2 offering over the center field fence to
push the margin to 7-2 before consecutive singles by Anderson and Morris
chased the Baylor starter. In all, the Huskers sent 12 men to the plate
with the big blows coming on pinch hitter Daniel Bruce's three-run double.
BU, which had won 10 of its last 12 entering
the weekend, plated single runs in the seventh and ninth, but fell to
10-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Taylor took the loss, allowing
nine runs - six earned in five innings to fall to 3-1 on the season.
The two teams continue the weekend series
Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., at the Baylor Ballpark. Junior left-hander
Jamie Rodrigue (2-0, 1.33 ERA) will toe the rubber for NU against Bears
right-hander Steven White (2-0, 2.81 ERA).
Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.
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