Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short as Nebraska Falls to Utah 7-6

Albuquerque, N.M. - Brit Pannier's sixth inning two-run homer off R.D. Spiehs lifted Utah to a 7-6 victory over seventh-ranked Nebraska at the Applebee's Baseball Fiesta at All Sports Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday afternoon.

Pannier's home run highlighted a three-run sixth, as the Utes overcame a 5-1 deficit to even their record to 6-6 on the season. With the loss, NU drops to 2-3 on the year.

Trailing 5-4, Donald Hewes led off the sixth with a single before Pannier gave the Utes the lead for good, sending Spiehs' pitch over the right field fence for a two-run homer for his second round tripper of the season. The Utes would score another runner with two outs, as Adam Castleton was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single by Mike Westfall and scored on Nate Weese' RBI single off NU reliever Thom Ott.

Spiehs (1-1), who was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday because of the flu, took the loss in relief, allowing three runs in an inning and a third.

"I'm disappointed in our pitching staff," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Utah swung the bats well, and you have to give them credit, but our starters have not given us a chance to be comfortable after we get the lead. Even in our wins, we have not finished teams off early. That is something we have to do a lot better."

Down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Huskers trimmed the lead to 7-6 and had the tying run on second, but could not send the game into extra innings. With one out, Jeff Leise (Omaha, Neb.) reached on an error and scored from first on a two-out double down the left field line by Matt Hopper (Morrison, Colo.). Matt McAfee came in to pitch for Utah and got Dan Johnson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) to strike out swinging to end the game to pick up his first save of the season.

After spotting Utah a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by third baseman Nate Weese, the Huskers came back and put up four runs of Utah starter Ryan Bailey in the bottom of the frame. Leise reached on a hit by pitch before Adam Stern's (London, Ontario) single up the middle put runners on first and third. Hopper plated the first run with a fielder's choice, scoring Leise and tying the score at one. Johnson walked before John Cole (Ottawa, Ontatio) sent Bailey's 3-1 offering over the left field fence for a three-run homer, Cole's first of the year.

The Huskers increased their lead to 5-1 in the second, as Jed Morris (Seabrook, Texas) led off with a single to center, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored on an RBI double by Leise, who extended his hitting streak to five games by going 1 for 4.

After putting up five runs in the first two frames, the Huskers had opportunities to break the game open, getting a leadoff triple to Johnson in the third and a leadoff double to Will Bolt in the fourth, but could not capitalize either time.

"Our offense has been excellent all season," Van Horn said. "We had some opportunities in the middle innings, but we could not take advantage today. We hit the ball hard, but they were right at people, and that sometimes happens."

After the first two innings, Bailey (2-0) settled down, allowing five runs on six hits in five innings to pick up the win.

The Utes fought back, scoring a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Mike Westfall and adding two more in the fourth, as Sam Swenson's two-run homer cut the NU lead to 5-4.

For NU, Rodrigue would last only four and a third innings, as the Utes threatened in the fifth. With one out, Westfall singled and Weese reached on an error by Rodrigue to put runners on first and second. Spiehs came in for Rodrigue and walked Shelton to load the bases, but averted trouble by picking Weese off of second and striking out Swenson for the third out of the inning.

In the eighth, the Huskers put two on after two-out singles, by Jeff Blevins (Sand Springs, Texas) and Will Bolt (Conroe, Texas), but Utah reliever Mitch Maio got Morris to fly out to left to end the inning

The Huskers conclude play in the tournament Sunday morning when they take on UNLV, 20-9 loser to Kansas State, beginning at 11:30 a.m. (CST).