Huskers Run Out of Time in 6-5 Loss to No. 1 Texas

Lincoln ? Calvin Beamon’s seventh-inning, pinch-hit single broke a 5-all tie, as top-ranked Texas squeaked out a 6-5 victory over fourth-ranked Nebraska in the rubber match between the two teams in front of 5,947 rain soaked fans Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field.

With the score deadlocked at five, Beamon lofted an 0-1 pitch from reliever Brett Jensen into left, scoring Drew Stubbs with the go-ahead run, capping a Longhorn (29-6, 6-5 Big 12) rally, as Texas overcame a 5-2 deficit in a game shortened to eight innings because of UT’s travel schedule.

The Huskers (27-6, 6-3 Big 12) had opportunities in each of the final two innings off Texas pitching, but were unable to get the trying run across. In the seventh, a single by Jake Opitz and a UT miscue by Clayton Stewart on a fielder’s choice put runners and first and second with no outs. Joe Simokaitis sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Alex Gordon was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. NU could not capitalize, as J. Brent Cox struck out Brandon Fusilier and got Brandon Buckman to fly out to center to end the threat.

In the eighth, pinch hitter Bryce Nimmo singled with one out, but Cox completed his Big 12-leading eighth save by retiring the final two Huskers in order, giving UT only its second series win over Nebraska since 1999.

"Down the stretch, I think our kids competed well," Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "I just think that mentally, Texas was probably a little better down the stretch, so I give them a lot of credit for that. Our kids need to be in these tight games and stay focused on the small tasks at hand. We had a couple situations where we missed the location and had a couple mental breakdowns, and those things can't happen. Our team fought, but I just think Texas was a little tougher mentally."

Stewart (7-0) picked up the victory, tossing two innings of one-hit relief, while Phil Shirek (3-1) suffered the loss, allowing the Longhorns go-ahead run in the seventh.

Daniel Bruce supplied most of Nebraska’s offense, going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, as the Huskers were limited to just six hits in suffering their fourth one-run loss of the year.

Drew Stubbs and Chance Wheeless led Texas, as both players went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.

The Huskers drew first blood of Longhorn starter Randy Boone in the third, as Bruce opened the frame with a double and eventually scored on a Jesse Boyer sacrifice fly.

Texas regained the lead in the top of the fifth, as consecutive singles by Wheeless and Robby Hudson put two on with two outs before Drew Stubbs cleared the bases with a double to center, giving the Longhorns a 2-1 advantage.

Nebraska had seemingly taken control of the contest in the bottom of the fifth, knocking Boone out of the game, while loading the bases with no outs after a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk. Stewart came in and walked Simokaitis and Gordon to give NU a 3-2 lead. The hosts eventually extended the lead to 5-2 on a Fusilier sacrifice fly and a Brandon Buckman fielder’s choice.

Texas fought back in the sixth, scoring three times with two outs, as a balk plated the first run before Wheeless hard-hit grounder deflected off Nebraska pitcher Brian Duensing’s shin into left field for a two-run single, setting the stages for Texas’ seventh-inning heroics.

Duensing allowed five runs on seven hits, while striking out six over 5.2 innings, while Boone allowed four runs on four hits in four innings of work as neither starter factored into the decision.

The Huskers return to action on Tuesday evening, as Nebraska hosts North Dakota State in a two-game series. Tuesday’s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.

--Huskers?

Box score (NCAA) 2005 Nebraska Baseball #1 Texas at #4 Nebraska Apr 10, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field)

Texas 6 (29-6,6-5 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Stubbs, Drew cf.......... 4 1 2 2 0 1 4 0 0 .299 Johnston, Seth ss........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 .400 Teagarden, Taylor c...... 3 1 1 0 1 1 4 3 0 .341 Kainer, Carson lf........ 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 1 .325 Beamon, Calvin ph/rf.... 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .299 Crouch, Will dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .286 Peoples, Nick rf/lf...... 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .351 Maroul, David 3b......... 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 .233 Wheeless, Chance 1b...... 4 1 2 2 0 1 10 0 0 .272 Hudson, Robby 2b......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 3 1 .254 Boone, Randy p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - Stewart, Clayton p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Cox, J. Brent p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 31 6 9 5 2 8 24 11 5

Nebraska 5 (27-6,6-3 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Boyer, Jesse rf.......... 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 .354 Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 0 .283 Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 1 .398 Fusilier, Brandon dh..... 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 .319 Buckman, Brandon 1b...... 4 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 3 .352 Ledbetter, Curtis c/lf... 4 0 1 0 0 1 8 0 0 .344 Gerch, Andy lf........... 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 1 .312 Christy, Jeff c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .230 Nimmo, Bryce ph......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 Bruce, Daniel cf......... 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .314 Opitz, Jake 2b........... 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 .244 Duensing, Brian p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - Shirek, Phil p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Jensen, Brett p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - Totals................... 28 5 6 5 5 5 24 10 7

Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------ Texas............... 000 023 10 - 6 9 3 Nebraska............ 001 040 00 - 5 6 3 ------------------------------------------

E - Johnston(9); Boone(3); Stewart(2); Boyer, J.(1); Gerch, A.(1); Christy, J.(5). LOB - Longhorns 5; Huskers 7. 2B - Teagarden(16); Bruce, D.(9). 3B - Stubbs(2). HBP - Peoples, N.. SH - Johnston(4); Simokaitis(7). SF - Boyer, J.(1); Fusilier, B.(3). SB - Beamon(5); Hudson(4).

Texas IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Boone, Randy........ 4.0 4 4 4 2 3 16 19 80 3.05 Stewart, Clayton.... 2.0 1 1 1 2 1 6 9 40 1.82 Cox, J. Brent....... 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 6 8 34 2.29

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Duensing, Brian..... 5.2 7 5 5 2 6 23 26 94 2.55 Shirek, Phil........ 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 2.57 Jensen, Brett....... 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 6 7 24 1.74

Win - Stewart (7-0). Loss - Shirek, P. (3-1). Save - Cox, J.B. (8). WP - Duensing, B.(2). HBP - by Duensing, B. (Peoples, N.). BK - Duensing, B. 2(2). Inherited runners/scored: Stewart 3/3; Cox, J.B. 2/0; Shirek, P. 1/0; Jensen, B. 1/1. Pitches/strikes: Boone 80/47; Stewart 40/24; Cox, J.B. 34/22; Duensing, B. 94/54; Shirek, P. 1/1; Jensen, B. 24/19. Umpires - HP: Ken McQueen 1B: Randy Wetzel 3B: Jeff Henrichs Start: 1:36p.m. Time: 3:06 Attendance: 5947 Boone faced 3 batters in the 5th. Shirek, P. faced 1 batter in the 7th. Stewart faced 2 batters in the 7th. Game: NU33

#1 Texas at #4 Nebraska

Apr 10, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field)

Texas 6 (29-6,6-5 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.

Stubbs, Drew cf.......... 4 1 2 2 0 1 4 0 0 .299

Johnston, Seth ss........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 .400

Teagarden, Taylor c...... 3 1 1 0 1 1 4 3 0 .341

Kainer, Carson lf........ 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 1 .325

Beamon, Calvin ph/rf.... 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .299

Crouch, Will dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .286

Peoples, Nick rf/lf...... 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .351

Maroul, David 3b......... 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 .233

Wheeless, Chance 1b...... 4 1 2 2 0 1 10 0 0 .272

Hudson, Robby 2b......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 3 1 .254

Boone, Randy p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Stewart, Clayton p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Cox, J. Brent p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Totals................... 31 6 9 5 2 8 24 11 5

Nebraska 5 (27-6,6-3 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.

Boyer, Jesse rf.......... 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 .354

Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 0 .283

Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 1 .398

Fusilier, Brandon dh..... 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 .319

Buckman, Brandon 1b...... 4 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 3 .352

Ledbetter, Curtis c/lf... 4 0 1 0 0 1 8 0 0 .344

Gerch, Andy lf........... 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 1 .312

Christy, Jeff c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .230

Nimmo, Bryce ph......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308

Bruce, Daniel cf......... 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .314

Opitz, Jake 2b........... 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 .244

Duensing, Brian p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Shirek, Phil p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Jensen, Brett p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -

Totals................... 28 5 6 5 5 5 24 10 7

Score by Innings R H E

Texas............... 000 023 10 - 6 9 3

Nebraska............ 001 040 00 - 5 6 3

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E - Johnston(9); Boone(3); Stewart(2); Boyer, J.(1); Gerch, A.(1); Christy,

J.(5). LOB - Longhorns 5; Huskers 7. 2B - Teagarden(16); Bruce, D.(9). 3B -

Stubbs(2). HBP - Peoples, N.. SH - Johnston(4); Simokaitis(7). SF - Boyer,

J.(1); Fusilier, B.(3). SB - Beamon(5); Hudson(4).

Texas IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA

Boone, Randy........ 4.0 4 4 4 2 3 16 19 80 3.05

Stewart, Clayton.... 2.0 1 1 1 2 1 6 9 40 1.82

Cox, J. Brent....... 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 6 8 34 2.29

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA

Duensing, Brian..... 5.2 7 5 5 2 6 23 26 94 2.55

Shirek, Phil........ 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 1 2.57

Jensen, Brett....... 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 6 7 24 1.74

Win - Stewart (7-0). Loss - Shirek, P. (3-1). Save - Cox, J.B. (8).

WP - Duensing, B.(2). HBP - by Duensing, B. (Peoples, N.). BK - Duensing, B.

2(2). Inherited runners/scored: Stewart 3/3; Cox, J.B. 2/0; Shirek, P. 1/0;

Jensen, B. 1/1. Pitches/strikes: Boone 80/47; Stewart 40/24; Cox, J.B. 34/22;

Duensing, B. 94/54; Shirek, P. 1/1; Jensen, B. 24/19.

Umpires - HP: Ken McQueen 1B: Randy Wetzel 3B: Jeff Henrichs

Start: 1:36p.m. Time: 3:06 Attendance: 5947

Boone faced 3 batters in the 5th.

Shirek, P. faced 1 batter in the 7th.

Stewart faced 2 batters in the 7th.