Huskers Pitch Past Canes in Game 1

Huskers Pitch Past Canes

Lincoln Super Regional Game 1 -- Nebraska 3, Miami 1
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Lincoln - In a classic pitcher's duel, Nebraska's Joba Chamberlain struck out 13 Miami hitters to lead the No. 3 national seed Cornhuskers to a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in front of a sellout crowd of 8,308 fans Friday in the first game of a best-of-three Super Regional series at Hawks Field.

After sitting through a two-hour, 21-minute rain delay, Chamberlain came out strong and got better as the game wore on. The right-hander went 8.0 solid innings allowing just six hits while picking up his fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Chamberlain's 13 strikeouts marked the second-highest total of his career, just shy of the career-best 15 strikeouts he notched against New Mexico on Feb. 25.

 

Chamberlain improved to 9-2 on the season, and increased his team-leading strikeout total to 126 on the year, the third-highest single-season mark in NU history.

 

Chamberlain outdueled Miami ace Cesar Carrillo, the 18th overall pick in this week's Major League Baseball Draft. Carrillo (13-3) allowed just six hits over a complete-game 8.0 innings while suffering only his third loss in 28 career decisions.

 

Miami second baseman Paco Figueroa produced three of the Hurricanes' seven hits off Chamberlain, including the only thing standing between Chamberlain and a shutout with a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning that gave Miami a 1-0 lead.

 

The Hurricanes' lead was short-lived, as the Huskers struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the score. Joe Simokaitis opened the frame with a hit, which was just NU's second base hit of the game after Jesse Boyer led off the first with a single.

 

Husker third baseman Alex Gordon followed Simokaitis' leadoff single with a walk to put runners at first and second with no outs. Redshirt freshman Andy Gerch hit a shot down the first base line that Cane first baseman Danny Valencia could not handle, allowing Simokaitis to score from second.

 

Gerch was thrown out trying to get back to first base on the play, leaving Gordon at third base with just one out, but the Huskers were unable to take the lead, stranding Gordon at third in the fourth inning.

 

After Chamberlain struck out the side in the top of the fifth, the Huskers received the game's biggest hit with Daniel Bruce's leadoff home run on a 3-1 pitch in the bottom of the inning. It was the senior center fielder's fifth homer of the year and Chamberlain made it hold up.

 

Nebraska pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.  Husker catcher Jeff Christy, who was a perfect 2-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch on the day to improve his NCAA Tournament batting average to .500, led off the eighth with a sharp double under the glove of a diving Jon Jay in left field.  Christy, who also threw out 2-of-2 would-be Miami base stealers on the day, moved to third on Boyer's sacrifice. Christy then scored on Simokaitis' smash single down the right field line to give the Huskers a 3-1 edge heading to the ninth inning.

 

Chamberlain surrendered a leadoff single in the top of the ninth and was relieved by Husker closer Brett Jensen, who got Miami All-America third baseman and No. 5 overall pick in the MLB Draft Ryan Braun to pop out to first base, before forcing Jay to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to end the game.