Huskers Sweep South Dakota State

Lincoln ? Lincoln natives Alex Gordon and Andy Gerch combined to go 10-for-12 with three homers, 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored, powering No. 22 Nebraska to a sweep of South Dakota State, 15-1, 15-3 at Hawks Field Saturday afternoon.

The Huskers, who improved to 11-2 with the sweep, finished the day with 32 hits, as both games were shortened to seven innings because of the run rule.

Gerch, who had one hit in his first seven contests, went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the opener before going 2-for-4 with a homer and a career-high five RBIs in the nightcap.

Gordon posted identical 3-for-3 efforts in both contests, including a homer and three RBIs in the nightcap. Gordon, who also walked twice, reached safely on all eight of his appearances on the day, raising his average more than 100 points.

While the Husker bats erupted, Nebraska starting pitchers Zach Kroenke (Omaha, Neb.) and Johnny Dorn (Grand Island, Neb.) turned in solid efforts to pick up the wins.

In the opener, Kroenke (1-0) took a no-hitter into the sixth before allowing a single to Tony Lane and an RBI double to Greg Geary to break the shutout bid. The left-hander pitched six strong innings, striking out seven and retiring 15 in a row during one stretch.

Dorn picked up his first collegiate win in the nightcap, allowing one run on four hits and struck out four over four innings to even his record at 1-1.

Nebraska jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opener on first-inning RBI singles by Gordon and Brandon Buckman (Monument, Colo.) before erupting for seven runs to chase SDSU starter Francisco Torres in the second.

The first eight Huskers reached base in the inning, including RBI singles by Ryan Wehrle (Papillion, Neb.), Jesse Boyer (Littleton, Colo.), Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) and Buckman and a two-run single by Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas).

Boyer went 2-for-5 with two runs scored while Jeff Christy (Lincoln, Neb.) also had two hits and a pair of RBIs.

Torres (0-3) surrendered nine runs on 10 hits in just two innings to take the loss, as SDSU dipped to 2-9 with the losses.

The nightcap started in a similar fashion, as Nebraska batted around in each of the first two innings, scoring six runs in the first and second frames to spot Dorn a 12-0 lead.

Gerch highlighted Nebraska’s six-run first with a two-run single and then added a three-run homer in the second, his second round tripper of the afternoon, off SDSU starter Dalton Decker, who allowed 12 runs in 1.1 innings to drop to 0-1.

Simokaitis went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while Daniel Bruce also went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

The Huskers will conclude the four-game series Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:05 p.m. The game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington.