March 7, 2012
 
Kiser's homer carries NU to 4-1 win
 

Stucky   Kiser   Hander

Lincoln — Kale Kiser hit a home run for the second straight day and junior Ryan Hander picked his first win of the year on Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field, as the Nebraska baseball team moved to 8-4 in 2012 with a 4-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

With his third-inning two-run homer yesterday and sixth-inning solo shot today, Kiser became the first Husker to homer in consecutive games since Chad Christensen and Cody Asche each hit home runs in the same three consecutive games last season on April 3, 5 and 8.

Along with Kiser, who also had a single on the day, Christensen and Austin Darby each had two hits for NU, while four different Huskers produced RBIs.

Hander improved to 2-0 on his career with three innings of one-hit baseball and one strikeout in relief of Dexter Spitsnogle, who gave up no runs on two hits over three innings in his first career start at NU. Freshmen Jeff Stovall and Aaron Bummer pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the Huskers, before Luke Bublitz picked up his first career save with a perfect ninth inning.

Senior catcher Sam Stucky got the Huskers going in the third inning with his first career double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Following a walk to Christensen, Richard Stock drove in Stucky with a single to give Nebraska a 1-0 lead.

Nebraska added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, starting with Kiser's homer to right field to lead off the inning. Two of the next three Husker hitters worked walks off Michael Hahn, setting the table for Darby and Christensen to each drive in a run and stretch NU's lead to 4-0.

The Lopers got on the board in the top of the seventh starting with a two-out double from Chase Saxton that barley stayed in the park. Brandon Landanger followed with a single to drive in Saxton, but went no further, as Stovall closed out the inning with the next batter. Bummer took the hill in the eighth and pitched some of his best baseball with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout following an inning-opening error by the Husker defense.

Nebraska now gets ready to play five games in five days, starting with a four-game series against 2011 CWS qualifier California on Friday, March 9, at Hawks Field. The Huskers and Golden Bears will play Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, before NU welcomes South Dakota State to Hawks Field on Tuesday.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.