Huskers Shut Out Aggies

Lincoln ? Behind a complete-game shutout from Johnny Dorn, the No. 4 Nebraska baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Texas A&M with a 6-0 victory Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 8,415 at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Dorn, a sophomore from Grand Island, tossed a 109-pitch gem, striking out seven without a walk and scattering eight hits to improve to 6-2 on the season.

"Johnny was great for us today and did an outstanding job," Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "This might have been his best outing of the year. He worked off his fastball better than he has all year."

Dorn, who did not allow a runner to reach third base, was backed up by a Husker defense that made several spectacular defensive plays in the early innings to keep the shutout alive, including a diving catch by centerfielder Bryce Nimmo off the bat of Blake Stauffer in the third that kept the Aggies off the board. Nimmo also started a double play in the eighth that squelched the rally after Texas A&M opened the frame with two straight hits after a 25-minute rain delay.

"It (defense) might be overlooked, but that’s OK. They (defense and the pitching) go hand in hand," Anderson said. "There are a number of things that go unnoticed that frankly, I hope go unnoticed, because that means we’re that solid."

While Dorn held the Aggie bats in check, Nebraska (28-5, 10-2 Big 12) totaled 11 hits, including two by Jeff Christy, whose three-run homer in the fifth inning off Texas A&M right-hander Kyle Thebeau turned a 1-0 lead into a four-run cushion.

The Huskers got on the board in the third on Ryan Wehrle’s RBI single. Nimmo walked to open the inning before stealing second and moving to third on a balk. Wehrle then slapped a 1-0 pitch through the drawn-in infield to give the Huskers an early advantage.

In the fifth inning, the Huskers chased Thebeau, who dropped to 3-5 after allowing four runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings of work. Consecutive singles by Steve Edlefsen and Jake Mort put runners on first and second before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Christy then capitalized, hitting a 1-0 slider over the fence in left for his fifth homer of the season.

Nebraska added an insurance run in the sixth as Edlefsen drove in Jake Opitz with an RBI single after Opitz doubled with one out. Edlefsen was one of five Huskers with at least two hits in the win, NU’s 10th straight victory.

Parker Dalton had two hits for Texas A&M, which fell to 19-20 overall and 3-12 in the Big 12.

The Huskers return to action on Tuesday evening, as they host in-state foe Creighton with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. General admission tickets are available at $7 (adults) and $5 (youth and seniors) and can be purchased by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED.