Huskers Roll to NCAA Regional Title

Huskers Roll to Regional Title

Game 6 (Regional Final) -- Nebraska 10, Creighton 2 

Box Score | Notes | Quotes | Photos

Lincoln --- Nebraska starter Zach Kroenke struck out a career-high 13 and Husker hitters pounded Creighton pitching for 17 hits, including a season-high seven doubles to power the No. 3 national seed Huskers to the NCAA Lincoln Regional title with a 10-2 victory over Creighton Sunday at Hawks Field.

Playing in front of a packed house of 8,304 fans, Kroenke mowed down the Bluejays to help the Big 12 champion Huskers advance to next weekend's Super Regional against the winner of the Miami-Mississippi State title game at the Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional.

The Huskers, who will host Super Regional action, advanced to a Super Regional for the fourth time since 2000 and also swept through regional play for the fourth time in their last five NCAA Tournament appearances. Super Regional dates and times will be announced Tuesday, and the Huskers will begin play on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.

Tickets for Nebraska's Super Regional at Hawks Field next weekend will go on sale on Huskers.com at approximately 10:45 p.m. Sunday.  The Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office will begin in-person and phone sales on Monday, June 6 at 8 a.m.  Fans can purchase Super Regional tickets in person at the NU Athletic Ticket Office at the Stadium Drive Parking Garage across the street from Memorial Stadium or by calling toll free at 1-800-8BIGRED.

The six games in the NCAA Lincoln Regional attracted a total of 33,713 fans to Hawks Field for the three-day event, for an average of 5,619 fans per game.  Nebraska's three games in the tournament drew an average of 8,211 fans per game, including a school-record crowd of 8,662 for a 10-8 win over Creighton on Saturday night. 

Nebraska increased its school-record win total by improving to 54-13 on the season, while Creighton saw its season come to an end with a 48-17 overall record.  The victory also allowed the Huskers to take the season series with the Bluejays 3-2, winning a pair of games against CU in the NCAA Regional.

Nebraska senior first baseman Curtis Ledbetter led NU with four hits on Sunday, including his 17th and 18th doubles of the season.  Ledbetter closed the tournament by reaching base in each of his final nine plate appearances over the final two games to earn a spot on the Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team.

Junior All-American third baseman Alex Gordon joined Ledbetter on the all-tournament squad by going 2 for 3 with a pair of walks on the night, as the Huskers' No. 3 and No. 4 hitters combined to reach base in 9-of-10 plate appearances against the Bluejays Sunday.

Redshirt freshman Andy Gerch was named the Lincoln Regional's Most Outstanding Player.  The right fielder from Lincoln started the Husker onslaught on Sunday with a two-RBI single in the first to give Kroenke a quick 2-0 lead.  Gerch added a bases loaded triple in Friday's regional opener to power the Huskers to a win over the UIC Flames.

Kroenke, who improved to 7-2 on the year, rounded out NU's representatives on the all-tournament team with his complete-game gem.  The left hander was touched for only two runs in the third inning, before shutting down the Bluejays the rest of the way.  He scattered seven hits on his way to his second straight complete game in NCAA Tournament play, dating back to his only appearance in the 2003 NCAA Regional against Eastern Michigan at Hawks Field.

Despite Gerch's clutch hit in the first and Kroenke's dominance, the Huskers and Bluejays headed into the bottom of the fourth inning tied at 2, before NU senior Daniel Bruce led off with a double to the gap in right center and moved up on Jeff Christy's team-high 12th sacrifice of the year.

CU starter Ben Mancuso, who fell to 1-1 on the year with the loss, then uncorked a wild pitch and Bruce raced home to give the Huskers a 3-2 advantage.

Nebraska's freshman class, which powered the Huskers with eight RBIs in Saturday night's win over Creighton, came through again in the fifth when Ryan Bohanan had a pinch-hit RBI double that scored Ledbetter from first to give NU a two-run cushion.

With two outs in the sixth, the Huskers added an insurance run as Jesse Boyer and Joe Simokaitis hit back-to-back doubles down the left field line to give NU a 5-2 lead.  The Huskers kept the pressure on with another run in the seventh, before ending any hopes of a late Creighton comeback by punching across four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The extra insurance was more than enough for Kroenke, who capped a stellar performance by striking out the final three Bluejays he faced in the ninth inning to spark NU's regional title celebration.

NCAA Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team
C - Tony Daniel, Creighton
1B - Aaron Bates, NC State
2B - Tony Roth, Creighton
3B - Alex Gordon, Nebraska
SS - Brad Dutton, Creighton
LF - Chris Gradoville, Creighton
CF - Shane Crowder, UIC
RF - Andy Gerch, Nebraska
DH/UTIL - Curtis Ledbetter, Nebraska & Ted Rosinski, UIC
P - Eric Wordekemper, Creighton
P - Zach Kroenke, Nebraska
Most Outstanding Player - Andy Gerch, Nebraska