No. 11 Huskers Split Twinbill Against No. 22 Texas Tech

Lincoln - Nebraska fell one inning short of a series sweep, as Jake Brown's two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth helped No. 22 Texas Tech salvage a doubleheader split with a 4-3 win in the nightcap over No. 11 Nebraska Saturday afternoon at Hawks Field. The Huskers, who saw their 15-game home winning streak come to an end with the loss, took the opener, 8-3, behind a 16-hit offensive barrage, including four hits by center fielder Jeff Leise.

The Huskers rode the bat of Leise and the arm of southpaw starter Jamie Rodrigue in the opener. Leise tied a career high with four hits and scored three times for NU, which improved to 14-7 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 with today's split. Jed Morris, who drove in a pair of runs, and Daniel Bruce also added three hits apiece in the lid lifter.

Rodrigue scattered nine hits and struck out four to improve to 4-0 on the season. The left-hander has now won his last eight decisions, dating back to last March, and moved into a tie for seventh on NU's career wins list. After allowing two runs in the second, the junior from St. Clair, Mo., settled down and held Texas Tech off the scoreboard before Tech added a run in the top of the ninth.

The Huskers roughed up Texas Tech starter Chris Phillips, who dropped to 3-2, for seven runs on 12 hits, as Texas Tech finished the day with a 21-12 mark, including a 5-7 record in conference play. Nebraska broke open the contest, scoring twice in the third and adding three more in the sixth.

After Jed Morris gave the Huskers a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI double, the Red Raiders tallied a pair of runs off the NU starter, including a solo homer by Gara Alverez, to take a 2-1 lead.

The Huskers, whose 15-game home winning streak was the longest since a 24-game streak in 1988, regained the lead for good in the third, on Morris' RBI ground out and a Matt Hopper RBI single. One inning later, Nebraska extended the lead to 5-2 on run-scoring safties by Bruce and Drew Anderson, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.

Nebraska put the game out of reach, adding three runs to extend the lead to 8-2 with the key hits coming on an RBI double by Leise and Anderson's second RBI single of the day.

In the nightcap, the Huskers used the long ball to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth, as Leise and Hopper belted solo shots off Texas Tech starter Steve Gooch. Leise led off the inning with his fifth homer of the season, while Hopper added his third homer two batters later.

The Red Raiders tied the score up, scoring unearned runs off Husker starter Aaron Marsden in the fifth and six innings. In the fifth, Jon Slack led off with a single and eventually scored on Brent Fossum's sacrifice fly. In the sixth, the Huskers committed a pair of errors, leading to Tech run, as Slack, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, scored on Jeff Blevins' error, tying the score at 2-2.

Marsden, who walked five and struck out five, allowed two unearned runs on four hits in 5.2 innings, but was not involved in the decision, as both starters pitched into the sixth.

The Huskers regained the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, as Justin Seely plated Jeff Blevins with a RBI double. Blevins singled with one out and moved into scoring position on a balk before Seely, who had two of NU's five hits, chased the Red Raider starter with a shot off the wall in right field. It would be the Huskers' final hit of the day, as Tech reliever Steve Rowe threw a scoreless 3.2 innings to earn the win in relief.

Brown knotted the score at 3-3 in the seventh with a two-out RBI single off Steve Hale in the seventh before his second hit of the game provided the Red Raiders with the game winner. With two outs and NU reliever Waylon Byers on the hill. Bryan Smith coaxed a walk before Willie Duerzo flared a single down right field line, putting runners on the corners for Brown, who laced Byers' first offering into left center for the decisive shot. Byers took the loss in relief for NU, dropping to 1-1 on the season.

The Huskers are scheduled to return to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon, as they open a two-game series against Western Illinois at Hawks Field.