No. 5 Huskers Fall to OU

Norman, Okla. ?Daniel McCutchen scattered six hits in recording his first complete game of the season, as Oklahoma picked up it first win over Nebraska in Norman since 1999, downing the fifth-ranked Huskers, 5-1, at L. Dale Mitchell Field Thursday night.

McCutchen (2-3) fanned nine Huskers, as he out-dueled NU ace Joba Chamberlain in front of an ESPN national television audience and helped OU (23-18, 7-9 Big 12) snap a four-game losing streak.

The Sooner right-hander tossed the first complete game against Nebraska this season, as he gave up an RBI single to Joe Simokaitis in the third before holding the Huskers (35-9, 10-6 Big 12) scoreless over the final six frames

Simokaitis provided most of the Huskers’ offensive attack, going 2-for-4 with an RBI as no other NU player had more than one hit.

Oklahoma would score all the runs they needed off Chamberlain in the second, as run-scoring hits by Joe Dunigan and Chuckie Caufield spotted the hosts a 2-0 lead. Jackson Williams opened the second with a single before a wild pitch moved him into scoring position. Dunigan then roped a doubled that one-hopped the wall in right before coming home two batters later as Caufield singled through the drawn-in infield.

Nebraska got one of the runs back in the top of the third, getting a two-out RBI single from Simokaitis to pull within 2-1. Brandon Buckman singled to open the inning before a walk to Ryan Wehrle put runners on first and second with no outs. After a failed sacrifice attempt and a pop-up, Simokaitis sent the first pitch he saw up the middle, scoring Wehrle with the Huskers’ first run.

Chamberlain, who dropped to 6-1 on the season, pitched well after a rocky start, allowing only two earned runs over 6.2 innings in a losing effort. The Husker right-hander fanned six and allowed six hits, but was hurt by a costly error by second baseman Ryan Wehrle in the seventh that led to three runs.

With one out in the seventh, Freddy Rodriguez hit a grounder that Wehrle threw wide of first for a two-base error. Chamberlain struck the next hitter out, but Kody Kaiser delivered an RBI doubled to right, scoring Rodriguez to make it 3-1. The Husker starter then walked Russell Raley, before Eric Thornton greeted Husker reliever Jeremy Becker with a two-run double to left center.

Nebraska threatened off McCutchen, putting three runners in scoring position, including the eighth and ninth, but could not come through with the key hit, as the OU starter stymied the Husker bats in a 137-pitch gem.

The series between the Huskers and Sooners continues Friday evening at 6 p.m. the game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network and shown nationally on ESPNU (Ch. 609 on DirecTV).

Nebraska vs Oklahoma (Apr 28, 2005)

• Box score (NCAA)

Box score (NCAA) 2005 Nebraska Baseball #5 Nebraska at Oklahoma Apr 28, 2005 at Norman, Okla. (Dale Mitchell Park)

Nebraska 1 (35-9,10-6 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Bruce, Daniel cf......... 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 1 0 Simokaitis, Joe ss....... 4 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 Gordon, Alex 3b.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 Ledbetter, Curtis 1b..... 4 0 1 0 0 2 9 0 0 Adams, Trey rf........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 Fusilier, Brandon lf..... 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 Nimmo, Bryce ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Buckman, Brandon dh...... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Wehrle, Ryan 2b.......... 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 Christy, Jeff c.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 0 Boyer, Jesse ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hightower, Mark c....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chamberlain, Joba p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Becker, Jeremy p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wertz, Luke p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals................... 32 1 6 1 2 9 24 11 6

Oklahoma 5 (23-18,7-9 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB ------------------------------------------------------ Kaiser, Kody rf.......... 3 1 1 1 1 2 5 0 0 Raley, Russell 2b........ 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Thornton, Eric 1b........ 3 0 1 2 1 0 6 0 0 Rohlinger, Ryan 3b....... 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Smith, Kevin dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Williams, Jackson c...... 4 1 1 0 0 2 8 2 1 Dunigan, Joe lf.......... 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 Ivey, Aaron lf.......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 Rodriguez, Freddy ss..... 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 Caufield, Chuckie cf..... 3 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 McCutchen, Daniel p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Totals................... 29 5 9 5 4 6 27 8 6

Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 001 000 000 - 1 6 1 Oklahoma............ 020 000 30X - 5 9 0 -------------------------------------------

E - Wehrle, R.(3). LOB - Huskers 6; Sooners 6. 2B - Simokaitis(6); Kaiser, K.(11); Thornton, E.(9); Dunigan, J.(2). SH - Rohlinger, R(4); Rodriguez, F(6). SB - Bruce, D.(5). CS - Caufield, C. 2(4).

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- Chamberlain, Joba... 6.2 6 5 2 4 6 23 29 125 Becker, Jeremy...... 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 Wertz, Luke......... 1.1 2 0 0 0 0 5 5 25

Oklahoma IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP -------------------------------------------------- McCutchen, Daniel... 9.0 6 1 1 2 9 32 34 137

Win - McCutchen (2-3). Loss - Chamberlain (6-1). Save - None. WP - Chamberlain(3); McCutchen(3). Inherited runners/scored: Becker, J. 2/2; Wertz, L. 1/0. Pitches/strikes: Chamberlain 125/75; Becker, J. 2/1; Wertz, L. 25/15; McCutchen 137/97. Umpires - HP: Andy Eaves 1B: Ken McQueen 3B: Jeff Henrichs Start: 6:06p.m. Time: 2:47 Attendance: 1546 Becker, J. faced 1 batter in the 7th. Game: NU44