Huskers Fall to Horns

Lincoln - After opening a three-game series with a 7-0 win over No. 4 Texas on Friday, the Nebraska baseball team owned a 4-2 lead after three before the Longhorns rallied for five runs in the fourth and fifth innings on their way to an 8-4 win over the Huskers at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park on Saturday.

Playing in front of the fourth-largest crowd in Hawks Field history with 8,656 fans and an FSN national television audience, the Huskers used a three-run third inning to carry a 4-2 lead into the fourth with Johnny Dorn on the hill.

But after managing just two hits against a dominant Tony Watson on Friday night, the Longhorns pounded out seven hits to score seven runs in just 4.2 innings against Dorn on Saturday. The production was enough to give UT's Adrian Alaniz his 10th win of the season, despite surrendering four runs on seven hits in the first three innings. Alaniz (10-2) settled down to hold the Huskers hitless over the next 4.2 innings to even the series.

For the game, Alaniz allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 7.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and three walks in 126 pitches.  Anderson said that Alaniz was the difference, as got into control after a rocky start.

“We felt like we got some runs early and made a ballgame of it,” Anderson said.  (Alaniz) got strong in the middle innings. That’s why the guy has 10 wins. He started throwing his breaking pitch for strikes a lot better. He didn’t do that in the beginning of the game, and our guys took advantage of it.”

Dorn (6-2) surrendered seven earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks to drop his first game since Feb. 16
The Longhorns (32-12, 13-4 Big 12)  jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a two-run first-inning home run by Kyle Russell, his national-best 22nd round tripper of the year. After Russell's homer, Dorn silenced UT in the second and third innings, and the Husker hitters generated some support the Grand Island, Neb., native.

Nebraska (23-16, 8-9 Big 12) loaded the bases with nobody out in the first before DJ Belfonte scored its first run of the game on a Jake Opitz ground ball double-play. Alaniz escaped the first without further damage and pitched out of a jam in the second inning, before the Huskers took their first lead of the game with a three-run third inning.

Belfonte again started NU's rally in the third with his second single of the day, before Ryan Wehrle followed with his second hit of the day on a perfectly executed hit-and-run after he initially showed bunt before slapping the ball to right for a single. With runners at first and third, Andrew Brown ripped an RBI double to left-center scoring both Belfonte and Wehrle to give NU a 3-2 lead with nobody out in the bottom of the third.

Opitz then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to push Brown to third. After a strikeout by Craig Corriston and a walk by Jeff Tezak, Brown came around to score a wild pitch by Alaniz to increase NU's edge to 4-2. Gerch flied out to right to end the Husker third, and Texas answered the NU rally in the top of the fourth.

After retiring UT's Bradley Suttle to open the inning, Dorn issued back-to-back full-count walks to Russell Moldenhauer and Nick Peoples, before Suttle hit a shallow fly ball to the right-field line that Belfonte dove for but couldn't catch. Belfonte's attempt knocked the ball well into foul territory, but Moldenhauer fell down rounding third and was unable to score for UT.

With one out, Travis Tucker grounded out to shortstop to score Moldenhauer and pull Texas within 4-3. Two pitches later, Michael Demperio singled to center to drive in both Peoples and Suttle to give UT a 5-4 lead.

“I thought the turning point was the fourth inning, where I think Johnny (Dorn) just got a little too fine,” Anderson said. “He tried to punch a couple of things in there. The walks hurt us, and that fly ball with the wind to DJ (Belfonte). We just couldn’t get it done. When we score three to get on top, it’s really crucial we get up and put a zero on that board to maintain our lead.  We didn’t win that inning, and I think that was really the turning point of the game.”

Dorn struck out Jordan Danks to end the inning, but after Alaniz set NU down in the bottom of the fourth, the Longhorns extended their lead with two more runs in the fifth. After a one-out single by Russell and a flyout by Suttle, Dorn hit Russell on a pickoff attempt at first base to move Russell to second with two outs. Moldenhauer promptly doubled to center to score Russell and chase Dorn after just 4.2 innings. Peoples then greeted NU reliever Matt Foust with a 1-0 single to center to score Moldenhauer.

Texas added an insurance run in the ninth inning to close the scoring, and UT's Randy Boone picked up his 10th save of the year by coming on to get the final out in the eighth and shutting out the Huskers in the ninth.

Brown, Belfonte and Wehrle all had two hits, while Bryce Nimmo managed the only other hit of the day for the Huskers.  Russell led UT with a 3-for-4 effort that included a pair of RBIs and two runs scored, while Peoples added a pair of hits and two RBIs as the only other Longhorn with more than one hit.

The Huskers will face the Longhorns in the final game of the three-game weekend set at Hawks Field on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. The game will be televised live nationally by ESPNU, including Time Warner Cable channel 235 in Lincoln.