Huskers Fall to Oklahoma, 3-0, in Twinbill Opener

Norman, Okla. ? Ryan Mottern went 4-for-4 and drove in two RBIs, while Stephen Porlier tossed a four-hit shutout, as No. 23 Oklahoma topped Nebraska, 3-0, in game one of the a twinbill Saturday afternoon. The second game of the doubleheader will take place at 6:15 p.m. (central).

Mottern, who had just one at-bat all year, made the most of his opportunity for the Sooners (25-11, 5-5 Big 12), delivering a fourth-inning RBI double to break a scoreless game before making it a 3-0 lead with an eighth-inning RBI single. Drew Roberts also had an RBI for Oklahoma, which improved to 18-2 at home this season.

That was more than enough for Porlier, who struck out six without a walk and allowed only three Huskers to reach scoring position to improve his record to 5-3 on the season. Porlier’s shutout marked the first time that Nebraska (20-14, 5-8 Big 12) had been shutout in conference play since the 1998 season.

Porlier out-dueled Husker ace Tony Watson, who nearly tossed his second consecutive complete game in a losing effort. Watson, who dropped to 3-2 on the year, allowed 11 hits and struck out four while throwing 7.2 innings.

Oklahoma jumped ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth on Mottern’s RBI double. Aaron Reza singled with one out and scored two batters later, as Mottern doubled to left center, scoring Reza from first.

The Sooners got a two-out rally in the sixth for the second run, getting a walk and two singles to plate their second on Newman’s run-scoring single. Jackson Williams coaxed a two-out walk from Watson before Mottern’s third hit of the day put runners on the corners. Roberts them made it a 2-0 game as he hit a chopper over first baseman Andrew Brown for an RBI single.

DJ Belfonte, Ryan Wehrle Andrew Brown and Jeff Tezak accounted for Nebraska's four hits, as both Brown and Tezak extended their hit streaks to 12 games apiece.

Mottern’s fourth hit of the day, a one-out RBI single to center, accounted for Oklahoma’s final run, scoring Reza, who had three hits and scored twice.

Nebraska vs Oklahoma (Apr 14, 2007) 2007 Nebraska Baseball Nebraska at #23 Oklahoma Apr 14, 2007 at Norman, Okla. (Dale Mitchell Park)

Nebraska 0 (20-14,5-8 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Belfonte, DJ rf.......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .297 Wehrle, Ryan ss.......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 .234 Brown, Andrew 1b......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 0 .298 Tezak, Jeff dh........... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .381 Corriston, Craig 3b...... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 .307 Opitz, Jake 2b........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 .287 Gerch, Andy lf........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 .291 Nimmo, Bryce cf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 .262 Abeita, Mitch c.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 .290 Watson, Tony p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 - Wertz, Luke p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 30 0 4 0 0 6 24 12 5

Oklahoma 3 (25-11,5-5 Big 12)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Davis, Aljay 2b.......... 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 - Ivey, Aaron lf........... 3 0 1 0 1 0 7 0 1 - Baker, Aaron 1b.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 - Reza, Aaron ss........... 4 2 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 - Williams, Jackson c...... 2 1 0 0 1 1 6 1 2 - Mottern, Ryan dh......... 4 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 - Roberts, Drew 3b......... 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 - Newman, Joseph rf........ 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 - Hughes, Joseph cf........ 3 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 2 - Porlier, Stephen p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 30 3 11 3 4 5 27 6 9

Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Nebraska............ 000 000 000 - 0 4 0 Oklahoma............ 000 101 01X - 3 11 0 -------------------------------------------

DP - Huskers 1; Sooners 1. LOB - Huskers 5; Sooners 9. 2B - Brown, A.(13); Mottern, R.; Newman, J.. HBP - Wehrle, R.; Abeita, M.. SH - Williams, J.; Hughes, J.. SB - Wehrle, R.(5); Mottern, R. 2; Newman, J..

Nebraska IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Watson, Tony........ 7.2 11 3 3 4 4 29 35 117 3.36 Wertz, Luke......... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 9 4.05

Oklahoma IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Porlier, Stephen.... 9.0 4 0 0 0 6 30 32 122 -

Win - Porlier, S. (5-3). Loss - Watson, T. (3-2). Save - None. HBP - by Porlier, S. (Abeita, M.); by Porlier, S. (Wehrle, R.). Inherited runners/scored: Wertz, L. 2/0. Pitches/strikes: Watson, T. 117/78; Wertz, L. 9/6; Porlier, S. 122/77. Umpires - HP: Chris Coskey 1B: Ken McQueen 3B: David Wiley Start: 3:06p.m. Time: 2:29 Attendance: Game: NU34