Eymann Leads Huskers to Rout of UW-Milwaukee

Lincoln - Brandon Eymann tied a career high with four hits and drove in five runs, as No. 12 Nebraska tuned up for this weekend's series with No. 17 Oklahoma with a 16-1 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field.

The senior from Papillion, Neb., went 4-for-5 with a homer, as the Huskers took advantage of wildness by Wisconsin-Milwaukee starter Rob Erickson, who walked seven batters in an inning and a third.

After Eymann drew a bases-loaded walk in the first for the Huskers first run, Nebraska knocked Erickson out of the game in the second, scoring seven times and sending 12 men to the plate. The UWM starter issued back-to-back free passes to Drew Anderson and Matt Hopper with the bases loaded, spotting NU a 3-0 lead before Justin Seely knocked out Erickson with a two-run double down the left field line. Eymann then greeted Panther reliever Quinton Oldenburg with an RBI single before John Birmingham's sacrifice fly and John Grose's RBI double, his second hit of the inning, gave the hosts an eight-run lead.

Erickson (0-1) allowed seven runs on three hits, as he suffered the loss as UWM, which has lost six straight, dropped to 4-10 on the season.

The offensive output was more than sufficient for starter Phil Shirek and four Husker relievers who combined on the four-hitter. Shirek, who improved to 2-0 on the season, threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and stuck out three to earn his second straight decision.

Only John Vanden Berg's RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Dustin Timm prevented the Huskers, who improved to 19-9 with the win, from their third shutout of the season.

"I told the team that I'm proud of the way that they have played the last two games," Van Horn said. "We had a couple of tough losses, but we played with purpose the last few days."

The Huskers pounded out 16 hits off six Panther pitchers, including homers from Jed Morris, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, and Eymann, who had three hits on two occasions earlier this season. Five different Huskers had at least two hits, including three by Seely, who went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and two by Grose, who has gone 9-for-18 in his last four game to lift his average to .444.

Morris delivered an RBI double in NU's two-run third inning before leading off the fifth with his team-best seventh round tripper of the season. The Huskers added a run in the seventh on a Birmingham RBI groundout before tallying four unearned runs in the eight, highlighted by Eymann's third homer of the season, a three-run shot off Ben Stanczyk.

The Huskers now turn their attention to a three-game series with Oklahoma, which begins Friday evening at 6:35 p.m. Two-time All-American Shane Komine (5-0, 1.76 ERA) will take the hill for Nebraska, while the Sooners will counter with right-hander Mark Roberts (3-2, 4.73 ERA).