Brown Leads Red Squad to 11-3 Victory

Lincoln -- Andrew Brown went 2-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs, while Mike Harmelink allowed just one hit over 6.2 innings of relief, as the Red squad evened the annual Red/White series at one game apiece with a convincing 11-3 victory Thursday afternoon at Hawks Field.

With today's win by the Red squad, the series is tied up heading into Friday's decisive third game, scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Friday will also feature Swing for a Cure with batting practice for fans set between Noon and 2:30 p.m. and all proceeds going to the Jed Morris Victory Fund.

Brown, who scored four times in the win, hit a two-run homer in the third off White team starter Tim Radmacher (0-1) and added a solo homer in the eighth, as the Red squad broke the game open with three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.

Harmelink was the story on the mound for the Red team, getting Andy Gerch to ground into an inning-ending double play in the second to preserve a 3-2 lead and not allowing a hit until the eighth. The senior right-hander from Omaha fanned six without issuing a walk and retired 15 in a row until Gerch led off the eighth with a single.

The Reds took advantage early of a pair of fielding miscues to plate three runs in the top of the first. Andrew Brown, Jeff Lanning and John Lee all drove in runs to spot Red starter Dan Jennings a quick 3-0 lead.

The Whites quickly climbed back into the game, plating runs of their own in each of the first two innings to pull within 3-2.

DJ Belfonte opened the first inning with a double and scored two batters later on a Gerch RBI single to center. One inning later, Craig Corriston’s RBI single plated Mark Hightower to pull the Whites within a run. With runners on the corners and one out, Harmelink came in and induced Gerch, who went 2-for-4, into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to thwart the rally.

The Reds quickly regained the momentum, extending the lead to 5-2 in the third. Jake Opitz, who went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, opened the frame with a single and came home on Brown’s first homer of the game, a two-run shot into the berm in left, one batter later.

The Reds tacked on three more runs in both the seventh and eighth innings before the Whites got on the board in the bottom of the eight, as Mark Hightower was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, the only run Harmelink allowed in a brilliant relief stint.

The Red/White series concludes Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Right-hander Mike Nihsen will take the hill for the White squad, while right-hander Drew Schwab toes the rubber for the Reds in the final practice of the fall.

    Nebraska Reds 11 (1-1), Nebraska Whites 3 (1-1)
                   Oct 12, 2006 at Lincoln, NE (Hawks Field)Nebraska Reds             AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
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Nimmo, Bryce cf..........  6  1  0  0   0  0  4  0   0
Cotton, Andy ss..........  5  0  0  0   1  2  1  2   0
Opitz, Jake 2b...........  5  3  2  0   1  0  0  3   3
Brown, Andrew rf/1b......  5  4  2  4   1  1  3  0   0
Lanning, Jeff c..........  3  0  2  1   0  0 10  0   0
Lee, John dh/lf..........  3  2  1  1   1  0  0  0   0
Edlefsen, Steve 3b/p.....  5  1  0  0   0  1  0  3   3
Piazza, Dominic 1b/3b....  4  0  0  1   1  0  8  0   0
Jarosh, Aaron lf/rf......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Jennings, Dan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Harmelink, Mike p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 36 11  7  7   5  4 27 10   6Nebraska Whites           AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
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Belfonte, DJ cf..........  4  1  1  0   0  2  5  0   0
Corriston, Craig 3b......  5  0  1  1   0  3  1  3   0
Gerch, Andy rf...........  4  0  2  1   0  0  1  0   1
 Broekmeier, Joe pr/lf...  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Sullivan, Nick lf........  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   0
 Scott, Tim rf...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Weber, Thad 1b...........  4  0  1  0   0  1 12  0   0
Abeita, Mitch c..........  3  0  0  0   0  1  5  0   2
Sowers, Brett 2b.........  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  3   0
Hightower, Mark dh.......  3  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   2
Mort, Jake ss............  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  5   3
Radmacher, Tim p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Rose, Erik p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Nesseth, Mike p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  3  6  3   1  9 27 12   8Score by Innings                    R  H  E
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Nebraska Reds....... 302 000 330 - 11  7  1
Nebraska Whites..... 110 000 010 -  3  6  5
-------------------------------------------E - Cotton, A.; Sowers, B.; Mort, J. 2; Nesseth, M. 2. DP - Red 1. LOB - Red
6; White 8. 2B - Opitz, J.; Belfonte, D.; Hightower, M. HR - Brown, A. 2.
HBP - Lanning, J.; Lee, J.; Weber, T.; Abeita, M.; Sowers, B.; Hightower, M.
SH - Lanning, J.; Belfonte, D.. SB - Lee, J.; Piazza, D..Nebraska Reds          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Jennings, Dan.......  1.1  5  2  2  1  2  8 10
Harmelink, Mike.....  6.2  1  1  1  0  6 21 25
Edlefsen, Steve.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3Nebraska Whites        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Radmacher, Tim......  4.2  4  5  2  1  1 20 21
Rose, Erik..........  1.1  2  2  1  1  0  6  7
Nesseth, Mike.......  3.0  1  4  2  3  3 10 16Win - Harmelink (1-0).  Loss - Radmacher, T (0-1).  Save - None.
WP - Jennings, D.. HBP - by Harmelink (Weber, T.); by Nesseth, M. (Lee, J.); by
Nesseth, M. (Lanning, J.); by Harmelink (Abeita, M.); by Harmelink (Sowers, B.);
by Harmelink (Hightower, M).
Umpires -
Start:   Time:   Attendance: 432
Rose, E. faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Game: RW2