Huskers Top No. 23 OU, 12-5

Norman, Okla. ? Luke Wertz allowed one run over a career-long 8.2 innings of relief, while Craig Corriston drove in a career-high four runs, leading Nebraska to a 12-5 victory over No. 23 Oklahoma Sunday afternoon.

Wertz was dominant after entering the game in the bottom of the first, holding Oklahoma to one run on five hits, as he retired 22 of 23 at one point to earn his first career Big 12 win. The junior right-hander from Parker, Colo., had pitched just three innings in Big 12 play entering Sunday’s contest, but held OU scoreless over the final seven innings to improve to 2-0 on the season.

“Luke was great today,” Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson said. “What this team needed more than anything else to have someone come in relief and do what he did today. We were hoping to get him to the fifth or sixth, but he was phenomenal and got it to the end for us. He got ahead in counts and threw pitches for strikes and kept them off-balance.”

While Wertz’s performance slowed the Sooner bats, Corriston and Andrew Brown paced a Husker attack to nine unanswered runs after falling behind 5-3 after two innings. Corriston went 2-for-4 with a homer, four RBIs and scored twice to pace a 15-hit attack. Brown also continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs and scored three times, as he extended his hit streak to 15 games.

Every Husker starter had at least one hit, as Nebraska (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) won the last two games of the series and became the first team to take a series from Oklahoma (25-15, 5-7 Big 12) this season.

“We keep saying that this team is taking baby steps,” Anderson said. “This team was ready to win a series on the road, and we figured out a way to do it. I was proud of the resiliency we showed after losing the first game and then of our offense in coming back after falling behind today.”

Nebraska struck early against Oklahoma starter Joseph Hughes, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, highlighted by Brown’s RBI double. After a leadoff walk to DJ Belfonte and a single by Ryan Wehrle, Brown roped a double into the corner in left to score Belfonte with the Huskers’ first run. Consecutive sacrifice flies off the bat of Jake Opitz and Andy Gerch gave the Huskers a quick 3-0 lead.

The lead would be short-lived, as Oklahoma came back with four runs to chase Husker starter Drew Bowman after just one-third of an inning, With two one and one out, Ryan Mottern continued his torrid hitting for the Sooners with a two-run double to left. Aaron Baker then tied the score with an RBI double to right and scored on Jackson Williams’ base hit to center to give the Sooners the lead.

After Oklahoma extended their lead to 5-3 on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Reza, Nebraska roared back with three runs of its own to chase the Sooners starter, who allowed six runs over 2.1 innings to take the loss. The Huskers loaded the bases with two singles and a walk before Corriston blooped a two-run single to left to tie the score. Bryce Nimmo then gave the Huskers the lead for good with an RBI single to right.

Nebraska pushed across a pair of runs in top of the fifth inning, as Andy Gerch singled and rode home on Corriston’s fifth home run of the season, a two-run blast down the line in left.
 
Wertz, who had not pitched more than five innings during his Husker career, was in cruise control at that point, retiring 10 in a row until Mottern’s fifth-inning single and then retired 12 consecutive until Cory Williamson’s two-out single in the ninth.

The Huskers extended their lead to 10-5 in the sixth against reliever Chris Henry on Brown’s fourth hit of the afternoon, a two-run homer to left for his sixth round tripper of the season, and added two runs in the ninth on a two-run single by Belfonte for the final margin.

The Huskers now return home to begin its longest homestand in more than a decade, a 15-game stretch that begins Tuesday night against Creighton. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. and GA tickets are available by calling 800-8-BIGRED