Huskers Bounce Bears, 15-5

 

Lincoln - Chase Adams allowed one run over a career-high 4.1 innings of relief, as Nebraska fell behind early before knocking off Northern Colorado, 15-5, Tuesday afternoon at Hawks Field.

The junior college transfer from Mineola, Texas, stemmed the tide for Nebraska, as the Huskers fell behind 4-1 after Kyle Hardman's three-run double in the third and trailed until DJ Belfonte's three-run triple in the bottom of the sixth.

Adams, who went the final 1.2 innings in Saturday's win over No. 2 Texas, scattered five hits and fanned three Bears for his first  win after freshmen Tyler Niederklein and Kurt Giller combined to issue seven walks over the first 2.2 innings to put the Huskers in an early hole.

Chase gave us some real good innings, and we needed that," Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said. "We had two freshmen that didn't compete well today, and Chase kind of settled it in for us. That's one of the reasons we went to him, to just settle it in. That was the key for us."

While Adams (1-0) kept the Bears in check, Nebraska's bats started to warm up in the mid-50 degree temperatures, as the Huskers scored 13 runs in their final three at-bats.

Trailing 4-2, the Huskers (10-9) regained the lead for good in the sixth with four runs off a pair of UNC relievers. Two hit batters and a walk by Ben Packard loaded the bases for Befonte, who proceeded to triple to the gap in right center to give NU a 5-4 lead. Kale Kiser than gave NU a two-run cushion with a sacrifice fly to score Belfonte, who went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Packard (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs in one-third of an inning after James Quisenberry allowed two runs over the first five frames.

On the day, the Huskers pounded out 17 hits, including three by Adam Bailey, who went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Cody Asche, Bryan Peters and Patric Tolentino all enjoyed multi-hit days, with Peters scoring three times and driving in a pair of runs. Tyler Farst and Josh Scheffert also homered in the win, as the Huskers extended their home win streak to nine games dating back to last season.

The Huskers pushed across two more runs in the seventh on Farst's solo homer and an RBI single by Tolentino before sending 12 men to the plate in an seven-run frame, highlighted by two-run singles from Peters and Bailey.

Hardman went 1-for-4 with three RBIs, while Seth Budde had two hits, including a homer, in the loss for Northern Colorado (4-11).

The two teams will wrap up the series Wednesday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. Husker right-hander Mike Nesseth looks for his first win and the game will be carried on select Husker Sports Network stations and Huskers.com.