Fusilier?s Blast Lifts No. 9 Huskers to 6-3 Win

Lincoln ? Brandon Fusilier’s (Coppell, Texas) three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh broke a 3-all tie, as ninth-ranked Nebraska downed Western Illinois, 6-3, Wednesday afternoon at Hawks Field.

Fusilier’s homer, his team-high eighth of the season, proved to be the decisive blow, as the Huskers improved to 19-2 on the season with their 11th straight win heading into Friday’s Big 12 opener at Kansas.

In the seventh, Andy Gerch (Lincoln, Neb.) was hit by a pitch from Western Illinois reliever Tim Navin to open the inning before Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) coaxed a walk to put two on with no outs. Two batters later, Fusilier sent Navin’s 3-2 offering over the fence in left center, giving the Huskers the lead for good.

The three-run cushion was more than enough for the Husker bullpen, as three relievers combined to fire four innings of no-hit ball, as only one Leatherneck reached base in that span. Freshman Tony Watson (Grimes, Iowa) earned his third win of the season with two shutout innings, while Brett Jensen (Eagle Grove, Iowa) notched his Big 12-leading fifth save with a perfect ninth.

Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson was pleased with how the Huskers performed in tight game after Western Illinois tied the game on Tyler Johnson’s three-run double in the fifth.

"I liked seeing our team in a tight situation where we had to come up with some runs," Anderson said. "We had two guys get on and then Fusilier came through with that big hit. It was good to see us put together a solid inning to win the game."

Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI to extend his hit streak to 18 contests, while Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.) had a 3-for-4 afternoon as Nebraska totaled 11 hits.

The Huskers nicked up Western Illinois starter Ryan Schmidgal, jumping out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the third and another run one inning later. Nebraska strung together a rally in the third on two-out RBI singles by Simokaitis and Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.).

NU pushed the lead one inning later, getting runners on second and third on a Brandon Buckman (Monument, Colo.) single and a Ledbetter double before Jeff Christy (Lincoln, Neb.) plated Buckman with a run scoring grounder to shortstop.

Husker starter Johnny Dorn (Grand Island, Neb.) took a shutout into the fifth before the Leathernecks (4-18) rallied off the NU right-hander. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases, before Johnson knotted the score with a two-out double to right center ? the first extra base hit Dorn has allowed all season.

Dorn pitched well in his longest outing of the season, scattering six hits and fanning three over five innings, as neither starter factored into the decision. Navin (0-4) took the loss in relief for Western Illinois, allowing three runs on three hits in the seventh.

The Huskers will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Jayhawks in a three-game series this weekend. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with 1 p.m. starts set for both Saturday and Sunday.

-- Huskers --