Huskers Rally for 6-3 Win Over No. 7 RiceHuskers Rally for 6-3 Win Over No. 7 Rice
Baseball

Huskers Rally for 6-3 Win Over No. 7 Rice

Box Score

Houston, Texas ? All-American Alex Gordon’s three-run homer in the top of the eighth capped a five-run inning, as No. 27 Nebraska rallied for a 6-3 victory over seventh-ranked Rice Sunday afternoon at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational.

Trailing 3-1, the Huskers, who are 7-0 and off to their best start since 1992, scored five times off Owl closer Bryce Cox, including homers by Gordon, who hit his second of the season, and by Daniel Bruce, who hit his first of the year.

Bruce’s one-out solo homer to left center, the first run that Cox had allowed in 8.2 innings of work this season, pulled the Huskers within one. After a walk to Trey Adams and an infield single to Jake Opitz put runners on first and second, Joe Simokaitis tied the score two batters later with an RBI single up the middle. Gordon then launched an 0-2 fastball from Cox over the fence in right center to cap the Husker comeback.

Brian Duensing (2-0) allowed one hit in two shutout innings for the win, while Brett Jensen pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the save. Cox (0-1) allowed five runs in 1.1 innings to suffer the loss.

NU starter Zach Kroenke struggled with his control early on, as the Owls struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to chase the Husker starter. With one out, Brian Friday doubled to right center before a wild pitch and a walk put runners on the corners. Adam Rodgers then stole second, while Jeff Christy’s throw to second sailed into center, allowing Rodgers to score Rice’s first run. Danny Lehmann then made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to right.

The Huskers, who stranded four runners in scoring position over the first four frames, finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth on Brandon Fusilier’s two-out RBI single. Boyer opened the fifth inning with a single before moving over to second on Simokaitis’ grounder to third. Two batters later, Fusilier sent an 0-1 pitch back up the middle, scoring Boyer from second.

Dusty Timm, who came in the game in the first, held the Owls scoreless until the sixth, allowing one run on one hit in 4.1 innings of work.  He walked Rodgers to open the sixth before Duensing retired the next two batters. With two outs, Josh Rodriguez hit an RBI double to right center to extend the Rice lead to 3-1.

Josh Geer allowed one run over the first 6.2 innings, scattering seven hits and striking out seven Huskers, but did not factor into the decision.

The Huskers will return to Texas next weekend, as they travel to Round Rock, Texas, for the Dell Diamond Classic. Nebraska will once again see the Owls, opening tournament play against Rice on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be carried live on HuskersNside with live stats available on Huskers.com.

Nebraska vs Rice (Feb 27, 2005)

  Box score (NCAA)                             2005 Nebraska Baseball
                            #7 Nebraska at #27 Rice
                 Feb 27, 2005 at Houston, Texas (Reckling Park)Nebraska 6 (7-0)Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Boyer, Jesse rf..........  4  2  1  0   0  1  3  0   0
Simokaitis, Joe ss.......  5  1  1  1   0  2  1  4   0
Gordon, Alex 3b..........  5  1  2  3   0  1  1  3   1
Fusilier, Brandon lf.....  4  0  1  1   1  0  3  0   0
Buckman, Brandon dh......  4  0  2  0   0  1  0  0   3
Ledbetter, Curtis 1b/c...  4  0  1  0   0  2 13  0   0
Bruce, Daniel cf.........  2  1  1  1   1  0  1  0   0
Christy, Jeff c..........  2  0  0  0   1  1  0  0   3
Adams, Trey ph..........  0  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
Bohanan, Ryan 1b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Opitz, Jake 2b...........  3  0  2  0   0  0  2  4   3
Nimmo, Bryce pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Wehrle, Ryan 2b.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Kroenke, Zach p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Timm, Dustin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Duensing, B. p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Jensen, Brett p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 33  6 11  6   4  8 24 14  10Rice 3 (9-2)Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Tyler Henley cf..........  3  0  0  0   1  0  4  0   0
Brian Friday ss..........  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  4   1
Adam Rodgers 1b..........  1  2  0  0   3  1  9  0   0
Joe Savery lf............  2  0  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
Danny Lehmann c..........  3  0  0  1   0  0  7  2   0
Josh Rodriguez 2b........  3  0  1  1   1  0  1  2   1
Adam Morris 3b...........  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  1   2
Matt Moake 3b/pr........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Clay Reichenbach 3b.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Lance Pendleton rf.......  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   2
Derek Myers dh...........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Josh Geer p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Bryce Cox p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 24  3  4  2   7  1 24 11   6 Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Nebraska............ 000 010 050 -  6 11  1
Rice................ 200 001 00X -  3  4  0
-------------------------------------------E - Christy, J.(4). DP - Huskers 2. LOB - Huskers 10; Owls 6. 2B - Buckman,
B.(2); Friday(2); Rodriguez(1). HR - Gordon, A.(2); Bruce, D.(1). HBP -
Bruce, D.; Opitz, J.. SH - Boyer, J.(2); Savery(1). SF - Lehmann(1). SB -
Rodgers(1).Nebraska               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Kroenke, Zach.......  0.2  1  2  1  3  0  2  6  24
Timm, Dustin........  4.1  1  1  1  3  0 12 15  64
Duensing, B.........  2.0  1  0  0  1  0  6  8  31
Jensen, Brett.......  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  4  4  17
Rice                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Josh Geer...........  6.2  7  1  1  2  7 25 30  97
Bryce Cox...........  1.1  4  5  5  2  1  8 10  35Win - Duensing, B. (2-0).  Loss - Cox (0-1).  Save - Jensen, B. (2).
WP - Kroenke, Z.(2); Geer(2). HBP - by Geer (Opitz, J.); by Geer (Bruce, D.). BK
- Geer(1). Pitches/strikes: Kroenke, Z. 24/10; Timm, D. 64/38; Duensing, B.
31/22; Jensen, B. 17/12; Geer 97/66; Cox 35/20.Umpires - HP: Larry King  1B: Bob Charmo  3B: Rob Johnson
Start: 3:35p.m.   Time: 2:37   Attendance: 2824
Timm, D. faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Game: NU07 

Play-by-Play                             2005 Nebraska Baseball
                     #7 Nebraska at #27 Rice - Play-by-Play
                 Feb 27, 2005 at Houston, Texas (Reckling Park)


Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Nebraska............ 000 010 050 -  6 11  1
Rice................ 200 001 00X -  3  4  0
-------------------------------------------Nebraska starters: 8/rf Boyer, J.; 2/ss Simokaitis; 4/3b Gordon, A.; 14/lf Fusilier,
B.; 19/dh Buckman, B.; 15/1b Ledbetter, C; 12/cf Bruce, D.; 16/c Christy, J.; 3/2b
Opitz, J.; 34/p Kroenke, Z.;
Rice starters: 13/cf Henley; 4/ss Friday; 26/1b Rodgers; 20/lf Savery; 11/c Lehmann;
12/2b Rodriguez; 28/3b Morris; 10/rf Pendleton; 1/dh Myers; 34/p Geer; Nebraska 1st - Boyer, J. grounded out to 2b (0-0). Simokaitis grounded out to
ss (2-1). Gordon, A. grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB. Rice 1st - Henley grounded out to 3b (1-0). Friday doubled to right center
(0-0). Rodgers walked (3-2); Friday advanced to third on a wild pitch. Rodgers stole
second, advanced to third on the error; Friday scored on a throwing error by c.
Savery walked (3-2). Lehmann flied out to rf, SF, RBI (1-1); Rodgers scored,
unearned. Rodriguez walked (3-1); Savery advanced to second. Timm, D. to p for
Kroenke, Z.. Morris grounded out to p (3-2). 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.Nebraska 2nd - Fusilier, B. grounded out to ss (2-2). Buckman, B. singled up
the middle (2-0). Ledbetter, C singled to right field (1-2); Buckman, B. advanced to
second. Bruce, D. flied out to cf (0-2); Buckman, B. advanced to third. Christy, J.
struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.Rice 2nd - Pendleton flied out to rf (2-2). Myers singled to right field
(0-1). Henley walked (3-2); Myers advanced to second. Friday grounded into double
play 3b to 1b (2-0); Myers out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.Nebraska 3rd - Opitz, J. hit by pitch (1-0). Boyer, J. grounded out to c,
bunt, SAC (0-0); Opitz, J. advanced to second. Simokaitis struck out, out at first c
to p (0-2); Opitz, J. advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gordon, A. struck out
swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
 
Rice 3rd - Rodgers walked (3-2). Savery reached on a fielder's choice (2-2);
Rodgers out at second 2b to ss. Lehmann grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b
(0-1); Savery out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Nebraska 4th - Fusilier, B. grounded out to 2b (0-1). Buckman, B. doubled
down the lf line (0-0). Ledbetter, C struck out looking (3-2). Buckman, B. advanced
to third on a balk. Bruce, D. walked (3-2). Christy, J. walked (3-2); Bruce, D.
advanced to second. Opitz, J. lined out to cf (0-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3
LOB.Rice 4th - Rodriguez grounded out to ss (2-1). Morris flied out to cf (0-0).
Pendleton flied out to lf (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.Nebraska 5th - Boyer, J. singled to right field (1-0). Simokaitis grounded
out to 3b (2-2); Boyer, J. advanced to second. Gordon, A. flied out to cf (1-1).
Fusilier, B. singled up the middle, RBI (0-1); Boyer, J. scored. Fusilier, B. out at
first p to 1b, picked off. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Rice 5th - Myers grounded out to ss (1-2). Henley flied out to lf (1-1).
Friday grounded out to p, bunt (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Nebraska 6th - Buckman, B. struck out looking (0-2). Ledbetter, C lined out
to rf (0-1). Bruce, D. hit by pitch (0-0). Christy, J. flied out to cf (1-1). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.Rice 6th - Rodgers walked (3-2). Duensing, B. to p for Timm, D.. Savery out
at first p to 2b, bunt, SAC (0-1); Rodgers advanced to second. Lehmann grounded out
to ss (2-2). Rodriguez doubled to right center, RBI (1-2); Rodgers scored. Morris
intentionally walked (3-0). Moake to 3b for Morris. Pendleton grounded out to 2b
(0-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
 
Nebraska 7th - Moake pinch ran. Reichenbach to 3b for Moake. Opitz, J.
singled to center field (1-1). Boyer, J. struck out looking (0-2). Simokaitis struck
out looking (0-2). Gordon, A. singled to second base (0-0); Opitz, J. advanced to
second. Cox to p for Geer. Fusilier, B. walked (3-2); Gordon, A. advanced to second;
Opitz, J. advanced to third. Buckman, B. reached on a fielder's choice (1-0);
Fusilier, B. out at second ss unassisted. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.Rice 7th - Myers grounded out to 3b (1-1). Henley grounded out to 2b (2-0).
Friday flied out to rf (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.Nebraska 8th - Ledbetter, C struck out swinging (3-2). Bruce, D. homered to
left field, RBI (0-2). Adams, T. pinch hit for Christy, J.. Adams, T. walked (3-1).
Opitz, J. singled to third base (0-1); Adams, T. advanced to second. Nimmo, B. pinch
ran for Opitz, J.. Boyer, J. reached on a fielder's choice (1-1); Nimmo, B. out at
second ss to 2b; Adams, T. advanced to third. Simokaitis singled to center field,
RBI (0-1); Boyer, J. advanced to second; Adams, T. scored. Gordon, A. homered to
right center, 3 RBI (1-0); Simokaitis scored; Boyer, J. scored. Fusilier, B. out at
first p to ss to 1b (0-2). 5 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.Rice 8th - Ledbetter, C to c. Bohanan, R. to 1b for Adams, T.. Wehrle, R. to
2b for Nimmo, B.. Jensen, B. to p for Duensing, B.. Rodgers struck out swinging
(3-2). Savery singled to center field (1-1). Lehmann fouled out to c (1-2).
Rodriguez flied out to lf (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.Nebraska 9th - Game shortened to eight innnings because of NU Travel
Schedule. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.