Huskers Lock Up Series Win at Mizzou

Columbia, Mo. ? Luke Gorsett’s two-run double in the top of the 13th broke a 2-2 tie to propel the No. 6 Nebraska baseball team to its first series win at Missouri since the 2000 season with a 5-2 victory in front of  1,358 at Taylor Stadium Saturday afternoon.

For the second straight day, Gorsett provided Nebraska (23-6, 6-2 Big 12) with the game’s biggest hit, this time a one-out double to left off of MU’s Travis Wendte in the 13th inning, as the Huskers scored three in the final frame and held on for the series-clinching win. On the day, Gorsett went 2-for-6 with a pair of RBIs.

Nick Jaros opened the 13th with a single before Ryan Wehrle sacrificed him into scoring position. Wendte then came in and intentionally walked Brandon Buckman, who went 2-for-5 including his ninth homer of the year, to put runners on first and second. Gorsett then cleared the bases, lacing Wendte’s 1-1 pitch down the left field line, scoring both Jaros and Buckman. Two batters later, Jeff Christy gave the Huskers a three-run cushion with an RBI single to make it 5-2.

The Tigers, who dropped to 16-13 overall and 6-5 in the Big 12, threatened in the bottom of the 13th, loading the bases after three Husker walks, but sophomore Luke Wertz, the seventh Husker pitcher on the day, got Bryson LeBlanc to line out and Gary Arndt to foul out to end the game. Wertz picked up his first save of his career in the process.

Jared Cranston (2-0) earned the win, getting the Huskers out of a two-on, two-out jam in the 12th, while David Cales, one of five Tiger pitchers who saw action on the day, fell to 2-2 with the loss. With the win, NU improves to 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.

The matchup between NU starter Tony Watson and Missouri’s Max Scherzer lived up to its billing, as both pitchers held the opposing offenses in check.

The Huskers got on the board in the top of the fourth on Buckman’s solo homer. With two outs, Buckman sent a 1-1 pitch from Scherzer over the trees in right for Buckman's ninth homer of the season and his third in the last three games.

Watson held the Tigers without a hit and retired nine straight batters before Zane Taylor sent Watson’s 1-0 pitch over the fence in right to tie the score with two outs in the fourth. It was the first homer that the Husker left-hander had allowed in 48.1 innings of work this spring.

Scherzer, who had missed two of his previous starts with tendinitis, pitched into the fifth, before being forced to leave the game in the top of the fifth with an injury. The Huskers took advantage as Jake Opitz coaxed a two-out walk off Brent Combs before Jake Mort’s grounder was misplayed by Taylor, putting runners on first and second. Bryce Nimmo gave the Huskers a 2-1 lead by lining a 1-2 pitch into left center to score Opitz.

The Tigers rallied in the eighth inning, capitalizing on a Husker miscue to knot the score. Watson had retired nine Tigers in a row before a two-out single by Evan Frey started the rally. Brett Jensen then surrendered a pinch-hit single to Ryan Lollis, putting runners on first and second. Brock Bond then hit a grounder to first, which Buckman picked up and threw to Jensen covering the bag, but the ball fell out of Jensen’s glove, allowing Frey to score from second to tie the score.

The run squelched an outstanding performance from Watson, who allowed one earned run over a career-high 7.2 innings. The left-hander allowed only three hits and fanned two without a walk. It was the sixth time in eight starts this season that he allowed less than two earned runs.

The Huskers had a golden opportunity in the top of the 10th as Opitz opened the inning with a single before Mort sacrificed him into scoring position. Nimmo then hit a chopper to first that he nearly beat out before Jaros flew out deep to right to end the threat.

Arndt opened the bottom of the 10th with a single before Frey sacrificed the runner into scoring position. Reliever Zach Herr then intentionally walked Kyle Mach to put runners on first and second. The Tigers eventually got both runners into scoring position, but Herr got Taylor to ground out to end the threat.

NU threatened again in the top of the of the 11th, as Buckman reached on a one-out Tiger error before a Gorsett single put runners on first and second. Andy Gerch then hit a soft liner to Hunter Mense at first, who fired to second to get Buckman before he got back to the bag for an inning-ending double play.

After Frey reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the 12th, Mach grounded to Opitz at second, who tagged Frey and threw to first for an apparent inning-ending double play, but umpire Randy Bruns said he did not tag the runner. Cranston then hit Bond to put runners on first and second, but got out of the jam by picking Bond off at first to end the inning to set up Gorsett's heroics in the 13th.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m, as Johnny Dorn (4-2, 3.65 ERA) takes the hill for the Huskers. The game will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Ch. 107).