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April 19, 2011
 
Huskers beat Creighton in TD Ameritrade Park debut
 
Omaha, Neb. — Freshman pitcher Logan Ehlers picked up his first collegiate win, as Nebraska spoiled the grand opening of TD Ameritrade Park with a 2-1 victory over No. 28 Creighton Tuesday night.

Pitching in front of a near sellout crowd of 22,197 at the new home of the College World Series, the left-hander from Nebraska City was nothing short of spectacular over 5.1 innings of relief. Ehlers (1-1) scattered two singles and struck out five in only his second effort of the season.

Ehlers retired the first 10 batters he faced after entering the game in the fourth before giving up a leadoff walk to Michael Mutcheson in the eighth inning. Ehlers did not allow a hit until Alex Staehely's one-out infield single later in the inning put runners on first and second. Creighton eventually loaded the bases with two outs, but Ehlers struck out CU's top hitter, Trever Adams, on a wicked 1-2 pitch to escape further harm.

Creighton threatened again in the ninth, getting the tying runner in scoring position, but Ehlers induced Michael Mutchenson into a weak grounder back to the mound and calmly tosses the ball to first for the final out. The win clinched the season series for the Huskers (25-14) over the Bluejays, which saw their six-game win streak snapped dating back to NU's win two weeks ago against CU at Hawks Field.

Creighton (26-8) was able to push a run across in the bottom of the second against the NU starter Tom Lemke, as Adams opened the frame with a single and eventually scored on a run-scoring single from Mike Gerber to stake the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Nebraska came right back in the top of the fourth, capitalizing on one of three Creighton errors to tie the score at one. Freshman Tanner Krietemeier led off the inning with his first career double to right field and advanced to third on a grounder to the right side by Kale Kiser. Krietemeier came down the line to score after Bryan Peters hit a sharp grounder which was misplayed by Chance Ross.

The Huskers took the lead in the sixth, loading the bases before Kash Kalkowski's grounder put the Huskers ahead for good. After an infield single by Kale Kiser, the Huskers were able to put runners on second and third after Peter's sacrifice bunt was misplayed by CU pitcher Mark Winkelman. Cody Asche was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Creighton brought in Reese McGraw to face Kalkowski, who hit into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Kiser to score the go-ahead run.

The Huskers finished the game with five singles from five different players including Peters, Asche, Krietemier, Kalkowski and Kiser. The losing pitcher for Creighton was Winkelman, who dropped to 1-1 on the season, as he failed to record an out in the sixth. Winkleman was one of eight Creighton pitchers used.

The Huskers return to Big 12 action this weekend when they travel to Norman, Okla., to take on the Sooners for three-game series beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Game Notes

- Attendance for tonight's game was 22,197. That is 10,021 more than the nation's previous high this season at LSU on March 18.

- Four of the top 20 regular-season crowds in NCAA baseball history have now been played in Omaha between Creighton and Nebraska.

- The win marked the fifth consecutive one-run game for Nebraska.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.