Mar. 13, 2011
 
Home runs and good pitching brings a win.
 
Lincoln, Neb. — Cody Asche's three-run homer to right field highlighted a five-run third inning while Tom Lemke and Casey Hauptman shut down Fresno State (11-2) in the final five to lead Nebraska (9-6) to a 5-4 win over the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field.

The Huskers, which dropped the first two games of the series after a 1-0 setback Saturday, relied on their pitching staff to hold Fresno State's offense to only two hits after the Bulldogs cut a 5-1 lead to one in the fourth inning.

"It was a good win today," head coach Mike Anderson said. "We'll take that. I thought the last two days, even Friday, our kids competed. I thought we competed all weekend at a high level. We didn't drive some runs in on Saturday, but other than not driving some runs in, I think it was a good weekend for our kids. We stayed at a high level. I didn't think they backed down at any point."

After not tallying a hit through the first two innings, Nebraska's offense came alive in the third to score five runs on six hits. Kurt Farmer, who led off the inning with a bunt single, scored the first run of the frame on a Khiry Cooper RBI single. Cooper, a junior from Bossier City, La., was NU's hot bat all weekend as he hit .545 (6-of-11) in the three-game series.

Kale Kiser followed Cooper with a single to left and the pair then scored on Asche's two-out home run to right field to give NU a 4-1 lead. The Huskers tacked on the eventual deciding run in non-routine fashion as Josh Scheffert stole home for the fifth run.

After Scheffert and Kash Kalkowski hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with two outs, Scheffert broke for home on FSU starter Tom Harlan. Kash Kalkowski then immediately took off for second, freezing Harlan as the left hander looked back to third base with Scheffert already about to cross home plate. It was Scheffert's first stolen base of the season and only the second of his two-year career.

"It was a great third inning for us," Anderson said. "We forced the inning to keep going. Things happened and we got Scheffert to third base. We took a chance (because) we had a little momentum in that situation. It worked and pushed another run across."

Facing a 5-1 deficit, Fresno State responded with an action-packed three-run inning in the top of the fourth off NU starter Brandon Pierce. After retired Garrett Weber with his fourth strikeout of the game, Pierce put Jordan Ribera on first base via a hit by pitch. Dusty Robinson then hit a two-run homer to right center field and Ribera offered words for Pierce as he reached home plate. The umpires attempted to restore order between the teams, but Weber, FSU's starting shortstop, was ejected from the Bulldog dugout later in the inning for jawing at the Huskers as the Bulldogs pushed across another run on an Austin Wynns RBI single.

"I think they (Nebraska) kind of bowed their chests out a little bit today and that's good to see out of our team." Anderson said. "I always tell them, 'I think we have a bunch of nice guys.' They're good kids. I think they do things right off the field and they're good academically, but sometimes on the field you can't back away from competition. Today I didn't think they did. In fact I think they bowed up to it in a very good way. They handled it very well and competed the way you should."

Lemke (2-0) took over in the fifth inning in his first career relief appearance and earned his second win of the season by only giving up two hits and no runs in four innings. Both hits came in the fifth inning before he went on to retire nine in a row. Hauptman took the ball in the ninth and picked up his second save of the year by turning down the Bulldogs in order.

"Tom was very good," Anderson said. "He wasn't as sharp in his first inning and almost got himself in trouble but got out of it. After that I thought he was dynamite. He came out more aggressive, pounded the zone, threw his slider a lot harder. He was throwing so well I was tempted to keep him in in the ninth but we have Casey Hauptman for that purpose."

The Huskers return to the field for a busy week as they will play six games in the next seven days. Nebraska hosts South Dakota State on Tuesday afternoon (1:35 p.m.) at Hawks Field before traveling to Manhattan for a non-conference contest at Kansas State on Wednesday. The Huskers then host a four-game set against North Dakota next weekend in Lincoln.

Source: University of Nebraska Athletic Dept.