Homers Propel Huskers to 17-4 Win

Lincoln -- Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.) and Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas) tied a NCAA and school record with two homers in an inning, as No. 22 Nebraska completed a sweep of South Dakota State with a 17-4 victory Sunday afternoon.

Ledbetter and Fusilier became the third and fourth players in school history to hit two homers in an inning, as both players homered twice in an 11-run fourth for Nebraska (12-2), which has won four games in a row.

The duo joined Matt Hopper (vs. Western Illinois 4/18/00) and Marc Sagmoen (vs. St. John’s, 3/20/93) and many other NCAA players to hit two round trippers in an inning, as Nebraska's five homers in the inning were two shy of the NCAA record of seven set by Southern Utah in 2001.

Nebraska’s 11-run inning was its highest output in an inning since scoring 11 runs against Nebraska-Kearney on March 5 2002.

Ledbetter went 4-for-6 with two homers, two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored, while Fusilier went 3-fo-3 with two homers and a career-best five RBIs, as the Huskers pounded out 20 hits against four SDSU pitchers.

Jake Opitz (Littleton, Colo.) and Jeff Christy (Lincoln, Neb.) also had two hits apiece and drove in two runs, as every starter had at least one in helping Nebraska set season bests in both hits and runs.

NU starter Phil Shirek (Minot, N.D.) was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion, allowing two runs over five innings to pick up his second win of the season. Shirek, who improved to 2-0, scattered seven hits and struck out four Jackrabbits.

SDSU starter Josh Elliott (0-3) suffered most of the damage, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits in just 3.1 innings to take the loss. Tony Lane went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, while Greg Geary had four hits and an RBI for SDSU, which dipped to 2-10 on the season.

Nebraska will return to action on Tuesday, when it begins a three-game series with Northern Colorado. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m., and the game will be carried on HuskersNside.com.

 

Box score (NCAA) The Automated ScoreBook South Dakota State at #22 Nebraska Mar 13, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field)

South Dakota State 4 (2-10)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Adams rf................. 3 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 Mintken ph.............. 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lane 2b.................. 4 1 3 3 0 1 4 2 0 Geary 1b................. 5 0 4 1 0 1 6 2 0 Farrell lf............... 5 0 1 0 0 2 5 0 4 Hanigan cf............... 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 Fisher 3b................ 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 Keller dh................ 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Sytsma c................. 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Labat c................. 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Iverson ss............... 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 1 Knott ph................ 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Elliott p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Hofer p................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fishback p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Huber p................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 37 4 12 4 1 11 24 9 9

Nebraska 17 (12-2)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Boyer, Jesse rf.......... 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 Nimmo, B. cf............ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 2 Wehrle, Ryan ph/ss...... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Gerch, A. ph/3b......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 Fusilier, Brandon lf..... 3 3 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 Bruce, Daniel lf........ 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Buckman, Brandon dh...... 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Bohanan, R. ph/dh....... 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 Ledbetter, Curtis 1b..... 6 4 4 4 0 0 7 1 0 Adams, Trey cf/rf........ 5 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 Christy, Jeff c.......... 2 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 Hightower ph/c.......... 3 0 2 1 0 0 9 1 0 Opitz, Jake 2b........... 4 1 2 2 2 0 1 0 2 Shirek, P. p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 Timm, D. p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Watson, T. p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Becker, J. p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jensen, B. p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 44 17 20 16 8 0 27 9 14

Score by Innings R H E ---------------------------------------------- South Dakota State.. 101 0 00 002 - 4 12 2 Nebraska............ 023 (11)00 01X - 17 20 1 ----------------------------------------------

E - Iverson 2(6); Ledbetter, C(3). DP - Huskers 2. LOB - Jackrabbits 9; Huskers 14. 2B - Fusilier, B.(1); Ledbetter, C 2(5). HR - Lane(1); Fusilier, B. 2(5); Ledbetter, C 2(4); Opitz, J.(1). HBP - Adams; Bruce, D.. SH - Lane(2); Christy, J.(5). SF - Adams, T.(1). SB - Boyer, J.(2); Christy, J.(3).

South Dakota State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Elliott............. 3.1 12 11 11 5 0 20 27 98 Hofer............... 0.1 4 5 0 0 0 7 7 20 Fishback............ 3.1 3 1 1 2 0 13 16 50 Huber............... 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 4 5 25

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Shirek, P........... 5.0 7 2 2 1 4 19 22 70 Timm, D............. 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 12 Watson, T........... 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 13 Becker, J........... 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 5 5 19 Jensen, B........... 1.0 3 2 0 0 1 7 7 22

Win - Shirek, P. (2-0). Loss - Elliott (0-3). Save - None. HBP - by Shirek, P. (Adams); by Fishback (Bruce, D.). BK - Elliott(1). Pitches/strikes: Elliott 98/53; Hofer 20/11; Fishback 50/28; Huber 25/12; Shirek, P. 70/48; Timm, D. 12/9; Watson, T. 13/9; Becker, J. 19/14; Jensen, B. 22/15. Umpires - HP: Tom Svehla 1B: Frank McEntarffer 3B: Patrick Spieler Start: 1:05p.m. Time: 2:41 Attendance: 2094 Fishback faced 2 batters in the 8th. Game: NU14