May 22, 2002
Box Score?|? Quotes?|? Notes
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Bears hung close all day against the favored Huskers, but in the end a pair of four-run innings propelled 13th-ranked Nebraska past No. 25 Baylor, 11-9, at The Ballpark in Arlington.
The loss sends the Bears (34-23) into the losers' bracket, where they will face Kansas State Thursday at 10 a.m. Nebraska (40-17), meanwhile, moves on to play Texas Tech Thursday at 5 p.m. The Red Raiders beat the Wildcats 5-4 in 12 innings earlier Tuesday.
The loss boiled down to Nebraska's four-run second inning. The Bears scored three runs of their own in the top of the third, and from then on, responded to each Husker scoring inning with an equal number of their own runs. Only when Nebraska scored an insurance run in the eighth did Baylor fail to match the Huskers' output.
After a scoreless first, the two teams combined to score in four straight half-innings. Nebraska got it all going with a four-run second. A walk, a hit batsman and three hits were culminated by a two-run single off the bat of Husker right fielder Daniel Bruce that put Nebraska up 4-0 through two.
A three-run third off starter Aaron Marsden (8-1) put Baylor right back into the game. The first four Bears each reached to start the inning as Paul Richmond beat out an infield hit and Eric Errante walked. Trey Webb, trying to sacrifice the runners over, worked a walk, and Tim Hartshorn delivered with a two-run single to left. Chris Durbin followed with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Webb and cut the margin to one.
Jeff Blevins led the Huskers right back, leading off the bottom of the third with a double and later scoring on John Grose's sacrifice fly. Baylor, though, got that run right back on a solo home run to right by David Murphy, his sixth circuit clout of the year.
Nebraska pushed the lead back to two in the fifth after Matt Hopper blasted a ball over the 404-foot mark in left-center for a solo home run.
Back-to-back doubles by Jared Clements and Murphy in the sixth again cut the Huskers' lead to one, but once more Nebraska extended its lead after Baylor had rallied. In the bottom of the sixth, the Huskers pounded out four hits and used a Baylor error to score four runs and knock starter Jared Theodorakos (3-6) out of the game. The Huskers finished the inning leading 10-5.
The Bears refused to go away, though. After Marsden walked Eric Errante to start the seventh, he was pulled in favor of reliever Phil Shirek, who recorded only two outs and gave up four hits. Tim Hartshorn singled and Chris Durbin each singled, and pinch-hitter Ross Bennett brought them both home with a three-run homer that pulled the score back within one at 10-9. Murphy followed with a single off Shirek, who was then relieved by Steve Hale. Michael Griffin lined out off Hale to end the frame.
Nebraska added an insurance run in the eighth off Trey Taylor. Matt Hopper singled after one out, took second on a balk and scored on an 0-2 single by Drew Anderson. Kyle Edens came in and picked Anderson off first to end the inning.
Hale closed out the ninth in order, getting the Bears out 1-2-3 for his second save of the year.
