Huskers Roll to Fifth Straight Win

Lincoln ? All-American Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.) went 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs, while Brian Duensing (Omaha, Neb.) went a solid 6.2 innings, as Nebraska posted a 15-4 victory over Northern Colorado Tuesday at Hawks Field.

Gordon paced the Huskers’ 21-hit attack with three hits, including his fourth and fifth round trippers of the season, upping his season average to .400. The two homers and five RBIs tied career bests in both categories, as were his four runs scored. Gordon also had a two-homer game against Northwestern in February of 2004.

Brandon Buckman (Monument, Colo.) also established a career best with four RBIs, as he went 3-for-5 with a homer. In all, five Huskers starters had at least three hits to help Nebraska improve to 13-2 on the season.

Duensing moved to 3-0 on the season with the victory, allowing four runs and scattering eight hits over 6.2 inning of work. The left-hander who made his first home start since having Tommy John surgery exactly one year ago struck out a season-best six Bears without issuing a walk. Duensing saw his streak of consecutive scoreless innings snapped at 16.2, allowing a pair of solo homers, but his outing was his longest stint since March of 2003.

Nebraska broke open a 3-2 game with six runs in the fifth, including homers by Gordon, Buckman and Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.), giving Duensing a seven-run cushion to work with.

Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) opened the inning with a single before Gordon’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot to left, put NU up 5-3. After Brandon Fusilier (Coppell, Texas) singled, Buckman made it 7-2, chasing UNC starter Jon Leines with a two-run homer off the scoreboard in right. Ledbetter than greeted reliever Bobby Perry with a solo homer before Simokaitis’ second hit of the inning, a two-out RBI single, extended the lead to 9-2.

UNC starter Jon Leines (1-1) suffered the loss, as he allowed seven runs on 11 hits in four-plus innings of work.

The Huskers struck quickly in the first off Leines, as Bryce Nimmo (Cheyenne, Wyo.) opened the game with a single and came home two batters later on Gordon’s opposite field homer to left, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. The teams traded runs in the fourth before Brennan Garr’s solo homer to open the fifth pulled UNC within a run.

Garr paced UNC with a 1-for-4 effort with two RBIs while John Ray had two hits as the Bears dropped to 4-14 on the season.

After the six-run fifth, the Huskers pulled away, scoring single runs in both the sixth and seventh before a four-run eighth capped NU’s fourth straight game of at least 15 runs. While the Husker bats continued to roll, freshman Ryan Bohanan replaced Duensing in the seventh and struck out three in 3.1 innings of shutout relief.

The series continues Wednesday afternoon, as redshirt freshman Tony Watson (1-1, 5.40 ERA) takes the hill for the Huskers. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m., and the game will be available on HuskersNside.