Huskers Top No. 14 Aggies, 11-4

College Station, Texas ? All-American Tony Watson scattered four hits over seven innings, while Jeff Tezak drove in four runs, lifting Nebraska to an 11-4 win over No. 14 Texas A&M in College Station Friday evening.

Watson (2-1) picked up his first win since Feb. 16, striking out a season-high eight Aggies without a walk, as he allowed one run over his first six innings of work before running into trouble in the seventh.

"I thought Tony pitched very well," Anderson said. "That was a good night for Tony, and a good night for this team."

Watson was backed by a Nebraska (16-9, 3-4 Big 12) offense that continually applied pressure, scoring at least one run in six different innings, as the Huskers built a six-run lead before salting away the game with four runs in the ninth after Texas A&M (26-6, 3-4 Big 12) pulled to within 7-4.

We were able to put pressure on them," Anderson said. "I told out offense that it was the first night all season that we were trying to build an offense where we had nine guys trying to score runs and getting something done. We had some clutch hitting and continued to put pressure. It wasn’t a dominant offense night, but we’ll take 11 runs on nine hits on any Friday night."

Tezak, who has driven in 10 runs in his last two Big 12 games, drove in four runs on Friday with a third-inning RBI triple and a three-run double in the ninth. Andrew Brown also drove in a pair of runs, while Mitch Abeita and DJ Belftonte had two hits apiece in helping NU to its fourth straight win.

The Huskers, who had five sacrifices, also took advantage of the Texas A&M’s fielding struggles, as the Aggies committed a season-high seven errors, leading to three unearned runs.

Despite the fielding woes, Texas A&M had a chance in the eighth to tie the game, as they had two on with two outs and Luke Anders representing the tying run. Zach Herr came out of the bullpen, and got Anders to ground out to second to end the rally before retiring the side in order in the ninth for his second save.

The Huskers manufactured a run in the top of the first against Aggie starter David Newmann, plating the first run without a hit. Belfonte opened the game with a walk before a Ryan Wehrle sacrifice moved the runner into scoring position. Befonte eventually got to third on a wild pitch before Brown’s chopper to second put the Huskers on the board.

Nebraska extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth, getting a two-out RBI triple from Tezak. Brown reached on a throwing error to open the frame, an error that proved costly later on, as Tezak eventually lined a 1-2 pitch into left center to score Brown from third.

The Aggies got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on Kyle Colligan’s fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to left to open the frame.

Nebraska put the pressure on in the fifth, plating a pair of runs to extend their lead to 4-1. With runners on the corners and one out, Newmann’s pickoff throw went into right field, allowing Abeita, who walked to open the inning, to score on the play and moved Belfonte to third. Brown then drove in his second run of the night two batters later with an infield single.

The Huskers chased Newmann (4-1) in the sixth with a pair of runs to make it a 6-1 game, as the Aggie left-hander allowed six runs ? four earned ? on just four hits to take the loss. With one out, Tezak walked before an Andy Gerch double put runners on second and third. Abeita then greeted reliever Kyle Renfro with an RBI single to left before Mort legged out a fielder’s choice, scoring Gerch from third.

Watson was cruising along and had retired 10 in a row after Colligan’s homer before running into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Watson hit Luke Anders and allowed a two-out single to Parker Dalton before Brandon Hicks cut the Husker lead to 7-4 with a three-run homer into the parking lot in left.

Nebraska closed out the scoring in the top of the ninth on Belfonte’s RBI single and Tezak’s three-run double off Gary Campfield.

The teams will continue the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., as sophomore Charlie Shirek (2-2, 4.65 ERA) takes the hill for the Huskers. The game will be carried across the state on the Husker Sports Radio Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com.