Huskers Fall to Oklahoma, 6-4

Lincoln ? Russell Raley went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, as No. 18 Oklahoma took the opener against Nebraska with a 6-4 win in front of a crowd of 5,751 at Hawks Field Friday evening.

Raley paced the Sooners’ 11- hit attack, as Oklahoma (35-19, 18-7 Big 12) used a strong effort from starter David Purcey, who went the first 7.1 innings for the win. Purcey (8-4) allowed four runs on seven hits, but struck out seven Huskers before Daniel McCutchen tossed 1.2 scoreless innings for his fourth save.

Daniel Bruce led Nebraska (34-20, 10-15 Big 12) with a pair of RBIs, as he hit his eighth homer of the season, while John Grose and Alex Gordon also chipped in RBIs in the loss. Zach Kroenke, who had won his previous four starts at home this season, suffered the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits over the first 7.2 innings to drop to 7-4 on the year.

The win clinched second place for Oklahoma in the league standings, while Nebraska sits in eighth after Missouri’s 9-5 win over Oklahoma State in Columbia earlier Friday.

The Huskers spotted Oklahoma a 3-0 lead, as the Sooners scored once in the first and two more in the second off the Husker starter. Oklahoma loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before Ryan Mottern coaxed a walk for the Sooners’ first run. In the second, Kroenke, who matched his career high with four walks, allowed a one-out walk to Jeff Scuderi before three straight hits, including RBI singles by Raley and Ole Sheldon, pushed OU’s cushion to three runs.

After Colin Shockey was hit by a pitch, Bruce energized the crowd in the bottom of the inning with his two-run homer off Purcey, just the fifth homer the OU starter had allowed all season, cutting the Sooner lead to 3-2.

It would be as close as Nebraska got, as Oklahoma added a run in the sixth on Ryan Rohlinger’s two-out RBI double before scoring a pair of unearned runs in the eighth, capitalizing on a throwing error by NU reliever Brett Jensen.

The Huskers, who dropped the home opener of a league series for the first time since last April, mounted a comeback off of Purcey in the eighth on Gordon’s RBI triple, his fifth of the season. Two batters later, Grose sent a shot back up the middle off of McCutchen, scoring Gordon to put NU within 6-4.

The series continues Saturday afternoon, as Phil Shirek (5-1, 3.36 ERA) takes on Oklahoma’s Mark Roberts (8-4, 3.53 ERA) at 2:05 p.m. The first 750 kids in the ballpark will receive a 2004 Husker baseball trading card set courtesy of Cook’s Hams and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Box score (NCAA) The Automated ScoreBook #18 Oklahoma at Nebraska May 21, 2004 at Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field)

Oklahoma 6 (35-19,18-7 BIG 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Rohlinger, Ryan ss....... 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 3 0 Raley, Russell 2b........ 5 1 3 2 0 0 2 2 1 Sheldon, Ole 1b.......... 4 0 1 1 1 1 11 0 2 Bose, Matt 3b............ 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 Mottern, Ryan lf......... 4 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 McGuire, Andrew rf....... 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Thornton, Eric dh........ 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 Ivey, Aaron pr.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rooker, Scott ph........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hurlbutt, Blake ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Stinson, Josh c.......... 2 1 1 0 1 0 10 1 0 Scuderi, Jeff cf......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 Purcey, David p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 McCutchen, Daniel p..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 37 6 11 5 4 7 27 9 10

Nebraska 4 (34-20,10-15 BIG 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Boyer, Jesse lf.......... 3 0 1 0 2 2 2 0 1 Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 Mullinax, Jake 2b........ 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 4 2 Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 2 Ledbetter, Curtis 1b..... 4 0 1 0 0 1 10 0 0 Grose, John c............ 4 0 1 1 0 0 8 0 0 Shockey, Colin cf........ 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 Bruce, Daniel rf......... 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 Steele, Chad dh.......... 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 Kroenke, Zach p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Jensen, Brett p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Becker, Jeremy p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 33 4 8 4 3 10 27 10 6

Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Oklahoma............ 120 001 020 - 6 11 1 Nebraska............ 020 000 020 - 4 8 2 -------------------------------------------

E - Stinson, J.(1); Grose, J.(5); Jensen, B.(2). DP - Sooners 1; Huskers 1. LOB - Sooners 10; Huskers 6. 2B - Rohlinger, R(10). 3B - Gordon, A.(5). HR - Bruce, D.(8). HBP - Shockey, C.. SH - Stinson, J.(5). SB - Boyer, J.(13). Reached on CI - Bose, M..

Oklahoma IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Purcey, David....... 7.1 7 4 4 3 7 27 31 122 McCutchen, Daniel... 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 6 6 24

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Kroenke, Zach....... 7.1 9 6 4 4 3 29 35 121 Jensen, Brett....... 1.1 2 0 0 0 3 7 7 28 Becker, Jeremy...... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 4

Win - Purcey, D. (8-4). Loss - Kroenke, Z. (7-4). Save - McCutchen, D (4). HBP - by Purcey, D. (Shockey, C.). CI - Grose, J.. Inherited runners/scored: McCutchen, D 1/1; Jensen, B. 2/2; Becker, J. 1/0. Pitches/strikes: Purcey, D. 122/83; McCutchen, D 24/17; Kroenke, Z. 121/71; Jensen, B. 28/20; Becker, J. 4/3. Umpires - HP: Randy Bruns 1B: Doyle Sooter 3B: Chris Coskey Start: 6:38p.m. Time: 3:00 Attendance: 5751 Game notes: Mike Anderson ejected in the top of the ninth. Game: NU54