Alexander's Homer Lifts No. 17 Sooners to 5-4 Win over No. 12 NU

Lincoln -- Luke Alexander's ninth-inning solo homer off Waylon Byers lifted No. 17 Oklahoma to a 5-4 win over No. 12 Nebraska in front of a school-record crowd of 5,623 Friday evening at Hawks Field.

Alexander, who went 2-for-5 sent a 1-2 offering from Byers over the right field fence to break a 4-4 deadlock, as the Sooners improved to 19-10 overall and 7-3 in the league. The Husker reliever took the loss, falling to 1-3 on the season, as the Huskers overcame a three-run deficit before Alexander's third round tripper of the season.

"This is a disappointing loss," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "We had a chance to put it away in the eighth with the bases loaded. You have to shake your head. We let it slip through our hands. You have to give credit to their pitcher. We didn't do a good job. We didn't drive them in or run the bases well."

Trailing 4-1 in the bottom the eighth, the Huskers, who dropped to 19-10 overall and 7-6 in the league, scored three times off the Sooner bullpen. Jed Morris, who had two of the Huskers' six hits, opened the inning with a double to left before Matt Hopper was hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners. Jeff Blevins greeted OU closer David Purcey with an RBI double to right to cut the OU lead to 4-2. Justin Seely then walked to load the bases before Joe Simokaitis' tied the score at four with a two-run double down the first base line. Purcey walked Bolt to load the bases, but NU, which stranded 11 runners, could not push across another run, as Daniel Bruce struck out before Jeff Leise and Drew Anderson grounded into consecutive force plays at the plate to end the inning.

Nebraska had a chance to send the game into extra innings, as Hopper and Blevins drew consecutive one-out walks, but Purcey, who improved to 1-2, got Seely to ground into a game-ending double play and sending the crowd of over 5,600 disappointed.

Tonight's attendance marked the largest crowd to ever see a Husker home game, topping the 5,484 that saw NU's 9-6 win over Rice in last year's Super Regional.

The Huskers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Anderson singled with one out before

Morris delivered an RBI double down the line in right, plating NU's first run of the evening. It marked the 20th time overall, and eighth straight contest, that NU scored in the first, but it would be NU's only run of the night of OU starter Mark Roberts, who pitched into sixth, but was not involved in the decision.

Oklahoma came back, scoring three runs off Nebraska All-American Shane Komine in the top of the fifth. Charlie Frasier and Matt Bose opened the inning with consecutive singles. With one out, Komine hit Reggie Willits to load the bases before walking in Eddir Cornejo for the Sooners' first run. With two outs, Jason Fransz, who went 4-for-5 and pair of RBIs, chased Komine with a two-run single to left center, giving the visitors a 3-1 advantage.

Komine, who was 18-0 at home in his career, allowed three runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings but left with a 3-1 deficit. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native stuck out eight and walked two in his shortest outing of the season, but was not involved in the decision.

The visitors extended the lead to 4-1 in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Bose, who had three hits in the win. Byers, who came in for Komine in the fifth, went four innings, the longest outing of his career, allowing two runs on three hits and holding OU scoreless until Alexander's two-out homer in the ninth.

The Huskers and Sooners continue the series Saturday afternoon with a 2:05 p.m.contest. The game will be on the Pinnacle Sports Network and also televised by NETV.