Bailey Homer Leads Reds to 5-4 Win

Adam Bailey crushed a home run to straight-away centerfield, breaking a four-all tie and leading the Reds to a 5-4 win over the Whites in the 2008 Red/White Series held at Sherman Field Wednesday afternoon

Bailey, a junior right fielder from Scottsdale, Ariz., hammered the solo home run with two outs off Erik Bird to cap a 2-for-5, 3 RBI afternoon. 

“He swings a strong stick,” Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said.  “He’s been doing that most of the fall, which is a great thing.  His level of competitiveness is good and his strength is good.”

That was enough for sophomore Casey Hauptmann, who fanned three over two innings of shutout relief for the win.
Bailey knocked in the first run of the day with a groundout to the shortstop to score D.J. Belfonte, who had advance from first to third on a bunt by Kale Kiser one batter earlier, in the bottom of the first inning.

Early on, the game was dominated by pitching despite a strong wind to straight-away center, as the teams combined for just four hits over the first five innings.  The Whites didn’t allow hit for the first 4.2 innings, while the Reds scattered three hits in the first five innings.

“I thought our first guys who pitched did a great job,” Anderson said. “They kept the ball down and created some ground balls.  I thought our hitters were a bit tentative at the beginning, but I thought that our pitchers they did that.  I thought the first six innings were outstanding by the guys who threw.”

The Whites manufactured a run in the third to tie the game, as Jed Hanson led off with a single to center, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cody Burleson, then scored on a two-out single by Kyle Bubak. 

The game remained tied at one until the seventh, when Nick Sullivan hammered a two-out, three-run homer to right center, spotting the Whites a 4-1 lead.

The Reds answered with a pair in the bottom of the seventh.  Bailey doubled to drive in Kiser, who led off the inning with a double.  Three batters later, Tyler Farst’s RBI double to left scored Bailey and pulled the Reds within one. 
In the bottom of the eighth, Belfonte blasted a home run to right to tie the game and Bailey followed two batters later with his own round-tripper.

Along with Bailey, the Reds offense was paced by senior Cody Neer, who went 3-for-4 including hits in his last three plate appearances.  Sullivan led the White offense with a 2-for-5, three RBI performance, while newcomer Cade Thompson was 2-for-4 with a double. 

The Huskers close the fall season with a trip to Iowa this Friday night. First pitch at Duane Banks Field is set for 6 p.m.