Huskers Beat Aggies Again

Lincoln ? Behind a complete-game effort from Tony Watson, No. 4 Nebraska clinched the weekend series with Texas A&M, earning a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Aggies in front of a school-record crowd of 8,757 at Hawks Field Friday night.

Watson, a sophomore left-hander from Grimes, Iowa, tossed the first complete game of his career, scattering five hits and striking out six in a 120-pitch performance to improve to 6-0. Watson, who has won his last 11 decisions, allowed all three runs in the fifth, but held the Aggies scoreless and retired seven of the final eight Aggies he faced.

 “You can’t say enough about Tony Watson,” Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. “To have a quick ninth inning like that was huge for him. Coming out that inning he was at 114 pitches and we didn’t want him to extend him much past that. He ended up with 120. He was going to throw 125 pitches, max, but was able to work fast and get some quick outs.”

The Huskers, who improved to 27-5 overall and 9-2 in the Big 12 with their 10th straight series win dating back to last season, overcame a 3-2 deficit with single runs in the fifth and eighth off Aggie starter Austin Creps, who matched Watson over the first seven frames before dipping to 3-3 on the year.

Jake Opitz was the offensive hero for the Huskers, scoring Ryan Wehrle with one out in the eighth to break a 3-3 deadlock. Wehrle opened the eighth with his second hit of the night and moved into scoring position on Brandon Buckman’s groundout to second. Luke Gorsett was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second before Opitz, who was hitless in three at-bats, singled to center for NU’s go-ahead run. It was the second game-winning RBI of the week for Opitz, whose 13th-inning hit capped NU’s 16-15 win at Iowa on Tuesday.

“I jumped on him (for fouling off a bunt for strike three earlier in the game), but he knew what I was getting at and said he would handle it,” Anderson said. “It was great that he had a chance for quick redemption like that and came through for us again.”

The Huskers got off to a quick start, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning on an RBI single by Andrew Brown and a fielder’s choice by Nick Sullivan. Consecutive singles by Buckman and Gorsett opened the frame before Brown gave the Huskers a 1-0 lead with a single to left. Sullivan then added to NU’s lead, as he legged out a double-play attempt, allowing Gorsett to score from third.
 
Watson was cruising heading into the fifth, allowing one hit through four frames. A leadoff single and a walk put runners on first and second before Adam Hale sent Watson’s full count offering into the bullpen in right, giving Texas A&M a 3-2 lead for its first lead of the weekend.

Nebraska struck back in the bottom half of the inning, as Mort, who went 2-for-3, singled with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. Jeff Christy then coaxed a two-out walk before Wehrle blooped a single to left to tie the score.

Anderson said the Huskers’ run in the fifth was the key to NU’s ninth come-from-behind win of the season.

“Obviously it was a good win for us, a very good comeback win for us,” Anderson said. “We got a pretty good jolt there in the fifth inning with that three-run homer. For us, I think we actually won that game in the fifth inning because we responded immediately. We tied it back up and had a chance to go ahead, but just couldn’t do it. To respond like we did, that was big for us.”

Friday’s crowd easily shattered the previous school record of 8,711 set against Miami in last season’s Super Regional

The Huskers and Aggies will conclude the three-game series Saturday afternoon at 3:05 p.m.